1. IF ALL THE WATER ON EARTH
WAS PUT IN A SPHERE

4. A highly toxic
and unnecessary
treatment alternative
CH
NIA
LO
MO
RI
AM
NE

5. Chlorine
Most effective disinfectant for drinking water
Effectively kills e-coli, rotaviruses and polio 1
 Successfully used nation-wide over 100
years
 Dissipates quickly – protecting environment
and minimally affecting people
So,

6. Organic Material + Chlorine = Disinfection
in Raw Water Byproducts
(DBP)
DBPs of Chlorine
Trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Haloacetic Acids (HAA)

8. STAGE 1
Average across all testing locations
must be in compliance
40 50 60 180 130 50 60 30
20 40 30 140 90 30 20 50
AVERAGE
75 ppb TTMs - compliance
52 ppb HAAs - compliance

9. STAGE 1
Average across all testing locations
40 50 60 180 130 50 60 30
20 40 30 140 90 30 20 50
This method allowed people in some testing locations to
Be exposed to unacceptable levels of byproducts

10. STAGE 2
Average in each location over 4 quarters
Same levels – different calculation
30 40
1st
20 80
2nd
130 150
3rd
4th 50 90
THMs 57.5 90
compliance non-compliance

11. Need to reduce TTHMs and HAAs
Options offered by EPA:
Better filtration of organics before disinfection
UV Light
Chlorine Dioxide
Chloramine
Cheapest alternative = chloramine

12. CHLORAMINE
ADVANTAGES:
Ammonia binds to chlorine
– maintains residual in longer lines – no booster
needed
- reduces reactivity to organic material
- thereby reducing formation of TTHMs and HAAs
Chloramine is cheap
- HOWEVER………

13. CHLORAMINE
DISADVANTAGES:
Adverse SHORT TERM health effects
Adverse LONG TERM health effects
LEAST EFFECTIVE BIOCIDE
Fatal to aquatic life and watersheds
Corrodes pipes and fixtures/leaches lead
Homeland Security risk
Can’t be filtered out
Does not dissipate

14. HEALTH
EFFECTS

15. SHORT TERM HEALTH EFFECTS
Thousands of people in
over 30 states reporting:
Persistent skin rashes - burns
 In Westmoreland, PA
Pennsylvania
Exposed to chloraminated Not exposed to
water for 3 minutes chloramine

16.  In Vermont
In Colorado

17. Respiratory -
Asthma like symptoms
Mono-Chloramine speciates into
di-, tri-Chloramine with change in
temperature and pH
Tri-chloramine – known respiratory irritant
In study intended to measure dermal affect – 100% of
test mice died from inhaling tri-chloramine vapor
Digestive ailments –
Reflux
Colitis
Painful stomach

18. LONG TERM HEALTH EFFECTS
Organic Material + Chloramine = Nitrogen
in Raw Water Disinfection
Byproducts
(NDBP)
DBPs of Chloramine
N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA)
Hydrazine (rocket fuel)
DXAA
Iodoacetic Acid

19. LONG TERM HEALTH EFFECTS:
Creates a new, more toxic family of byproducts
NDMA HYDRAZINE DXAA IODOACETIC ACID
* Up to 100,000 times MORE TOXIC than TTHM/HAA
* More toxic at smaller doses
* Genotoxic, Cytotoxic and Mutagenic
* Cannot be filtered out
* Absorbed through skin in shower, bath, pool
* NDMA and Hydrazine = ‘probable’ human
carcinogens
* Formed in distribution system

20. Chlorine Chloramine
Mammalian Cell Cytotoxicity if Genotoxicity of Disinfection By-Products
Drs. Michael Plewa & Elizabeth D. Wagner (2009)
Water Research Foundation

21. Chloramine Byproducts Comparative Toxicity

22. Iodo Acids – Byproduct of Chloramine

23. Common household products can react with
Chloramine to form NDMAs
Commonly used shampoos,
conditioners and soaps
contain ingredients that can
react with chloramine to
form NDMAs
Suave shampoo and Dawn
dish detergent positively
identified as forming NDMAs
in chloraminated water

