History

Around 1900, Herbert Dow, the founder of Dow Chemical, split common salt to make commercially valuable sodium hydroxide. In the process, an unwanted byproduct was released: the highly toxic green gas, free chlorine. Mr. Dow, a chemistry teacher, soon began combining chlorine with other elements, thus creating "chlorine chemistry," which gave rise to solvents, pesticides and many other useful but toxic chlorinated compounds.

One characteristic of chlorinated chemicals is the strength of the bond created between chlorine and other elements. While this bond makes chlorine a valuable element for chemists when building new compounds, it is also one of the keys to understanding why chlorine is so dangerous. Once formed, chlorinated compounds are very persistent in the environment and difficult to break down. Today there are about 15,000 of them in commercial use.

Chlorinated hydrocarbons like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were used in electrical transformers in place of petroleum oils, which often were flammable. Perchloroethylene ("Perc") was used extensively as a degreaser for cleaning dirty automobile parts and dirty clothes ("dry" cleaning) and was not flammable like other similar solvents.

In 1939, DDT was introduced as an insecticide to kill the mosquitoes that caused malaria, thus stopping the spread of this insidious disease. When Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring, she accurately predicted the environmental devastation that DDT in particular, and the chlorinated hydrocarbons in general, would bring. In the 1970s, chlorinated hydrocarbons would be identified as suspected carcinogens and implicated at Love Canal and Times Beach, turning these communities into hazardous waste sites.

During the 1980s, a growing body of evidence suggested chlorinated hydrocarbons were harmful not only to fish and birds, but to mammals (including humans). Volatile organic halides, (VOXs), like chloroform and trichloroethane, were found to be carcinogenic in small animals. And, through the 1990s, evidence continued to accumulate that chlorinated hydrocarbons may disrupt human reproduction as they disrupted reproduction in birds and fish, and play a role in dramatic increases in breast and testicular cancer, the 50% decline in male sperm counts, and a host of other developmental disorders. (Read Our Stolen Future, listed in the Further Suggested Reading section, for more information.)

What is Chlorine?

Residing at number 17 on the Periodic Table of the Elements, chlorine is a toxic, yellow-green gas that's one of today's most heavily used chemical agents. Because it is highly reactive and is rarely found in its pure form, chlorine is manufactured by passing an electrical current through salt water or melted salt. The electricity splits the salt molecules apart and creates chlorine.

As consumers, we're most familiar with chlorine's role as a bleaching agent for paper, and as an ingredient in household cleaners. When immersed in a concentrated bath of chlorine, the natural colors of things like cotton fibers and wood pulp disappear, leaving behind a bright white surface on which any dye or ink can be applied. We see chlorine's ability to bleach out color firsthand in our washing machines, where we use it to remove stains and dirt in our laundry, and brighten whites.

Why is it Dangerous?

The widespread use of chlorine is causing far-flung and extremely serious risks to our health and the health of the environment. Unfortunately, this damage isn't easy to see at first glance.

Only researchers using special tools and methods can observe it. Because the harmful effects of chlorine are hidden from direct view, we haven't had any reason to stop and think about the possibility that using it could be dangerous.

After all, chlorine is so common it's sold in every supermarket in the country. True enough, but the evidence scientists have gathered seems to tell us that it shouldn't be. Far from being America's household helper, and industry's best chemical friend, chlorine is something we should stop using right now.

In fact, on October 27, 1993, the American Public Health Association unanimously passed a resolution urging American industry to stop using chlorine.The chlorine controversy covers two separate but related issues. There's the issue concerning the use of chlorine to bleach paper. And there's the issue that has to do with using chlorine in household cleaning products. Let's look at paper bleaching first.

Chlorine and Paper Bleaching

In spite of the digital revolution, paper remains one of the world’s most vital commodities. From newspapers to household tissues, it’s such an integral part of our everyday lives that most of us understandably don’t give much thought to the various kinds of paper we use or the differences between them. Yet important differences do exist, and in making these distinctions, we can have an immeasurably positive impact on the health of our world.

