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Chemical levels in indoor UK swimming pools cause for concern

April 02, 2002

Levels of the by-products of chlorination are relatively high in indoor UK swimming pools, finds research in Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Some research has suggested that these by-products may be harmful to the developing foetus and may cause miscarriage.

When chlorine is added to water it reacts with organic matter, such as skin cells and body care products, to form disinfection by-products or DBPs. The most common of these are trihalomethanes (THMs), volatile compounds that can vaporise from water into the atmosphere.

Researchers took 44 water samples from eight indoor swimming pools in London and compared them with tap water. The samples were taken at different times over three weeks during the summer of 2000.

Total organic matter was three times higher in swimming pool water than tap water, and chloroform, the most commonly occurring trihalomethane, was more than 20 times higher. Chloroform has been classed as a potential cancer causing agent.

Higher THM levels were associated with higher water temperature and higher numbers of people in the pool. THM levels varied from day to day, according to the numbers of swimmers, but they were higher, overall, than the levels reported by other European studies.

The researchers did not measure uptake of THMs, but they say that previous research has indicated that a one hour swim would provide a chloroform dose around 141 times higher than a 10 minute shower. And they suggest that there are several routes of entry for swimmers - through the skin, swallowing water, and breathing it in off the surface of the water as it evaporates.

They conclude that pregnant women, who go swimming often, may be at risk, and they suggest that as a precautionary measure, THM levels should be reduced without compromising the mircrobial cleanliness and safety of swimming pool water.

British Medical Journal (BMJ)

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