Environ Health Perspect. 1978 Jun;24:209-39. doi: 10.1289/ehp.7824209.
The disinfection of drinking water by chlorination has in recent years come under closer scrutiny because of the potential hazards associated with the production of stable chlorinated organic chemicals. Organic chemical contaminants are common to all water supplies and it is now well-established that chlorinated by-products are obtained under conditions of disinfection, or during tertiary treatment of sewage whose products can ultimately find their way into drinking water supplies. Naturally occurring humic substances which are invariably present in drinking waters are probably the source of chloroform and other halogenated methanes, and chloroform has shown up in every water supply investigated thus far.The Environmental Protection Agency is charged with the responsibility of assessing the public health effects resulting from the consumption of contaminated drinking water. It has specifically undertaken the task of determining whether organic contaminants or their chlorinated derivatives have a special impact, and if so, what alternatives there are to protect the consumer against bacterial and viral diseases that are transmitted through infected drinking waters. The impetus to look at these chemicals is not entirely without some prima facie evidence of potential trouble. Epidemiological studies suggested a higher incidence of cancer along the lower Mississippi River where the contamination from organic chemicals is particularly high. The conclusions from these studies have, to be sure, not gone unchallenged.The task of assessing the effects of chemicals in the drinking water is a difficult one. It includes many variables, including differences in water supplies and the temporal relationship between contamination and consumption of the finished product. It must also take into account the relative importance of the effects from these chemicals in comparison to those from occupational exposure, ingestion of contaminated foods, inhalation of polluted air, and many others. The susceptibility of different age, genetic, and ethnic groups within the population must also be carefully considered. The present review discusses: the reasons for disinfection; the general occurrence of chlorinated organics in drinking water; the chemistry in the synthesis of chlorinated organics under aqueous conditions; and alternatives to chlorine for disinfection.
饮用水氯化消毒近年来受到了更严格的审查，因为与稳定的氯化有机化学品的产生相关的潜在危害。有机化学污染物是所有供水系统的共同特征，现在已经确定，在消毒条件下或在污水的三级处理过程中会产生氯化副产物，而这些产物最终可能会进入饮用水供应系统。天然存在的腐殖质总是存在于饮用水中，可能是氯仿和其他卤代甲烷的来源，迄今为止，在每一个调查的供水系统中都发现了氯仿。环境保护局负责评估因饮用受污染的饮用水而对公众健康造成的影响。它专门承担了确定有机污染物或其氯化衍生物是否具有特殊影响的任务，如果有，有哪些替代方案可以保护消费者免受通过受感染的饮用水传播的细菌和病毒疾病的侵害。关注这些化学物质的动力并非完全没有潜在问题的初步证据。流行病学研究表明，密西西比河下游癌症发病率较高，那里的有机化学物质污染特别严重。当然，这些研究的结论并非没有受到质疑。评估饮用水中化学物质影响的任务是一项艰巨的任务。它包括许多变量，包括供水中的差异以及污染和成品消费之间的时间关系。它还必须考虑到这些化学物质的影响与职业暴露、受污染食物摄入、污染空气吸入等其他因素的影响相比的相对重要性。人口中不同年龄、遗传和种族群体的易感性也必须仔细考虑。本综述讨论了：消毒的原因；氯化有机物在饮用水中的普遍存在；在水相条件下合成氯化有机物的化学；以及氯的替代消毒方法。
