Citizens concerned about Chloramine

Please support Citizens Concerned about Chloramine. Their cause is just and more people need to be aware of the toxic hazards of Chlorine and Chloramine.

• sinus and nasal congestion
• sneezing
• coughing
• choking
• wheezing
• life-threatening asthma-like symptoms
• bronchial and emphysema-like symptoms

• rashes and red burning skin
• intense itching
• dry, chapping, flaking, cracking skin
• welts and blistering skin with scarring and pigmentation
• peeling, bleeding lips, dry mouth and throat
• dry eyes

• irritable bowel symptoms-like reactions (IBS)
• acid reflux-like symptoms

• Chloramine is a combination of chlorine and ammonia.
• Chloramine is a less effective disinfectant than chlorine and cannot kill pathogens like E. Coli and certain viruses effectively according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
• As a result, the health and lives of infants less than 6 months of age, people with suppressed immune systems such as HIV and Aids patients and those going through chemotherapy, are at risk. They must have their water boiled for over ten minutes to kill the pathogens in the water as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that there are NO studies on skin or respiratory effects of chloramine.
• The EPA states that the limited studies on cancer to date are inadequate. So we do not know if chloramine can cause cancer.
• Kidney dialysis patients must have chloramine completely removed from the water for dialysis treatment to prevent hemolytic anemia.
• Chloramine is difficult to remove from water. It cannot be removed by boiling, distilling, or by standing uncovered.
• Your greatest exposure to chloramine in tap water is through bathing and showering.
• Showerhead filters will not remove chloramine. A whole house or whole apartment filter with an extensive carbon filter and a reverse osmosis or cation filter is necessary and is expensive.
• Sink filters only work on cold water. A costly whole house filtration system is necessary to process all water.
• Chloramine leaches lead from pipes and lead-tin solder from pipe joints. Lead poisoning can cause neurological damage and health problems, even death in young children.
• Chloramine can pit pinholes in copper pipes. Leaks from the pipes can cause toxic molds and endanger the health of people.
• Insurance companies do not cover damage from mold. As a result, some homeowners lose their homes.
• Chloramine can corrode rubber plumbing parts such as toilet flappers, and de-elasticizes plastic polymer pipes, leaching carcinogens into tap water.
• The thousands to tens of thousands of dollars in plumbing repair costs caused by chloramine are passed on to property owners.
• Chloramine can kill fish, amphibians and water-based reptiles and marine invertebrates. Chloramine enters directly into their bloodstream, gills, or skin, literally suffocating them to death.
• Chloramine entering streams, ponds, or the SF Bay from water main breakages can cause environmental damage to fish and marine life. The Canadian EPA has deemed chloramine “toxic” to the environment (CEPA 1999).

• If you have health symptoms. it is best to use bottled spring water for your basic needs, such as drinking, cooking and bathing.
• Avoid bottled water from municipal sources. It may still contain chloramine even if treated.
• To determine if any cold-water sink filter will work to remove chloramine, call National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) 877-867-3435. The NSF independently tests and certifies only drinking water filtration products. You will need a whole house filtration system for bathing or showering.
• Write to your government officials and lawmakers, especially Assembly Member Ira Ruskin who works with water issues:E-mail: assemblymember.Ruskin@assembly.ca.govState Mailing Address: California State Capitol, P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0001. Phone: (916) 319-2021

  Local Address: 5050 El Camino Real, Suite 117, Los Altos, CA 94022. Phone: (650) 691-2121

Citizens Concerned About Chloramine (CCAC) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to raise the public’s level of awareness about chloramine and its health effects when used as a disinfectant in the water. CCAC endeavors to pursue and support scientific studies that will explore the effects of chloramine on humans, animals and the environment. Finally, CCAC is committed to support legislation to protect the quality of water for all. For more information or help, contact: Citizens Concerned About Chloramine (CCAC) (408) 227-5767

Denise Johnson-Kula, CCAC President http://www.chloramine.org Send an email to CCAC

In a new study, researcher Julian Andelman, of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, the National Academy of Sciences has shown that volatile chemicals present in many municipal drinking water supplies are especially toxic to people when they are exposed to them when bathing or showering. “. . .the major health threat posed by these water pollutants is far more likely to be from their inhalation as air pollutants in the home, according to preliminary data from a study Andelman and his colleagues have just reported.”

“In the past, he says, inhalation exposure to water pollutants has largely been ignored.” His data indicates that hot showers can liberate between 50 to 80 percent of the dissolved chemicals into the air. Emissions from hot baths are half as high. “(One reason, explains Andelman, is that because water droplets dispersed by a shower head have a larger surface-to volume ratio than water streaming into a bath, more of the volatiles can vaporize out).”

It is interesting to note that chloramine actually exists in three forms: monochloramine, dichloramine, and trichloramine. The three forms constantly and rapidly shift from one form to another. “The different volatilities of the chloramines result in substantial differences in the rates of release from water: di- and tri-chloramine are released ~3 and 300 times faster than monochloramine, respectively.” (See page 3 of Chemicals in Drinking Water: Chloramine (PDF, 178 KB), by Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health. Alternate source: click here.) These chemicals vaporize easily out of the water that is heated and aerosolized. All three forms are respiratory irritants, with trichloramine being the most toxic.

Andelman points out that.. . “Although showering can be an intense source of residential exposure to water pollutants, . . . it is far from the only important source. Andelman notes that only about 5 of the 50 to 70 gallons of water used daily by the average American goes for showers. Much of the rest is used by dishwashing and laundering. ”

“Though actual doses will depend on many factors–especially the level of water contamination–the study does offer clues for limiting exposure. Cold showers can reduce the vaporization of dissolved volatile chemicals by 50 percent, Andelman says. And short showers help, since each doubling in shower time quadruples the dose from accumulating gases. Finally, to limit the spread of released gases into the rest of the home, he suggests closing the bathroom door while bathing and exhausting the room air outdoors.”

Science News, Vol. 130 no. 12, pgs. 177-192, cited by CCAC in this report.