7gen Bloc

I have spent much of my life battling the dangers of chlorine and the household form of that chemical element, sodium hypochlorite. So it was with great interest that I sat in on a talk by Bill Morrissey, Clorox's vice president of sustainability, at the recent "Sustainable Brands" conference in Monterey, California.

I was more than a little taken aback when Morrissey told the audience of 600 people that the environmental community has misunderstood the wonders and safety of chlorine. His description would lead one to believe that chlorine is one of the worlds most benign chemicals. I know that isn't so, but no one stood up to challenge him.

After the conference, I checked my email and came across an article in the U.K.'s Daily Mail. The headline reads, "Chlorine doubles the rate of birth defects." The article goes on to report, "Pregnant women living in areas where tap water is heavily disinfected with chlorine nearly double their risk of having children with heart problems, a cleft palate, or major brain defects, a new study has found. "Scientists say expectant mothers can expose themselves to the higher risk by drinking the water, taking a bath or shower, or even by standing close to a boiling kettle. The danger comes from chemical by-products in chlorinated water known as trihalomethanes, or THMs, which can be absorbed through the skin. They can then pass into the womb. "Earlier studies linked chlorinated water to an increased risk of
stillbirth, miscarriage, birth defects and bladder cancer. But this is the first time that the risk has been narrowed down to specific birth defects."

Last week, the journal Environmental Health published the full study.

photo: Fredrik Thommesen