What are disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in drinking water?

Every day, swarms of waterborne bacteria enter our drinking water systems – E. coli, brain-eating amoeba, the whole shebang. Therefore, EPA requires all public water utilities to take steps to ensure only clean, bacteria-free drinking water reaches our homes. But in most cases, these measures include adding chlorine to the water.

Certainly, chlorine does a remarkable job of preventing microbial contamination in water and protecting humans from potentially deadly diseases and illnesses. But despite its extraordinary ability to disinfect water, chlorine (and other chemical disinfectants) can create hundreds of potentially dangerous compounds in water called disinfection byproducts (DBPs).

What are disinfection byproducts?

If your water comes from a municipality, it has most likely been treated with chlorine before it reaches your home. Unfortunately, chlorine (a disinfectant chemical) can interact with other compounds in water to form disinfection byproducts (DBPs).

DBPs are chemicals and inorganic organic compounds that form when disinfection products (in this case chlorine) react with natural organic matter (NOM) in water.

Factors that influence the amount and concentration of DBP formed include:

• Amount of chlorine used
  
• Organic matter content in water
  
• Contact time between organic substances and chlorine
  
• Acidity of water
  
• Water temperature

Typically, the higher the value of these factors, the more DBPs are formed and the higher their concentration.

How people are exposed to DBP?

There are three main ways DBP can enter your body:

1. By inhalation: If your water supply contains DBP, some chemicals may be released into the air inside your home when you use tap water – when you take a bath or shower, pour tap water into a glass drink your water or do the dishes or laundry. Typically, the hotter the water, the more likely DBP is to be released into the air. DBP can also become airborne when you boil tap water, such as when making tea or soup.
2. Through skin exposure: You can also be exposed to DBP when your skin comes into contact with affected water, such as bathing, showering, or swimming in a pool that contains harmful byproducts. Although only small amounts of DBPs enter the body through the skin for most people, much higher levels can enter your body as the length of exposure to water contaminated with DBPs increases. This can happen if you take long baths or showers or frequently swim in public swimming pools.
3. Through the Gastrointestinal Tract: The main source of exposure to DBP is the gastrointestinal tract (i.e. drinking water and ingesting it in food). Some DBPs may be present in unfiltered tap water used for drinking. Some people claim they can taste a difference in the presence of these byproducts, but many continue to drink contaminated water.

How DBP gets into drinking water?

The formation of DBPs is often a greater concern for water systems that use surface water sources, such as rivers, lakes, and streams. Surface water sources are more likely to contain organic materials that combine with chlorine to form DBP.

Since approximately 70 % of fresh water used in the United States comes from surface water sources, millions of Americans are at risk of exposure to DBP – at least those who do not have adequate home water filtration systems to remove Dispose of disinfectant and its byproducts.

But how does DBP form in water in the first place, let alone get into tap water? The process is quite simple:

1. NOM, such as rotting leaves and decomposing plants and animals, washes from surrounding soil and rocks into rivers and reservoirs used as water supplies.
2. Water treatment plants filter water from these sources to prepare it for disinfection, but not all of the NOM is filtered out.
3. Municipalities add chlorine to water to kill microbes, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc.
4. Chlorine reacts with residual NOM to produce DBP.
5. DBP enters the public distribution system, travels along the water pipes into your home, and contaminates your water supply.

DBPs can also form in chlorinated well water systems. The risk can be significantly higher with well water because private wells are not regulated and, therefore, are not required to filter to remove NOM (or any other contaminant).

Additionally, some DBPs are used in industrial applications or wastewater treatment processes and may be present in groundwater or surface water from these sources. Because wells – especially those built near rivers, streams or drainage ditches – are more susceptible to flooding, higher levels of organic matter can leach into the well system.

Without a reliable home treatment system to reduce DBPs concentrations in water, more NOM and chlorine can cause chlorine reactions to be more vigorous and efficient, creating more byproducts.

