CHLORINE DANGERS!
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Do you like to swim? In a pool? Do you have a pool or a spa? All good and well and fun too. To keep your pool and spa clean, free of bacteria and clear you probably use chlorine and other chemicals? But are you aware of the dangers of chlorine and other chemicals?

Numerous scientific studies report that chlorinated water is a skin irritant and can be associated with rashes like eczema. Chlorinated water can destroy polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E in the body while generating toxins capable of free radical damage (oxidation). This might explain why supplementation of the diet with essential fatty acids lke flax seed oil, evening primrose oil, borage oil and antitoxidants like vitamin E, selenium and others helps so many cases of eczema and dry skin.

Chlorinated water destroys much of the intestinal flora, the friendly bacteria that help in the digestion of food and which protect the body from harmful pathogens. These bacteria are also responsible for the manufacture of several important vitamins like vitamin B12 and vitamin K. It is not uncommon for chronic digestive disorders as well as chronic skin conditions like acne, psoriasis, seborrheoa and eczema to clear up or be significantly improved by switching to un-chlorinated drinking water and supplementing the diet with lactobacillus and acidophilus and bifidus.

Chlorinated water contains chemical compounds called trihalomethanes which are carcinogens resulting from the combination of chlorine with organic compounds in water. These chemicals, also known as organochlorides, do not degrade very well and are generally stored in the fatty tissues of the body (breast, other fatty areas, mother's milk, blood and semen). Organochlorides can cause mutations by altering DNA, supress immune function and interfere with the natural controls of cell growth.

Chlorine has been documented to aggravate asthma, especially in those children who make frequent use of chlorinated swimming pools. Several studies also link chlorine and chlorinated by-products to a greater incidence of bladder, breast and bowel cancer as well as malignant melanoma. One study even links the use of chlorinated tap water to congenital cardiac anomalies.

The following is research data related to swimming which may be of interest:

CHLORINE TOXICITY: What Is Known

Exercising competitive swimmers absorb toxic levels of chlorine products in the course of a training session.
Training two or more times a day will not allow the toxins to be completely cleared from the body in most swimmers.
Children inhale more air per unit of body weight than adults.
Young children absorb relatively greater amounts of toxins than older swimmers and therefore, are at greater risk.
In hyper-chlorinated pools, even dental enamel can be eroded because of the increased acidity in swimmers in training.
Exercise intensity and number of sessions increase the toxic concentrations in competitive swimmers.
Greater toxin absorption occurs through the skin than through breathing. However, the breathing action alone is sufficient to cause hypersensitivity and "asthma-like" respiratory conditions in at least some swimmers.
Over chlorination is particularly hazardous to the health of swimmers.
A startling article about chlorine you won't want to miss!


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CHLORINATION RESEARCH

BLOOD AND BREATH ANALYSES AS BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS OF EXPOSURE TO TRIHALOMETHANES IN INDOOR SWIMMING POOLS Aggazzotti, G., Fantuzzi, G., Righi, E., & Predieri, G. (1998) Science of the Total Environment, 217, 155-163.

CHLORINE PRODUCT ABSORPTION IN SWIMMERS IS GREATEST VIA THE SKIN Lindstrom, A.B., Pleil, J.D., & Berkoff, D.C. (1997). Alveolar breath sampling and analysis to assess trihalomethane exposures during competitive swimming training. Environmental Health Perspectives, 105(6), 636-642

EXERCISING INCREASES THE TOXICITY OF A "SAFE" CHLORINATED POOL ATMOSPHERE Drobnic, F., Freixa, A., Casan, P., Sanchis, J., & Guardino, X. (1996). Assessment of chlorine exposure in swimmers during training. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 28(2), 271-274.

AMOUNT OF EXERCISE IS RELATED TO CHLORINE-RELATED CONCENTRATIONS IN THE BODY Cammann, K., & Hubner, K. (1995). Trihalomethane concentrations in swimmers' and bath attendants' blood and urine after swimming or working in indoor swimming pools. Archives of Environmental Health, 50(1), 61-65


YOUNG SWIMMERS AT GREATEST HEALTH RISK IN CHLORINATED INDOOR POOLS Aiking, H., van Acker, M.B., Scholten, R.J., Feenstra, J.F., & Valkenburg, H.A. (1994). Swimming pool chlorination: a health hazard? Toxicology Letters, 72(1-3), 375-380.

CHLORINATOR TABLETS POSE HEALTH RISKS Wood, B.R., Colombo, J.L., Benson, B.E. (1987). Chlorine inhalation toxicity from vapours generated by swimming pool chlorinator tablets. Paediatrics, 79(3), 427-430.

DENTAL ENAMEL EROSION INCREASED IN COMPETITIVE SWIMMERS IN CHLORINATED POOLS Centerwall, B.S., Armstrong, C.W., Funkhouser, L.S., & Elzay, R.P. (1986). Erosion of dental enamel among competitive swimmers at a gas-chlorinated swimming pool. American Journal of Epidemiology, 123(4), 641-647.

BRONCHOSPASM IN COMPETITIVE SWIMMERS Reuters Health, March 21, 2001. A study presented [03/20/2001] in New Orleans at the 57th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, strongly suggested that swimming pool environments adversely affect the lung function of competitive swimmers.

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

1. Beech, J.A., Diaz, R., Ordaz, C., & Palomeque, B. (1980). Nitrates, chlorates and trihalomethanes in swimming pool water. American Journal of Public Health, 70(1), 79-82.

2. Mustchin, C.P., & Pickering, C.A. (1979). "Coughing water": bronchial hyper-reactivity induced by swimming in a chlorinated pool. Thorax, 34(5), 682-683.

3. Decker, W.J., & Koch, H.F. (1978). Chlorine poisoning at the swimming pool: an overlooked hazard. Clinical Toxicology, 13(3), 377-381.


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