Kinetics of Cl02 and effects of Cl02, Cl02-, and Cl03- in drinking water on blood glutathione and hemolysis in rat and chicken.

Since chlorination of drinking water produces organochlorinated substances (some possibly carcinogenic), the use of chlorine dioxide disinfectant would avoid halogenation. There is scarcely any data published on the effects of ClO2 in drinking water on human or animal health. The kinetics of 36ClO2 was studied in rats. Radioactivity was rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract following the administration of (0.07 microCi) 36ClO2 orally. 36Cl in plasma reached at peak at 1 hr. The half life for the elimination of 36Cl from the rat was 44 hr, corresponding to a rate constant of 0.016 hr-1. After 72 hr radioactivity was highest in plasma, followed by kidney, lung, stomach, duodenum, ileum, liver, spleen, thymus, and bone marrow. 36Cl excretion was greatest at 24 and 48 hrs after the administration of 36 ClO2. Forty-three percent of the total initial dose was excreted at 72 hr in the urine and feces. No 36 Cl was detected in expired air throughout the 72 hr studied. ClO2, ClO2-, and ClO3- (1, 10, 100, 1000 ppm) given daily in drinking water decreased blood glutathione, decreased osmotic fragility, and changed the morphology of erythrocytes in both chicken and rat after two months. Methemoglobin was not detected throughout these studies.