DBP prevalence in tap water and their potential health risks

Depending on the substances in the water, reactions can produce a variety of byproducts. Although experts have identified more than 600 disinfection byproducts, the most common DBPs found are trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids, bromates, chlorites and chlorates. We describe it in more detail below.

1. Trihalomethanes (THMs)

Trihalomethanes (THMs) are byproducts of water chlorination that naturally contain dissolved organic matter. The four trihalomethanes commonly found in chlorinated drinking water are:

• Trichloromethane (chloroform)
• Bromodichloromethane (BDCM)
• Dibromochloromethane (DBCM)
• Tribromomethane (bromoform)

THM is one of the most dangerous DBPs created by chlorine in water. Research shows that drinking water with THMs or inhaling them can lead to serious health complications, such as stillbirth, birth defects, increased risk of kidney and liver cancer, and other health problems. on the central nervous system, heart, kidneys and liver.

Inhaling THM and chlorine can be more dangerous than consuming them because both chemicals turn into vapor at lower temperatures than water. That means bathing in chlorinated water can increase your exposure to these toxic chemicals.

Other scientific literature reports an association between DBPs and birth defects, fetal growth retardation, and adverse developmental or reproductive effects in humans. Some studies show a link between high levels of trihalomethanes in drinking water and early miscarriage.

2. Haloacetic acid (HAA)

Like trihalomethanes, haloacetic acid (HAA) is a disinfection byproduct. The five most common haloacetic acids found in water are:

• Monobromoacetic acid
  
• Dibromoacetic acid
  
• Monochloroacetic acid
  
• Dichloroacetic acid
  
• Trichloroacetic acid

These compounds will also form when wastewater sources, such as wastewater, are disinfected.

Haloacetic acid in water is very dangerous. Their most prominent health effect is an increased risk of cancer. The EPA reports that long-term exposure to haloacetic acids in water makes people susceptible to cancer.

However, other studies show that exposure to HAA in water – while showing an increase in the development of liver tumors and liver cancer – has so far only occurred in animals. Even so, it is still possible that HAAs cause cancer in humans, so do your best to avoid excessive amounts of haloacetic acid in drinking water.

Studies also link HAA exposure to an increased risk of birth defects. Although there are no extensive studies showing that humans are affected, studies in rats have demonstrated poor fetal development and a higher incidence of heart and kidney defects as the rats’ pregnancies continue. exposed to high doses of HAA.

Another possible health effect of haloacetic acid in water is severe irritation to the skin and eyes. Both short-term and long-term exposure to high levels of HAAs can cause inflammation, skin loss, and damage to the structural protein collagen in the skin’s connective tissues. In some cases, skin damage can last from 2 to 15 weeks.

3. Bromate

Bromates are created when naturally occurring bromides react with various disinfectants in source water. For example, when ozone (another disinfectant) reacts with bromide ions, bromate forms in the water. They can also develop as a byproduct of bromate hypochlorite oxidized by sunlight, such as in swimming pools, tanks, or uncovered drinking water reservoirs.

The New York State Department of Health found that adults who consumed about 2 liters of bromate-contaminated water daily increased their risk of cancer by only 2 in 10,000. However, it also warns that women of childbearing age and children may suffer increased rates of cancer from long-term exposure to bromates in drinking water.

Ingestion of large amounts of bromate may cause adverse health effects similar to those that disinfectants added to public water supplies are intended to reduce, such as vomiting, diarrhea, upset stomach, nausea, and vomiting. vomiting, kidney problems, nervous system problems, and hearing loss. There is some concern that people with pre-existing kidney disease may be more susceptible to bromate side effects.

4. Chlorite and Chlorate

These DBPs form when chlorine dioxide is used to disinfect and control the odor or taste of drinking water. Chlorine dioxide is also commonly used to remove iron, manganese and color from water.

When people ingest chlorite and chlorine dioxide, even in relatively low doses, they increase their risk of respiratory problems, reduce the blood’s ability to carry oxygen, and inhibit human growth in children. newborn or fetus and digestive system irritation.

So why don’t cities use disinfection methods that don’t create these byproducts?