That’s because most paper is made from wood pulp that has been bleached with chlorine. This bleaching takes place for two reasons: to remove the last traces of a material called lignin from the raw pulp in order to make the paper stronger and to create a brilliant white writing surface. Chlorine is an ideal chemical for these tasks, but unfortunately its use in paper mills also results in a wide variety of toxic substances being released into the environment.

In a paper mill, an average of 110 to 176 lbs. of chlorine is used to bleach every ton of wood pulp. Of this amount, about 10% ends up combining itself with organic molecules naturally present in the wood to create a series of compounds known collectively as organochlorines, a family of chemicals that includes some of the most hazardous materials known. The typical paper mill discharges approximately 14 lbs. of this organochlorine pollution for every ton of pulp it bleaches, and as many as 1,000 different toxic compounds have been found in these discharges including both PCBs, and dioxin, an organochlorine that’s one of the most toxic and long-lasting materials ever created.1 (For more information on organochlorines click here.) In addition to mill pollution, the finished paper products themselves can be contaminated by trace amounts of these substances making them a less than ideal choice for safer homes and healthier families.

Fortunately, effective alternatives to the chlorine bleaching process are available. Some kinds of paper needn’t be bleached at all. For those papers that do require bleaching, treatment with hydrogen peroxide, a non-toxic substitute, is an ideal option. Although the chemistry involved is a bit more complicated, this kind of bleach essentially breaks down into oxygen and water and creates no harmful by-products when it comes into contact with wood pulp.

When choosing paper products for your family, select those that are either unbleached or non-chlorine bleached to keep dangerous toxins out of the environment and away from your home. In particular, stay away from papers like paper towels, coffee filters, napkins and other kitchen papers that are likely to come into contact with food.

For more information about chlorine and paper visit:

The Chlorine Free Products Association
chlorinefreeproducts.org

Reach for Unbleached
rfu.org

Environmental Research Foundation
rachel.org

Organochlorines and the Environment

Organochlorines are a large class of organic chemicals, or carbon-based substances, that contain one or more chlorine atoms. Some organochlorines, like dioxins, are unintentional by-products of industrial processes that use chlorine. But most are created on purpose. Some 11,000 different organochlorine compounds are currently manufactured around the world, and they can be found in everything from plastics and pesticides to refrigerants and solvents. So many organochlorines are used for so many purposes, in fact, that of the 40 million global tons of chlorine produced each year, 75% is used to make these chlorinated chemicals.2

When chlorine is combined with carbon-based molecules, the resulting materials display a wealth of useful traits. They are usually highly reactive, which means they easily combine with other molecules to create still more new compounds (a valuable characteristic to chemists who use many organochlorines as stepping stones to creating other materials). Organochlorines are also generally extremely stable which means they have a long, sturdy life. And they are easily able to dissolve in oils which makes them excellent candidates for industrial solvents, cleaners, and surface coatings.3

Yet as useful as organochlorines are, it’s also a fact that they are the single most hazardous classes of compounds ever created. Scientists have found that exposure to organochlorines can create a wide variety of health problems including cancer, hormonal disruption, reproductive and developmental disorders, neurological problems, immune system dysfunction, and other serious conditions. Complicating this problem is the fact that organochlorines can often cause these effects at levels hundreds of thousands of times lower than the levels required by most other poisons. Some organochlorines, like dioxins, are so hazardous that they affect human health at levels measured in parts per trillion, an amount equivalent to a single drop in a train of tank cars 10 miles long.4

When this extreme toxicity is factored in with the organochlorine properties considered so useful by the chemical industry, the problem becomes clear. Because chlorine is highly reactive, its use often creates new and unforeseen toxins when released into the environment. Because organochlorines are extremely stable, they can remain to trouble us for a long time—up to 2,500 years in some cases. And because they readily dissolve into oils, they are able to easily enter and accumulate in human and animal fatty tissues. Further complicating the picture is the fact that organochlorines are highly efficient environmental travelers. They’ve been found in regions as remote as Midway Island and the Arctic, places thousands of miles from the nearest source.5

For these reasons, organochlorines have no place in a sustainable society or a healthy home. Here’s how you can avoid them:

Don’t use chlorinated solvents or chlorinated pesticides of any type.

