Chlorine is a naturally occurring element, symbols cl,atomic number 17 on the periodic table. It's a very dangerous toxin that has many uses,from disinfecting to bleaching. In small quantities, liquid and gas forms can be poisionous.
In it's gas form,it is pale green and has a smelly odor and makes your breathing laboured. In it's solid form, it's more of a yellow green color. It is abundant in nature in it's chloride ion form found in many of the salts that are In the earth. Many animals, including humans need chlorine. But there is a limit to what we can physically tolerate.
How am I Exposed to Chlorine?
Even taking a long bath or shower increases a person's risk for chlorine exposure because chlorine can enter the body through skin absorption or through the eyes,nose,and ears.
Chlorine has long been used to disinfect our drinking water because it controls the growth of such unwelcome bacteria as Ecoli and Giardia. You have to be careful also,to take precautions even when showering drinking tap water.
3 Common Exposures to Chlorine
1. Absorption through the skin from water and from air
2.Drinking and Eating
3.Breathing In the fumes that chlorine can create
What are Possible Symptoms of Exposure to Toxic Levels of Chlorine?
Research has shown,however that long-term exposure to chlorine leads to the production of free radicals within the body. Free radicals are carcinogenic, and cause tremendous damage to our cells.
Children exposed to large amount of chlorine could potentially suffer asthmatic attacks.
Chlorine can Irritate severely,even burn skin exposed directly to it.it can Irritate and burn the eyes and throat as well.
Chlorine, Cancer and Heart Disease
"We are quite convinced based on this study, that there is an association between cancer and chlorinated water". Medical College of Wisconsin Research Team.
The addition of chlorine to our drinking water began in the late 1800s and by 1904 was the standard in water treatment,and for the most part remains so today. We don't use chlorine because it's the safest or even the most effective means of disinfection,we use it, because it is the cheapest.
Inspite of all technological advances,we essentially still pour bleach in our water before we drink it. The long term effects of chlorinated drinking water have just being recognized. According to the U.S Council of Environmental Quality, "cancer risk among people drinking chlorinated water is 93% higher than among those whose water does not contain chlorine.
Dr. Joseph Price wrote a highly controversial book in the late sixties titled Coronaries/Cholesterol/Chlorine and concluded that nothing can negate the incontrovertible fact,the basic cause of atherosclerosis and resulting entities such as heart attacks and stroke,is chlorine.
When chlorine is added to our water,it combines with other natural compounds to form Trihalomethanes(chlorination byproducts ), or THMs,These chlorine by products trigger the production of free radicals in the body,causing cell damage,and are highly carcinogenic."Although concentration of these carcinogens (THMs)are low,it is precisely these low levels that cancer scientist believe are responsible for the majority of human cancers in the United States." The Environmental Defense Fund.
As stated by the U.S EPA, chlorine is a pesticide,whose sole purpose is killing living organisms.when we consumed water containing chlorine,it kills some part of us,destroying cells and tissues inside our body.
Breast cancer,which now affects one in every eight women in North American,has recently been linked to the accumulation of chlorine compounds in the breast tissue. A study carried out in Hartford Connecticut,the first of it's kind in North America,found that,"women with breast cancer have 50% to 60% higher levels of Organo chlorines (chlorination byproducts) in their breast tissue than women without breast cancer."
One of the most shocking components to all these studies is that up to 2/3s of our harmful exposure to chlorine is due to inhalation of steam and skin absorption of chlorine and other chemicals in water. The steam we inhale while showering can contain up to 50times the level of chemicals than tap water due to the fact that chlorine and most other contaminants vapourize much faster and at a lower temperature in water.
Inhalation is a much more harmful means of exposure since the chlorine gas (chloroform) we inhale goes directly into our blood stream. When we drink contaminated water the toxins are partially filtered out by our kidneys and digestive system. Chlorine vapours are known to be a strong Irritant to the sensitive tissue and bronchial passages inside our longs. The inhalation of chlorine is a suspected cause of asthma and bronchitis especially in children...which has increased 300% in the last two decades.
Aside from all the health risks related to chlorine in our water,it is the primary cause of bad odor in drinking water. The objectable taste causes people to turn to other less harmful beverages like soft drinks,tea,or other sweetened drinks. A decreased intake of water,for any reason,can only result in a lower degree of health.
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