I have recently moved to an area in the UK that treats water with chloramine (to be specific - monochloramine).
This from wiki :
"Chloramines should be removed from water for dialysis, aquariums, hydroponic applications, and homebrewing beer. Chloramines can interfere with dialysis, can hurt aquatic animals, and can give homebrewed beer a medicinal taste by forming chlorophenols. In hydroponic applications, it will stunt the growth and fruit production of plants."
I know that this chemical was used in the US before the UK and is already causing trouble :
Alleged Pinhole Leaks in Copper Pipes May Be Caused By Corrosive Water - Opinion - Laguna Niguel - Dana Point, CA Patch
The following is a personal opinion from someone's blog :
Orange County California Real Estate, Laguna Beach: Chloramine Poison Water?
I have contacted my water authority (Severn Trent) because my water smells like bleach - not pleasant when you want to drink a glass and HIGHLY unpleasant when i want to bathe, especially in light of the toxic fume aspect.
The main reason water companies in the West now use this is to 'maximise their reservoir resources', in other words - cut costs, possibly at the expense of the consumer.
Water companies say it is safe because our digestive system breaks down the chloramine in the water before it enters our blood supply, BUT, in a bath, a toxic vapour is created, which goes straight into our lungs then our bloodstream.
It seems like you don't need much of the toxic gas to experience anything from a minor itch to death, bear in mind, this victim had a pre-existing condition which made her an easy victim :
Unexpected death due to chloramine toxicity... [Forensic Sci Int. 2001] - PubMed - NCBI
To de-chloraminise your water the fastest effective method seems to be to leave it in the sunlight. This is practical for feeding plants but unworkable to have a safe bath.
Obviously, thousands of people in the UK aren't dying from this but is there a build-up ? Also, AFAIK, UK water authorities don't have to monitor chloramine levels on the outflow of the reservoir, read this story of an FOIA request from a customer of my local water authority :
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/chloramine_pollution_and_aquatic
It's certainly something i need to find out more about, in the meantime i will have showers rather than baths and leave the plant water in the sun for a few hours.
steely
This from wiki :
"Chloramines should be removed from water for dialysis, aquariums, hydroponic applications, and homebrewing beer. Chloramines can interfere with dialysis, can hurt aquatic animals, and can give homebrewed beer a medicinal taste by forming chlorophenols. In hydroponic applications, it will stunt the growth and fruit production of plants."
I know that this chemical was used in the US before the UK and is already causing trouble :
Alleged Pinhole Leaks in Copper Pipes May Be Caused By Corrosive Water - Opinion - Laguna Niguel - Dana Point, CA Patch
The following is a personal opinion from someone's blog :
Orange County California Real Estate, Laguna Beach: Chloramine Poison Water?
I have contacted my water authority (Severn Trent) because my water smells like bleach - not pleasant when you want to drink a glass and HIGHLY unpleasant when i want to bathe, especially in light of the toxic fume aspect.
The main reason water companies in the West now use this is to 'maximise their reservoir resources', in other words - cut costs, possibly at the expense of the consumer.
Water companies say it is safe because our digestive system breaks down the chloramine in the water before it enters our blood supply, BUT, in a bath, a toxic vapour is created, which goes straight into our lungs then our bloodstream.
It seems like you don't need much of the toxic gas to experience anything from a minor itch to death, bear in mind, this victim had a pre-existing condition which made her an easy victim :
Unexpected death due to chloramine toxicity... [Forensic Sci Int. 2001] - PubMed - NCBI
To de-chloraminise your water the fastest effective method seems to be to leave it in the sunlight. This is practical for feeding plants but unworkable to have a safe bath.
Obviously, thousands of people in the UK aren't dying from this but is there a build-up ? Also, AFAIK, UK water authorities don't have to monitor chloramine levels on the outflow of the reservoir, read this story of an FOIA request from a customer of my local water authority :
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/chloramine_pollution_and_aquatic
It's certainly something i need to find out more about, in the meantime i will have showers rather than baths and leave the plant water in the sun for a few hours.
steely