Specifically, avoid products with “chlor”in any ingredient name, a reference which usually indicates that organochlorines are present.

Eat as much organic food as possible in order to avoid further contact with pesticides.

Wash conventional produce well in order to remove pesticide residues and preservatives. Use soap and warm water for thick skinned produce. Scrub as hard as possible. Even wash foods you peel–pesticide residues on skins are easily transferred to food and hands during preparation.

Don’t heat food in any type of plastic container. Many plastics contain organochlorines that can leach into food when heated. Remove frozen foods from the “microwave-safe” containers in which they’re sold, and use glass or ceramic containers for this and all other microwaving.

Avoid fish from waters suspected of being polluted. Organochlorines readily accumulate in fish and are then absorbed by people who eat them.

Similarly, reduce your consumption of high fat dairy products and other high fat animal products like meat (especially beef). Use soy-based replacements instead.

Choose unbleached or non-chlorine bleached paper products. Chlorine bleaching is a prime source of organochlorine pollution. And organochlorine residues often remain in the finished product.

Women should use non-chlorine bleached, all-cotton tampons. Most tampons are made from rayon, a wood pulp product bleached with chlorine. Scientists have found dioxins in these products.

For more information about organochlorines visit:

Environmental Justice Net
ejnet.org

Environmental Research Foundation
rachel.org

Center for Health & Environmental Justice
chej.org

Chlorine in Drinking Water

Disinfection of drinking water is one of the major public health advances in the 20th century. One hundred years ago, typhoid and cholera epidemics were common throughout American cities. Disinfection was a major factor in reducing these epidemics, and it is an essential part of drinking water treatment today. However, the disinfectants themselves can react with naturally-occurring materials in the water to form unintended organic and inorganic byproducts which may pose health risks.

A major challenge for water suppliers is how to balance the risks from microbial pathogens and disinfection byproducts. It is important to provide protection from these microbial pathogens while simultaneously ensuring decreasing health risks to the population from disinfection byproducts (DBPs). The 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments require the US Environmental Protection Agency to develop rules to achieve these goals.

Results from toxicology studies have shown several DBPs (e.g., bromodichloromethane, bromoform, chloroform, dichloroacetic acid, and bromate) to be carcinogenic in laboratory animals. Other DBPs (e.g., chlorite, bromodichloromethane, and certain haloacetic acids) have also been shown to cause adverse reproductive or developmental effects in laboratory animals. Several epidemiology studies have suggested a weak association between certain cancers (e.g., bladder) or reproductive and developmental effects, and exposure to chlorinated surface water. More than 200 million people consume water that has been disinfected. Because of the large population exposed, health risks associated with DBPs, even if small, need to be taken seriously.

The EPA's Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule applies to all community and nontransient noncommunity water systems that treat their water with a chemical disinfectant for either primary or residual treatment. The Rule establishes maximum residual disinfectant level goals and maximum residual disnfectant levels for three chemical disinfectants - chlorine, chloramine and chlorine dioxide. It also establishes maximum contaminant level goals and maximum contaminant levels for total trihalomethanes,haloacetic acids, chlorite and bromate.

Large surface water systems are required to comply with the Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts rule and Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule by January 2002. Ground water systems and small surface water systems must comply with the Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule by January 2004.

To learn more about your local drinking water visit the EPA's Office of Water. (The information above was taken directly from the EPA's web site in accordance with their Privacy and Security statement.)

