Chemical found in drinking water causes more than 1,300 cases of bladder cancer a year.

So, this is pretty worrying. How concerned should we be?

A chemical found in drinking water causes more than 1,300 cases of bladder cancer in the UK a year, a study has found. The chemical, known as trihalomethanes (THMs) is a byproduct of a disinfectant in water, was known to be a cause of the disease. Now, researchers have quantified its effect, finding it to be responsible for 1,356 diagnoses a year, or 9.2 per cent of all cases of bladder cancer in the UK. Across Europe, it causes 6,500 cases, just under 5 per cent of the total for the continent.

www.msn.com...

The article goes on to state that...

The average level of THMs in drinking water in all countries was well below the maximum possible limit in the EU - but the maximum reported concentrations did exceed the limit in nine countries, including the UK. It also exceeded the limit in Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.

My question is this, does boiling the water beforehand make the water safe to drink and what about bottled water? does it go through a similar disinfectant process?

It's a problem caused by chlorination. It has been known for years that this chemical forms to some extent in chlorinated water. There are also other bad chemistries in chlorinated water, this chemistry is a known problem and when you take the negatives and add them up it makes things worse. Our local water has been highly chlorinated for a while now, lots of people are buying bottled water. With the high price of water in the cities now, you cannot even drink the water anymore.

I think the flouride chemicals are adding to the mix and making things even worse, they need to start combining things instead of separating the chemicals effects in studies. Chlorine and fluorine are both very powerful chemicals when added to water, doing similar things to water and microbes. Test the water with both chemistries added.

At least Chlorine is something that is needed to stop contamination of water, fluoride is just for your teeth they say,,,,bullcrap.

Use this..

www.amazon.com...

Brita Complete On Tap Faucet Water Filtration System filters out odors and impurities for healthier, great tasting water in a sleek white finish. Brita is the world's #1 brand of water filtration. This complete faucet mount removes 99% of lead and reduces chlorine (taste and odor) and asbestos contaminants* commonly found in tap water It features an extra layer to trap sediments and smaller contaminates. One Brita water filter can provide up to 100 gallons of filtered tap water, replacing over 750 standard 16.9 oz. plastic water bottles, which cuts down on waste and saves money. This certified Brita water filter system attaches directly to standard faucets in five easy steps and includes a built-in filter indicator to signal the need for replacement after approximately 100 gallons or 4 months, whichever comes first. This model does not fit pull-out or spray style faucets. Get better taste on tap with the Brita White On Tap Faucet Water Filter System.

Years ago we put a swimming pool in. Filled it up and took a sample to the local pool store before adding any chemicals. They said it was several times too much chlorine to swim in and we should just let the pump circulate it for a week and try again.

In my area, there is much more chlorine from the water hose than you are allowed to swim in.

Have you considered what the death numbers would be without the chemicals. I am thinking at least 25% and more likely 50% per year. That is why everyone in colonial times in the USA drank beer. It was safer than drinking the water which was likely to kill you .

Boiling does help reduce the chlorine but leaving water in an open container for a day will also do that but lets in other contaminants. There are other chemicals that are much worse and boiling does nothing for them. Filtering helps,

Bottled water is mainly city water from where the bottling plant is.

Theres uranium in my city's water

www.ewg.org...

But dont worry it's safe as long as you ask the water company

www.reviewjournal.com...

All I can say is wana trade ?

a reply to: Skush

interesting that this thread was recently authored as well and circles the same type of discussion... Down The Sink Into The Water! What Do Morticians Do With the Blood They Take Out of Dead Bodies?

a reply to: Skush

Be very very careful what you wish for.

Yes, chlorine causing bladder cancer has been known for about 30 or 40 years.

But the alternative is far far far worse!!!

chlorine.americanchemistry.com...

Peru thought that they would use the excuse of bladder cancer to cease chlorinating the drinking water. A ship in the harbor released sewage. There was 5,000 who died within the first week of the contamination!

No bottled water is not generally chlorinated.

Tap water is drinking water and is subject to stringent regulation including the need to disinfect and carry a residual of chlorine throughout the pipes. The water is subject to about 320 lab tests per month.

Bottled water need not be chlorinated as it is not subject to drinking water regulation. It carries no chlorine residual and is only tested for a restricted list of parameters and not as often

Walkerton in Ontario Canada - children dead for lack of chlorine

en.wikipedia.org...

