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Are you drinking poison? Toxic chemical found in America’s tap water is affecting millions of people
A new study has revealed that tap water used by 113 million Americans contains chlornitramide ions, a chemical byproduct of water disinfection with chloramine. Although its toxicity is unclear, its similarity to toxic compounds raises health concerns. Researchers stress the need for further studies to evaluate its potential threats to public health.
Are you drinking poison? Toxic chemicals found in our tap water are affecting millions of people (Image credit: iStock)
A recent study examining the drinking habits of one-third of US residents has detected a newly identified chemical, chlornitramide ion, in tap water. This chemical, a byproduct of water treatment, can potentially pose a health risk, although its toxicity remains uncertain.
What is Chloronitramide Ion?
Chloronitramide ions are formed during the water disinfection process when chloramine – a compound made by mixing chlorine and ammonia – is used to treat public water supplies. Chloramine is widely used to eliminate bacteria and viruses in municipal water systems. However, as it decays over time, it produces byproducts such as chloronitramide ions.
While the presence of this byproduct was first detected 40 years ago, the exact identity of the chemical was only recently confirmed due to advances in techniques.
Potential toxicity of chemicals
Scientists are currently unsure whether the chloronitramide ion is toxic or not. However, its structural similarity with other harmful molecules raises alarm bells. “It has a lot of similarity to other toxic molecules,” said David Wahman, a research environmental engineer at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and one of the study’s authors. “We looked for it in 40 samples from 10 US chlorinated drinking water systems in seven states and found it in all samples.”
How widespread is the issue?
The study showed that chlornitramide ion is present in every water system treated with chloramine. Given that approximately 113 million Americans rely on chloramine-treated tap water, this chemical could potentially affect a significant portion of the population.
Chloramine has been used in water disinfection for nearly a century, and the resulting byproducts, including chlornitramide ion, are a natural result of the treatment process.
Julian Fairey, lead author of the study and associate professor at the University of Arkansas, emphasized that although the identification of the chlornitramide ion is an important step, more work is needed to assess its health effects. “We don’t know the toxicity, but this study has enabled us to do that work now. Now, we can do the hard work of finding out what its toxicological relevance is in our water systems,” he explained.
Fairey also said that prior research has linked disinfected drinking water to some cancers, including bladder and colorectal cancer. Consuming water containing harmful chemicals can irritate the gastrointestinal tract, potentially causing symptoms such as nausea, vomiting or diarrhea if exposure levels are high.
Toxic chemicals can disrupt cellular function, potentially damaging organs such as the liver and kidneys, which filter and process foreign substances.
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