Dangers associated with chlorine

What is chlorine?

Chlorine is a very effective disinfectant used to kill bacteria in water. Like bromine or ozone, it recombines with bodily organic matter brought in by bathers (urine, saliva, feces, sweat, etc.) and forms harmful chemical contaminants (trihalomethanes, organochlorides, trichloramines, chloroform). Chloramides, among others, are particularly concentrated in the area ten centimeters above the water, just at the height of the nostrils and mouth of bathers.

In other words, organic matter such as sweat or urine combines with chlorine to produce gases that are dangerous to health.

What are the risks?

There are many symptoms that can be noticed after swimming in chlorinated water such as runny nose, red eyes, cough, asthma, joint pain, swelling, nausea, urinary problems, skin irritation (eczema), discomfort, etc.

Chlorine, when combined with bodily organic matter, produces by-products that are harmful to the respiratory system. Chlorine in its gas form is toxic and was first used by the Germans in World War I to incapacitate enemy soldiers during attacks.

In high concentrations, it can cause lifelong breathing difficulties such as asthma or bronchitis. These problems occur in those who regularly frequent the pool such as lifeguards and pool staff, regular swimmers. Young children are more sensitive to fumes, those who have frequented a chlorinated pool are 4 times more likely to have respiratory allergy problems. The frequency of asthma cases increases with the time spent in the pool, in the order of 1 to 2% per hour in the water. Some European government agencies also recommend caution and prevention in children under 2 years old. Caution is therefore advised if you suffer from or are predisposed to respiratory problems.

See the following article for more information: http://maisonsaine.ca/le-chlore-de-piscine-un-desinfectant-explosif/

The solutions

Concretely, you must limit the time spent in the chlorine-disinfected swimming pool and soap yourself in the shower, wear a swimming cap and rinse yourself well after swimming.

However, the ideal is to opt for an alternative water treatment system, i.e. without chlorine, such as copper-silver ionization.