Chloramines
Everyone knows it’s dangerous to ingest lead. But what do we know about the dangers of ingesting chloramines, a substance increasingly found in drinking water throughout the US?
First of all, what is chloramine? Chloramine is the chemical compound of chlorine and ammonia. (Fun fact: the most common use of ammonia is in Fertilizer)
- Public water utilities use chloramine in their facilities as a cheap and convenient disinfectant in order to meet EPA requirements, even though its use may have very dangerous and unintended consequences.
What’s so bad about chloramine? Here’s a start:
- It is highly corrosive to metal – if it’s a bad idea for your home’s plumbing, it’s a worse idea for your body’s plumbing!
- The EPA admits there are few studies on how chloramine affects human health. And if the EPA doesn’t know, you don’t either.
- Chloramines are more stable than chlorine – and therefore more difficult to remove.