It is believed that the use of chlorine in drinking water extended the expected life span by about 25 years because of the children's lives that were save.


waterandhealth.org...

As for me? Logically I would rather have to treat bladder cancers sometime in my life than die of disease at age 5.

originally posted by: beyondknowledge
Years ago we put a swimming pool in. Filled it up and took a sample to the local pool store before adding any chemicals. They said it was several times too much chlorine to swim in and we should just let the pump circulate it for a week and try again.

In my area, there is much more chlorine from the water hose than you are allowed to swim in.

Have you considered what the death numbers would be without the chemicals. I am thinking at least 25% and more likely 50% per year. That is why everyone in colonial times in the USA drank beer. It was safer than drinking the water which was likely to kill you .

Boiling does help reduce the chlorine but leaving water in an open container for a day will also do that but lets in other contaminants. There are other chemicals that are much worse and boiling does nothing for them. Filtering helps,

Bottled water is mainly city water from where the bottling plant is.

LOL and you bath or shower in that!

how BAD is the water in the start?
and not just what they say?

THM's in drinking water are caused by the reaction between chlorine, Cl2, and any residual organic compounds that make it through the filtration process. If you ensure filters are washed at regular intervals and blankets withing clarification tanks are managed properly then the risk of THM's is mitigated.

a reply to: Skush

If water has a contaminating chemical in it, would boiling just concentrate the chemical? Boiling kills living things. I'm not so sure it helps with chemical contamination. I remember reading exactly that about some contaminate, but I can't remember what it was.

a reply to: drussell41

It would depend on the boiling point of the chemical. If it's lower than water no, if it's higher than water yes.

originally posted by: dug88
a reply to: drussell41

It would depend on the boiling point of the chemical. If it's lower than water no, if it's higher than water yes.

Thanks so much! Would you explain to me why? I have never had a chemistry class, high school or university, but this interests me.

I can't remember the last time I drank from a public water source .

originally posted by: Gargoyle91
I can't remember the last time I drank from a public water source .

Why. you drink bottled water only?

Guess where the vast majority of it comes from.

If you say "No, well water, fools!" Cool. Still requires a degree of filtration, and if you don't have filtration, I suggest you test it. I'd rather drink city water than untreated well water. There's some NASTY s# leeching in well water anymore.

There is a reason back in the day they drank beer and whiskey over water...

when able I try to follow that over drinking the hyper chlorinated junk that cities serve up as water.

originally posted by: Nyiah

originally posted by: Gargoyle91
I can't remember the last time I drank from a public water source .

Why. you drink bottled water only?

Guess where the vast majority of it comes from.

If you say "No, well water, fools!" Cool. Still requires a degree of filtration, and if you don't have filtration, I suggest you test it. I'd rather drink city water than untreated well water. There's some NASTY s# leeching in well water anymore.

Transplant patients aren't allowed to drink well water at all, which supports what you're saying.

originally posted by: drussell41

originally posted by: dug88
a reply to: drussell41

It would depend on the boiling point of the chemical. If it's lower than water no, if it's higher than water yes.

Thanks so much! Would you explain to me why? I have never had a chemistry class, high school or university, but this interests me.

Water boils off to a vapour, at sea level, at 100 degrees centigrade. If a chemical is more volatile it will boil off before the water reaches boiling point.

Chlorine is a good example as at ambient pressure and temperature its a gas and will dissipate over time in a water network. That's why if you store a jug of water in a fridge the chlorine will weaken.

a reply to: RexKramerPRT

Thanks, Rex.

I'm a sportsman and I've been fishing the great lakes for 35 years. I'm an environmentalist and I follow everything going on in our waterways. I could sit here and write an essay on the things I've read and witnessed. I've read about millions of gallons of cancer causing chemicals being dumped at a time into the great lakes. I'm talking chemicals so toxic that one exposure can cause cancer. They do it right up stream from the cities drinking water intake. These chemicals have shown up at our water treatment plant. There is no way to remove them from our drinking water. There are rivers that when you drive over them in the summer you can smell the raw crap. We get toxic algae blooms in the summer and you can see them from satellite photo's. The stuff will destroy your liver and kidneys. The beaches are closed here because of Ecoli. I can't remember the last time the beaches were open. I've seen similar stories in other parts of the country. HBO did a documentary about one community in Louisiana where every other house someone had cancer.