Drinking water salt water at a common level in the US and the European Union probably increases the risk of some cancers, new analysis of recent studies around the world has discovered.
The process of disinfecting water with chlorine produces trihalomethane (THM) by-products found in almost all public water systems in the US and the EU. Almost 300 million people in the US are concerned about water levels.
The chlorination process is a “cheap, effective and readily available” method for killing organisms, but it involves trade-offs, and the study authors say that the risk of bladder cancer increased by 33%, 15 The study authors have written, including an increased risk of %. Colorectal cancer.
“What we’re looking at is amazing and we need a higher quality research,” said Emily Herte, lead author of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.
The water disinfecting process significantly reduced microbial infectious diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever and waterborne diseases, which meant that the US began chlorinating the base zone of drinking water in the early 1900s. It is an essential public health measure that dramatically increases your lifespan.
It wasn’t until the 1970s that researchers discovered that the process had results. When chlorine is added to water, it reacts with organic compounds, such as rotting plant materials, optionally producing potentially toxic byproducts.
Some of the most common – chloroform, bromoform, bromodichloromethane, and chlorodibramomethane are known to be genotoxic and carcinogenic to rats.
The US and EU have set limits for 80 copies (PPB) and 100ppb byproducts of 1 billion (PPB) and 100ppb respectively, but a new study shows an increased cancer risk at a low level of 40ppb . . EPA reporting levels are typically in the range of 40-60ppb, with the nonprofit environmental working group in public health advocacy estimates the safety level at 0.15ppb.
The new meta-study examines data from around 30 studies and 90,000 participants, and is one of the most emphatic evidence as it finds that men are at higher risk than women. The authors only looked at bladder and colorectal impacts due to a lack of other cancer studies. Researchers don’t know why chemicals appear to target the large intestine and bladder most frequently, Herte said.
This issue creates difficult tensions for regulators. Surface water usually has a higher THM level than groundwater. This is because disinfectants contain a lot of organisms and organic matter to react to. Water businesses may clean some of the organic matter from the water before disinfecting, and it is also potentially possible to reduce the amount of chlorine added, but “it’s really not too low that disinfectant is. It’s important,” Herte said.
It could also be an alternative, such as treating water with UV rays or installing new filtration systems, but it’s expensive, Herte said.
She emphasized that people should continue drinking city water. Granulated activated carbon is one of the best filtration systems you can use at home to remove contaminants.
