JUST HOW TOXIC IS CHLORINE OR ANY OTHER DISINFECTANTS FOR THAT MATTER?

The discovery that chlorination of water can give rise to the formation of potentially harmful trihalomethanes has made chlorine the subject of much discussion, but what are the real risks posed by chlorination? To be meaningful, risks must be evaluated against the baseline risks that already exist for a particular population group and this means determining how chlorination increases the risks that are already present. Alternative disinfectants are also considered, since there are very few disinfectants which do not give rise to the formation of disinfectant by-products. The risk associated with using water that has not been disinfected is also considered. This paper investigates the increased risk due to chlorination of water and shows this to be statistically insignificant and to occur only over very extended periods of time (decades), while the increased mortality risk associated with using water that has not been disinfected is significantly higher and is experienced over short periods of time (days or weeks). Based on scientifically conducted risk assessment, the increase in risks as a result of disinfecting the potable water supply is negligible when compared to the increase in the risks incurred by using an undisinfected water supply. Alternative disinfectants would not be expected to significantly change the risks posed by chlorine disinfection by-products