To be extra sure about their water, many people choose to add filtration systems to the water supply in their homes. While filtering can be beneficial, be cautious not to "over-filter." Natural additions to our drinking water, such as dissolved minerals, give water a variety of refreshing tastes and make it healthier to drink. Certain harmless microorganisms remove bad tastes and odors to make it more palatable.

OAW at www.oasisadvancedwellness.com offers a variety of water filters for the home.

Chlorine in Swimming Pools

Swimming pools, and especially public pools, need to control bacteria and other pathogens. Without the use of some form of biocide, we would have serious public health problems.

Having stated this, we recognize that the question becomes - what is the best biocide to use? Historically, chlorine has been the biocide of choice because it is extremely effective and it is cheap. Also, in some places public health laws specifically require the use of chlorine and actually use the level of residual chlorine as an indicator of sanitation. Unfortunately, however, chlorine has some very serious side effects.

While some promising alternatives to chlorine have been developed, they have not yet received wide acceptance. For example, ozonation and ionization systems are available, but their initial costs are quite high. Check the internet for suppliers of these alternatives in your area. They will be familiar with local regulations and will be able to recommend an appropriate system for your location and pool application.

If you must use chlorine we recommend that you use the minimum amount of chlorine necessary - and complain loudly when pool maintenance crews use too much. They can't kill the bacteria deader then dead. The extra chlorine wastes your money and has many health and environmental risks associated with it. Of course, we recommend that you don't drink the water and wash thoroughly with soap/detergent after swimming.

In conclusion, if you can avoid chlorinating your pool, do so! If, for your pool, chlorine is a necessary evil, make sure you are using a minimal amount and limit your exposure to it.

Chlorine and Household Products

Chlorine is a common ingredient in many household cleaners. It appears in countless formulas either by itself as a bleaching or sanitizing agent, or as part of another chemical compound. Other names for this chemical include hypochlorite, sodium hypochlorite, sodium dichloroisocyanurate, hydrogen chloride, and hydrochloric acid.6 Because it is such an effective cleaning and disinfecting agent, and because it is found in so many products, many people are surprised to learn that the presence of chlorine in the cleaners we use actually represents a serious household hazard and one of the biggest stumbling blocks to the creation of a healthy home.

Chlorine is a poisonous toxin that at high enough concentrations can cause permanent physical damage and even death. At low concentrations, chlorine is corrosive and a strong irritant to the lungs and mucous membranes.7 When chlorine is present as a part of another chemical in a product's formula, that chemical is almost always a member of a family of compounds called organochlorines, a separate class of extremely hazardous materials capable of unpleasant surprises all their own.

In addition to such direct hazards, both chlorine and the organochlorines that contain it can readily combine themselves with other materials present in the home and environment to form new toxic substances. For example, when chlorine reacts with naturally occurring organic matter and/or certain other chemicals, carcinogens known as trihalomethanes are often created. And we've all heard the admonition never to mix chlorine (or products that contain chlorine) with ammonia because the resulting chemical reaction will create a poisonous gas.8

The use of chlorine in household cleaning products is more troubling still because many such products are designed specifically to be sprayed into the air and applied to surfaces in the home. These actions spread chlorine throughout the house and often leave widespread areas - sometimes far beyond the original area that was being cleaned - contaminated by residues of varying concentrations.

These suggestions can keep your home and family safe from the hazards of chlorine:

Never use any cleaning product that you suspect of containing chlorine or that has the term 'chlor' in any ingredient. Substitute biodegradable, natural ingredient-based alternatives instead.

Be particularly wary of scouring powders, dishwasher detergent, disinfecting agents, toilet cleaners, and tub & tile cleaners. The majority of the products in these categories contain chlorine.

When it comes to laundry bleaches, use oxygen or hydrogen peroxide-based bleaches instead of those containing sodium hypochlorite, a type of chlorine.

