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Environmental and Social Issues Resource Center
ESIRC Worldwide™
Chloramines:
Facts That You Should Know
Facts about chloramines from Dr. Mercola.
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More than one in five Americans are drinking tap water that’s been treated with a derivative of chlorine known as chloramine. It is formed by mixing chlorine with ammonia. Chloramine is sometimes used alongside chlorine as a “secondary” disinfectant designed to remain in your water longer as it travels through the water system.
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Water treated with monochloramine (the most common form of chloramine used to disinfect drinking water) may contain higher concentrations of unregulated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) – the risks of which are conclusively unknown as of 12/15/2012.
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When chlorine is replaced with chloramines in drinking water, it raises the amount of lead that leaches into water from lead pipes.
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No scientific studies on chloramine’s effects on your skin or respiratory tract via inhalation (such as exposure during a shower or bath) have been concluded.
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Chloramine is toxic to amphibians, reptiles, fish and other aquatic and marine life.
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Chloramine is a less effective disinfectant than chlorine, but it is longer lasting and stays in the water system as it moves through the pipes that transport it to your home (a process that can take three or four days). For this reason, chloramine is often used alongside chlorine as a “secondary” disinfectant.
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Chloramines may raise your water’s level of toxic unregulated disinfection byproducts.
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If you receive municipal water that is treated with chlorine or chloramines, toxic disinfection byproducts (DBPs) form when these disinfectants react with natural organic matter like decaying vegetation in the source water.
DBPs are over 10,000 times more toxic than chlorine, and out of all the other toxins and contaminants present in your water, such as fluoride and miscellaneous pharmaceutical drugs, DBPs are likely the absolute worst of the bunch.
Already, it’s known that trihalomethanes (THMs), one of the most common DBPs, are Cancer Group B carcinogens, meaning they’ve been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals. They’ve also been linked to reproductive problems in both animals and humans, such as spontaneous abortion, stillbirths, and congenital malformations, even at lower levels.
These types of DBPs can also:
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Weaken your immune system
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Disrupt your central nervous system
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Damage your cardiovascular system
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Disrupt your renal system and cause respiratory problems
One of the benefits often touted about chloramines is that they produce lower levels of regulated DBPs, such as THMs, compared to chlorine. They still produce them, just at lower levels. In 1998, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its Stage 1 Disinfection Byproducts Rule, which required water treatment systems to reduce the formation of DBPs. This has led to an increasing number of treatment plants switching from chlorine to chloramine1 …
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Many believe this makes chloramine the superior choice in terms of safety, but what is less publicized is that compared to chlorine, water treated with monochloramine (the most common form of chloramine used to disinfect drinking water) may contain higher concentrations of unregulated disinfection byproducts – the risks of which are unknown. Considering that many water utilities treat their water with both chlorine and chloramine, you may be getting the most of both regulated and unregulated DBPs in your drinking water, shower and bath (the DBPs that enter your body through your skin during showering or bathing also go directly into your bloodstream). There are, in fact, as many as 600 different toxic DBPs that have been identified, and to which you may be exposed through treated water.
Higher Lead Levels in Water Linked to Chloramines
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There are other issues with chloramine in your water that you should be aware of, like its potential to extract lead from old water pipes. For example, when you combine chloramines with the fluoride (hydrofluorosilicic acid) added to most of the U.S. water supply, they become very effective at extracting lead from old plumbing systems—essentially, together, they promote the accumulation of lead in the water supply!
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“In fact, the two of them have been combined, and I believe patented to be put together so that they could extract lead,” said fluoride activist Jeff Green. Lead, a known toxin to your brain and nervous system, is so toxic that it has been banned in gasoline and children’s toys, and lead paint hasn’t been in use since 1978. But even the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledges that when chlorine is replaced with chloramines in drinking water, it raises not only the amount of lead that leaches into water, but the blood lead levels of children who consume it!
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“When the free chlorine was replaced with chloramines, the transformed highly insoluble lead scale minerals were no longer stable and dissolved. Therefore, a substantial level of lead was released from the lead service lines into drinking water at the tap. CDC reviewed the relationship between BLLs [blood lead levels] in children, the presence of a lead service line, and water disinfection practices in DC during 1998–2006. The study reported that the presence of a lead service line was associated with higher BLLs in children. This relationship was most pronounced during 2001 through June 2004, when chloramines were used to disinfect the drinking water without adequate corrosion control.