24. INEFFECTIVE BIOCIDE
Chloramine is the LEAST effective biocide of all
the available treatments
* 2,000 times less effective in killing e-coli,
rotaviruses and polio 1 than Chlorine.
* World Health Organization warns not to
sacrifice bio-cidal effect because of
possible byproduct issues

25. FISH KILLS
Documented Fish Kills
in Virginia, California and British Columbia
* Feb 2013-SanMateo- “the creek looks sterile”
* McLean in NOVA ---9 miles of stream killed -
“everything down to the earthworms”
* Henrico Co Fish Kill in Feb 2012
* Protected Steel Head Trout
* 1000 species of salmonids and
invertebrates

26. CORROSIVE –
LEACHES LEAD AND PITS COPPER
Washington D.C. – 4 years – EPA and CDC
ignored evidence of high levels of lead in the
water after chloramine started – law suits by
parents are pending – 1000’s of children exposed
for 4 years - no amount of lead is safe for
children.
In NY, high lead levels even with corrosion
inhibitor
California – Developer suing water authority for
pitted copper pipes throughout new

27. HIGH LEAD – WEST VIEW WATER
July to September 2010
* 19 out of 98 homes elevated lead levels
* levels of up to 130 ppb,
more than 8 times the maximum allowed
by EPA
* problem began when authority began using
chloramine

28. Excessive lead found in tap water after
chloramine was implemented
West View, PA-
* 19 out of 98 homes elevated lead levels
* levels of up to 130 ppb
* > 8X the EPA maximum
Greenville, NC
 Duke study
Chapel Hill, NC
 Lead-free brass fittings
Poughkeepsie, NY
 Could not control lead leaching
despite pH changes and
corrosion inhibitors
 Reverted back to chlorine

29. Chloramine pits copper pipe
California – Developer
suing water authority for
pitted copper pipes
throughout new
development.
Seeking more than $20
million in damages,
citing product liability,
negligence, private
nuisance and breach of
warranty

30. Representative failures from buildings
after a utility switched to chloramine –
from Marc Edwards 2003
Rubber and elastomer – life span in chlorine = 5-6 YEARS
in chloramine = 5-6 MONTHS

31. Chloraminated Tap Water

32. HOMELAND SECURITY
Chloramine - chlorine + ammonia is more stable, less
reactive
- Intentional contamination of our water –
Chlorine will attack – levels will drop –
alarms will go off
Chloramine will not readily react –
levels will NOT drop and NO alarms
will go off
 US Army Corps of Engineers Construction Engineering Research Lab,
 Champaign, Il. 61826

33. FILTRATION
Home v. Water treatment facility
Point of Use and Whole House Filters
 * only reduces the mono-chloramine
 * does not affect di- and tri- chloramine
 * does not reduce or eliminate toxic byproducts
 * does not protect you at school, work, vacation, family
homes, hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, etc
 * expensive + continuing expense – paying for protection
from water we are paying to receive
Water treatment facility filtration
* Can reduce TTHMs and HAAs and not use chloramine if
implement more effective pre-disinfection filtration

34. GAC is an EPA
BEST AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY
for the following contaminants
• Disinfection Byproducts (DBPs)
• Mercury and Cadmium
• Natural Organic Matter
• Synthetic Organic Chemicals (specifically:
benzo(a)pyrene, di(2-ethylhexyl)adipate, di(2-
ethylhexyl)phthalate, hexachlorobenzene,
dioxin)
• Radionuclides

35. OTHER ISSUES
Compelling anecdotal evidence - not scientifically
confirmed:
Chloramine may also effect –
* rising autism
*reduced bee population
*birds
*cats
*plant growth
*beer production
*bread production

36. ADVANTAGES: DISADVANTAGES:
1. maintains residual 1. Short term health effects
2. reduces TTHMs and 2. Long term health effects
HAAs 3. Ineffective biocide
3. it’s cheap 4. Fish kills and watersheds
5. Lead leaching-pipe pitting
6. watershed contamination
7. Homeland Security risk
8. can’t be filtered out
9. doesn’t dissipate or boil out
10. may be obsolete in near future
11. wastes water
12. Long term – expensive consequences