Most Americans are unaware of the dangers of ingesting fluoride. Most dentists, physicians and scientists are unaware of the dangers of fluoride and water fluoridation. According to a 1988 article in the prestigious Chemical and Engineering News, scientific voices of opposition to fluoridation have been suppressed, since 1950 when the U.S. Public Health Service first endorsed fluoridation. Power tactics including threats, ridicule and frank censorship aimed at scientists and clinicians knowledgeable about fluoridation have prevented the truth about fluoride to be disseminated to the science world as well as to the public. Whenever a public agency is charged with objectively evaluating the safety of a procedure while at the same time endorsing and recommending it, a serious conflict of interest is set up. This is exactly the position of the U.S. Public Health Service for the past 44 years.

Facts About Flouride
So, what are some of the facts about fluoride? According to the handbook, Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products, fluoride is more poisonous than lead and just slightly less poisonous than arsenic. It is a cumulative poison that accumulates in bone over the years. According to the Physicians Desk Reference, "in hypersensitive individuals, fluorides occasionally cause skin eruptions such as atopic dermatitis, eczema, or urticaria. Gastric distress, headache, and weakness have also been reported. These hypersensitive reactions usually disappear promptly after discontinuation of the fluoride."

From 1990 to 1992, the Journal of the American Medical Association published three separate articles linking increased hip fracture rates to fluoride in the water. In the March 22, 1990 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Mayo Clinic researchers reported that fluoride treatment of osteoporosis increased hip fracture rate and bone fragility.

A study by Procter and Gamble showed that as little as half the amount of fluoride used to fluoridate public water supplies resulted in a sizable and significant increase in genetic damage. Epidemiologic research in the mid-1970's by the late Dr. Dean Burk, head of the cytochemistry division of the National Cancer Institute, indicated that 10,000 or more fluoridation-linked cancer deaths occur yearly in the United States. In 1989, the ability of fluoride to transform normal cells into cancer cells was confirmed by Argonne National Laboratories. Results released in 1989 of studies carried out at the prestigious Batelle Research Institute showed that fluoride was linked to a rare form of liver cancer in mice, oral tumors and cancers in rats, and bone cancer in male rats. Since 1991, the New Jersey Department of Health found that the incidence of osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, was far higher in young men exposed to fluoridated water as compared to those who were not.

In addition to the well documented toxic effects of fluoride, fluoride even at dosages of 1 part per million, found in artificially fluoridated water, can inhibit enzyme systems, damage the immune system, contribute to calcification of soft tissues, worsen arthritis and, of course, cause dental fluorosis in children. These are unsightly white, yellow or brown spots that are found in teeth exposed to fluoride during childhood. In 1993, the Subcommittee on Health Effects of Ingested Fluoride of the National Research Council admitted that 8% to 51% and sometimes up to 80% of the children living in fluoridated areas have dental fluorosis. Malnourished people, particularly children, usually targeted for fluoridation, are at greater risks to experience fluoride's harmful effects.

Surprisingly, the most recent studies do not even show that water fluoridation is effective in reducing tooth decay. In the largest U.S. study of fluoridation and tooth decay, United States Public Health Service dental records of over 39,000 school children, ages 5-17, from 84 areas around the United States showed that the number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth per child was virtually the same in fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas. Dr. John Colquhoun, former Chief Dental Officer of the Department of Health for Auckland, New Zealand, investigated tooth decay statistics from about 60,000 12 to 13 year old children and showed that fluoridation had no significant effect on tooth decay rate.

Given all of this scientific information, what is behind this push for universal fluoridation? Prior to 1945, fluoride was properly regarded as an environmental pollutant. It was responsible for many lawsuits against industries, such as the aluminum industry and the phosphate fertilizer industry, whose waste products contain large quantities of fluoride. This fluoride destroyed crops and animals, leading to the lawsuits. The limited public view was that fluoride was an environmental pollutant that needed to be reduced or eliminated from the environment.