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An observational study in which the BLLs of children were matched to population-based data of water lead levels during periods when water disinfection practices changed in DC concluded that the increase in water lead levels was associated with an increase in the BLLs of children.” An analysis in Environmental Health Perspectives also found that introducing chloramines may increase the lead in drinking water, and pointed out that although anti-corrosive agents added during the treatment process are supposed to mitigate this risk, they aren’t always effective:
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“Several recent studies provided evidence that the introduction of chloramines to water systems with lead-containing pipes, fixtures, or solder may increase the amount of dissolved lead in water because of changes in water chemistry; interactions with additives such as coagulants or fluoridation agents may remove lead dioxide scales originally formed during decades of chlorine-based disinfection. This leaching might be managed to some extent by the addition of anticorrosivity agents during the water treatment process; however, the details of all the related environmental chemistry are not fully understood and are highly dependent on the particular chemical interactions found in each water treatment and distribution system.”
Many Residents Voice Concerns Over chloramines [safety studies seriously lacking]
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Residents across the United States from California and Oklahoma to Vermont have voiced concerns over chloramine safety, wondering whether it’s truly as safe as water utilities would like you to believe. At the very least, the chemical has been linked to skin irritations and rashes, noted Robert Howd of the California EPA:
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“ …chloramines, like chlorine, can irritate sensitive mucus membranes, and could potentially cause skin irritation. When some utilities have switched to chloramine, there have been user reports of bad-tasting water, a bad feel of the water on the skin, skin irritation, and other symptoms.”
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Furthermore, according to the EPA, no scientific studies on chloramine’s effects on your skin or respiratory tract via inhalation have been conducted. And while some cancer studies have been, they are so limited that they are not able to conclusively determine if chloramine might, in fact, cause cancer.
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This is concerning, since exposure to chloramine in your indoor air while bathing and showering may represent your greatest route of exposure, even more so than drinking it. Also the cancer studies on chloramine itself are so limited that they cannot be used to determine if chloramine is a carcinogen, and its environmental effects are worrisome. Chloramine is toxic to frogs and other amphibians, reptiles, fish and other aquatic and marine life, to the extent that you cannot use chloramine-treated water to fill up a fish tank or backyard fish pond. As the water runs into streams, rivers and other marine areas, it could be disastrous for the marine life.
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So while water utilities stand to save money by cutting chlorine costs with chloramine, the benefits to the public are far less clear. Other potential concerns include:
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Because of chloramine’s corrosive nature, it has been linked to pinhole pitting in copper water pipes, which can lead to small water leaks and mold growth in your home.
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TO LEARN MORE CLICK HERE TO GO TO DR.MERCOLA'S SITE
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Other Facts:
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Chloramine also corrodes rubber toilet flappers and gaskets, rubber hoses, and rubber fittings in dishwashers and water heaters, leading to costly home repairs.
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Chloramine de-elasticizes PVC pipes, making them brittle and accelerating the leaching of possible carcinogens from the plastic into drinking water.
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Chloramine is difficult to remove from your water, but it can be done.
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Chloramine cannot be removed by quick boiling your water or letting it sit out in an open container (as is sometimes recommended for chlorine). A carbon filter can remove the chemical from your drinking water, but that leaves your shower and bath – a significant route of exposure — without protection. It would be helpful to take as cold a shower as possible as heat will convert more of the chemicals to a toxic gas. Additionally shorter showers will also obviously further limit your exposure.
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Because of the high flow rate and large volume of water passing through your shower, there is no showerhead filter on the market that will effectively remove all chloramine. A whole-house filtration system is therefore your best choice to remove chlorine, chloramine, ammonia, DBPs and other contaminants from all of your water sources (bath, shower and tap).
CHLORAMINE – WHAT IS IT AND HOW DO YOU REMOVE IT?
The Following Information was researched and written by Ken Finton
Originally published in IS CHLORAMINE IN YOUR TAP WATER? at Scriggler.com
The water crisis in Flint, Michigan has illuminated a potential worldwide crisis, as the chemicals that they used corroded the pipes. Chloramine leached lead out of the old pipes and caused an emergency situation in Flint. But Flint is not the only city that uses this dangerous chemical. One in five Americans are bathing with and drinking water polluted intentionally with chloramine. SOURCE
Before Flint, there was a lead scare in Washington, D.C. in 2004. The city’s tap water contained as much as 30 times the acceptable levels of lead. The explanation for that increase is that Washington’s water treatment facilities began disinfecting water with chloramine instead of chlorine. Chloramine is the compound that causes the pipes to leach lead into the water supply. It is a compound of chlorine and ammonia that is easier to handle and much more stable than chlorine. It is also cheaper. Chloramine is now used in about 20% of the American drinking water systems
Refrigerator filters, pitcher (carafe) filters, and faucet attachment filters do not work with chloramine. They deteriorate at a rapid rate and due to their lack of contact time, cannot effectively remove dissolved lead, or chloramine and its toxic byproducts from your tap water. SOURCE:
In January 2011, NPR ran an exposé on the water treatments systems across the United States.