Chlorine and other chemical disinfection products are relatively cheap, effective, and widely available, so cities prioritize their use. But all of these chemical disinfectants share one characteristic: they produce byproducts – and as you read above, exposure to these compounds can be dangerous. So why don’t water treatment facilities switch to methods that don’t create byproducts? Great question, but it’s not simple.

Some utilities have adopted non-chemical disinfection methods, such as ultraviolet light and reverse osmosis (RO). However, these methods are often expensive to implement and maintain on a wider scale.

They also do not solve the problem of disinfecting water after it leaves the plant, because bacteria can still enter public water lines through leaks, broken water pipes, etc. and recontamination the water before it reaches your home.

Utilities with UV and RO systems may add small amounts of disinfectant to the water as a final treatment step before distribution. However, the problem of by-products may still remain – perhaps not as much as using full chlorination, but the danger will likely still exist.

How are DBPs regulated in drinking water?

EPA’s Phase 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts (DBPR) Rule outlines the Maximum Contaminant Level Targets (MCLG) in milligrams per liter (mg/L) and Contaminant Levels Maximum (MCL) in (mg/L) for various DBPs found in tap water.

The table below shows the list of DBPs discussed in this article and their associated MCLGs and MCLs.

Disinfection by-products	MCLG (mg/L)	MCL (mg/L)
Trihalomethanes– Bromodichloromethane – Bromine form – Dibromochloromethane – Chloroform	zero zero 0,06 0,07	0,08
Haloacetic acid – Dichloroacetic acid –Trichloroacetic acid – Monochloroacetic acid	zero 0,02 0,07	0,06
Bromate	zero	0,010
Chlorite	0,8	1.0

Does your drinking water contain DBP?

If your drinking water is treated with chlorine, chlorine dioxide, fluorine or bromine, your water most likely contains HAAs, THMs, bromates, chlorites or chlorates. It’s even more likely if your water source is surface water. However, there are a few methods you can use to be sure whether or not your water is contaminated with DBP:

1. Enter your zip code into the EWG Tap Water Database to determine what toxins may be lurking in your tap water.
2. Contact your water utility or state public health agency and ask for their most recent water quality report. Many DBPs are routinely monitored in all water systems that use chemical disinfectants, and regulated water utilities are required by law to provide the composition of your water. You can find your water system’s DBP monitoring results in the report mentioned above.
3. Ordering a water testing kit requires you to prepare a water sample at home and send it to a certified laboratory. By using a laboratory, you can ensure that a certified water professional will analyze your water sample and provide the most accurate results possible.

If any of these methods indicate that your water contains DBP (use the chart above to compare them with EPA recommendations), keep reading to determine the best treatment method.

How does Song Phung protect you from potentially harmful DBPs in drinking water?

Reducing DBP in water requires a method that can effectively protect against bacterial contamination while minimizing health risks from DBP exposure. Chlorine and other water disinfectants are valuable in treating microbial contaminants in water at the municipal level. But as we become more aware of DBPs and their potentially serious health effects, we must weigh the risks and dangers of DBPs against the benefits of chemical disinfection.

Based on the danger of chlorine and DBP in drinking water, we recommend an additional safety measure, such as installing a professional-grade water filtration system at home. Whole-house water filters combine activated carbon filtration, mechanical filtration and other features and technologies to filter up to 99.6 percent of common water contaminants.

Our whole-house activated carbon systems also remove other common water contaminants, such as lead, copper, mercury, PFAS, pesticides, herbicides, sediments, pharmaceuticals, etc. And what was the result?

• Cleaner water tastes and smells great
  Healthier, more flavorful foods and drinks
  Softer skin and healthier hair
  Added protection against potentially dangerous bacteria in water (with our powerful UV Water Purification System add-on)
  Better overall health and wellbeing

If you are interested in a high-quality and affordable water filtration system, call Song Phung immediately via the hotline 0913.90.72.74 – 0984.620.494 to get a product quote, or order quickly online https://thietbinganhnuoc.com/san-pham

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