Sometimes solving one problem leads to even more serious problems. Chlorine is used to disinfect our drinking water by killing the living organisms from the water. It has been used for over a century but it leaves being toxic by-products.
“…One of the biggest unintended consequences of adding chlorine to water was that it reacts with some of the organic matter in the water to produce carcinogenic byproducts,” says David Sedlak, of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley.
Reports from several sources, including the Science Journal, report “The Chlorine Dilemma,” have shown that chloramine also has significant risks.
Chloramine does not produce the same by-products as chlorine. It does produce its own toxins, including chemicals called nitrosamines.
Nitrosamines are chemical compounds of the chemical structure R¹N-N=O, that is, a nitroso group bonded to an amine. Most nitrosamines are carcinogenic. Wikipedia
If desired, chloramine and ammonia can be removed from the water by boiling; however, it will take 20 minutes of gentle boil to do that. Just a short boil of water to prepare tea or coffee removes about 30% of chloramine. Conversely, chlorine was not as consistently removed by boiling in SFPUC tests.
Chloramine is a compound of chlorine and ammonia and is fast becoming a familiar substance in our water. It is being used in place of chlorine to disinfect city water in over 22% of American municipal water treatment facilities and the number is growing.
Here is what you must know about chloramine and the problems associated with it:
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Mixing chlorine and ammonia results is a dangerous chemical called mono chloramine. It is a toxic nerve gas and is very irritating to the skin and mucous membranes. This is what is being used in municipal water systems to disinfect the water we use to drink, bathe, shower, and cook.
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Chloramine does not dissipate from water like chlorine does. If you let chlorinated water sit for 30-60 minutes, it will dissipate from the standing water (though it will still leave behind toxic byproducts and VOCs). When you shower, chlorine and chloramine both release into the air and you inhale it, causing irritation the lungs, throat, and eyes. People who suffer from asthma, upper respiratory issues, and cystic fibrosis cannot afford to be inhaling these chemicals.
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Chloramine has been linked to several health concerns, including gastrointestinal irritation and skin disorders (i.e. eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis). Those who shower and bathe in filtered water exhibit relief from these issues.
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Chloramine produces by-products known as nitrosodimethylamines (NDMA’s) that may be more carcinogenic than their predecessors (nitrates/nitrites).
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Chloramine cannot be removed by typical water treatment techniques – all sink attachment gadgets, refrigerator filters, and pitcher filters are useless for filtering out chloramines. Chloramine requires special filtration media.
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Chloramine can cause genetic damage in mammals, including human beings (keep reading below for more information).
In addition, a study conducted by the University of Illinois in 2004 demonstrates that a by-product of the chloramination of drinking water known as iodoacids (eye-o-doe-acids) may be the most toxic ever found in drinking water. There is concern about the genetic damage these by-products can cause in mammals (including humans) that drink chloraminated water. Also, these dangerous chemicals are being released back into the environment where fish, wildlife, and the food chain can be harmed.
Like chlorine, chloramine is designed to kill pathogenic organisms by penetrating their cell walls and membranes and disrupting their metabolism. Chloramines are much slower to react so they are not as effective. Unlike chlorine, they do not evaporate from water, nor are they removed by typical water treatment techniques. The only resolution is to move somewhere else, drill your own well, or get an effective filter made specifically for removing chloramine from your drinking and showering water.
Ascorbic acid and sodium ascorbate completely neutralize both chlorine and chloramine, but degrade in a day or two, which makes them usable only for short-term applications. SFPUC determined that 1000 mg of Vitamin C tablets, crushed and mixed in with bath water, completely remove chloramine in a medium-size bathtub without significantly depressing pH.
Chloramine is more difficult to remove from drinking water than chlorine. Chlorine is easily removed from water just by boiling, which means that there will be no chlorine in hot drinks like tea or coffee, nor in cooked food. However, unlike chlorine, chloramine is not fully removed by boiling water, and carbon filters are not good at removing chloramine either.
Fortunately, there is a very simple method to remove chloramine from drinking water: just by adding vitamin C. SOURCE
You only need a very small amount of vitamin C to completely neutralize the chloramine in your drinking water: around 10 mg (0.01 grams) of vitamin C will neutralize all the chloramine in one liter of water.
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What Does The Epa Say About Chloramines?
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Recently San Francisco Public Utility Commision (SFPUC) changed from using free chlorine to chloramine in its drinking water transmission pipes. Some people are concerned for possible public health implications and for reported effects on fish and amphibians.
Using chloramine to disinfect drinking water is a common standard practice among drinking water utilities. A number of utilities have made this switch from chlorine to chloramines to enhance water safety and compliance with drinking water health standards. For example, the East Bay Municipal Utility District(EBMUD), which serves drinking water to customers in parts of the greater San Francisco Bay area, switched from chlorine to using chloramine in February, 1998.
Background Information on Chloramines
Chlorine has been safely used for more than 100 years for disinfection of drinking water to protect public health from diseases which are caused by bacteria, viruses and other disease causing organisms. Chloramines, the monochloramine form in particular, have also been used as a disinfectant since the 1930’s. Chloramines are produced by combining chlorine and ammonia. While obviously toxic at high levels, neither pose health concerns to humans at the levels used for drinking water disinfection.
Chloramines are weaker disinfectants than chlorine, but are more stable, thus extending disinfectant benefits throughout a water utility’s distribution system. They are not used as the primary disinfectant for your water. Chloramines are used for maintaining a disinfectant residual in the distribution system so that disinfected drinking water is kept safe. Chloramine can also provide the following benefits:
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• Since chloramines are not as reactive as chlorine with organic material in water, they produce substantially lower concentrations of disinfection byproducts in the distribution system. Some disinfection byproducts, such as the trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs), may have adverse health effects at high levels. These disinfection byproducts are closely regulated by EPA. EPA recently reduced the allowable Maximum Contaminant Levels for total THMs to 80 ug/L and now limit HAAs to 60 ug/L. The use of chlorine and chloramines is also regulated by the EPA. We have Maximum Residual Disinfectant Levels of 4.0 mg/L for both these disinfectants. However, our concern is not from their toxicity, but to assure adequate control of the disinfection byproducts.
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• Because the chloramine residual is more stable and longer lasting than free chlorine, it provides better protection against bacterial regrowth in systems with large storage tanks and dead-end water mains.
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• Chloramine, like chlorine, is effective in controlling biofilm, which is a slime coating in the pipe caused by bacteria. Controlling biofilms also tends to reduce coliform bacteria concentrations and biofilm-induced corrosion of pipes.
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• Because chloramine does not tend to react with organic compounds, many systems will experience less incidence of taste and odor complaints when using chloramine.
Other concerns with chloramines in drinking water
Chloramines, like chlorine, are toxic to fish and amphibians at levels used for drinking water. Unlike chlorine, chloramines do not rapidly dissipate on standing. Neither do they dissipate by boiling.
Fish owners must neutralize or remove chloramines from water used in aquariums or ponds. Treatment products are readily available at aquarium supply stores. Chloramines react with certain types of rubber hoses and gaskets, such as those on washing machines and hot water heaters. Black or greasy particles may appear as these materials degrade. Replacement materials are commonly available at hardware and plumber supply stores.
To Learn More Please Click Here
Foregoing Educational Material was Researched and Written by Ken Finton
Q & A on Chloramine Disinfection
Does Chloramine Add Lead to Drinking Water?
Chloramine itself does not add lead to drinking water. Conversion from free chlorine to chloramines can alter the chemistry of lead deposits on the pipe wall, and has resulted in release of lead in household plumbing, but this can be avoided with proper treatment. For example, several years ago, lead levels in Washington D.C.’s drinking water rose when the water disinfectant was switched from chlorine to chloramine. The problem was solved with the addition of polyphosphate. Polyphosphate forms an insoluble coating on pipe interiors, helping to prevent the public’s exposure to lead through drinking water.
Does Chloramine Causes People to Breakout in Rashes?
According to an article in the AWWA Journal Opflow, upon conversion to chloramine, there is an increased potential for customer complaints about skin rashes and breathing problems. The article notes, however, that these problems have not been directly linked to the conversion to chloramine. One utility in the survey reported that as chloramine degrades, customers sometimes report atypical tastes and odors.
Does Chloramine Kill Aquarium Fish?
It is true that chloramine is lethal to aquatic animals and, like chlorine, must be removed from tap water with treatment products that are readily available from pet stores. Consult your veterinarian with questions about chloramine and your aquatic animal. Pet dogs, cats and birds can safely drink chloramine-treated water.
Is Chloramine Dangerous to People Who Undergo Kidney Dialysis?
Like chlorine, chloramine must be removed from the municipal water before it is used for kidney dialysis. Chlorine and chloramine can harm kidney dialysis patients during the dialysis process if they permeate the dialysis barrier and come into contact with the blood of a dialysis patient. At levels used to disinfect drinking water, chloramine-treated water is safe for drinking, cooking and bathing use by kidney dialysis patients.
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