As a result of clever public relations campaigns, fluoride was transformed from an environmental pollutant to an essential nutrient necessary for producing healthy teeth. The science was poor, but the P.R. campaign was great. Being against fluoride was like being against motherhood or apple pie. Industries not only made millions from selling this environmental pollutant to water companies and toothpaste companies, but more importantly, it saved billions of dollars that would be required to clean up this environmental pollutant.

So, what can you do to protect yourself from fluoride? First, avoid fluoridated water. Much of the metropolitan area, including New York City water is artificially fluoridated. Boiling water removes chlorine, but concentrates fluoride. Water filters do not remove fluoride, unless there is a reverse osmosis component. Children should avoid fluoridated vitamins and fluoride treatments at the dentist. Everyone should avoid fluoridated toothpaste. The concentration of fluoride in water is 1 ppm, in toothpaste 1,000 ppm and in fluoride dental rinses 10,000 ppm. Work on your legislators to get fluoride out of the water supplies.

(C) 2005 Daily Mail. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved

Comment From Dr. L

This article is very important and why every faucet/shower in the home needs to have a water filter on it especially if you get your water from a municipality.  If you get your water from a well and are not testing it yearly, then your home needs the filters also.  Chlorine is very carcinogenic to the body.  In fact, one of the most respected alternative cancer researcher, Dr. Hulda Clark, suspects that it is most like the primary cause of cancer.

Summer is coming and swimming in chlorinated pools is dangerous.  The pores of the skin open up and literally drink in the water.  If you have a pool check into using a whole-house water filtration system or the use of ozone to keep the pool clean.  OAW offers the best and healthiest whole-house system and water filtrations available today.  Using these water filters you will be able to tell an immediate difference in your water.

Until recently most medical theory was based on the assumption that the 20% of our body that is solid tissue is what determined our health, since that is where most outward signs of disease and illness are found. It was thought that the 80% of our body that is liquid merely supported the structure of bone and organ tissue. We now know the opposite to be true, the fluids that flow through our body are what create our level of well being. The human body is a water machine, designed to run primarily on water and minerals. By weight our body is about 72% water, another 8% is a combination of chemical compounds and the remaining 20% is bone and solid tissue. From the most basic standpoint it is a common sense equation, if we are made up of 72% plain water, then naturally the quality of the water we consume will have a very dramatic impact on our overall state of health. Every healing and life giving process that happens in our body happens through Water!

In just the last decade medical science has begun to focus on the tremendous healing ability our body has and how much that ability depends on water. Our body instinctively strives to be young and healthy. Each component working in amazing synchronicity to bond broken bones, regenerate and replace damaged tissue and attack and destroy hostile organisms. In each of these miraculous processes there is one common factor...WATER!

Our blood, the very substance of our existence is more than 83% water and flows throughout our body distributing nutrients, oxygen and antibodies on demand where ever needed. In order for our blood to properly carry out it’s many critical tasks our body must be sufficiently hydrated with healthy water. An inadequate intake of water, or consumption of water laced with contaminants, causes the properties of our blood to change and negatively effects virtually every aspect of our health.

Our brain is over 80% water and controls each and every process that happens inside of our body. This control is maintained by constantly sending and receiving electrical signals through our nervous system, which in reality is nothing more than an elaborate system of tiny water ways. The fluid inside our nerves is made up almost completely of water and minerals. Tiny messengers called transporter proteins travel at the speed of light carrying these life giving messages to every cell and organ in our body. Like any communication network the purity of the carrier, our nervous system, effects the speed and clarity of the signal. If the fluid inside of our nerves is laced with traces of chemicals or heavy metals like lead, then the result is a delayed and distorted signal. Many experts now believe that the distortion of these signals may be the root cause of many nervous system disorders like Attention Deficit Disorder, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Alzheimer's Disease, anxiety and depression. It has been well documented that the clarity of these signals has a major effect on our ability to deal with stress and our degree of coordination. Considering the vital role that water plays in our brain and nervous system, it’s quality is possibly the most basic and essential key to healthful longevity.

Our energy level is impacted largely by our consumption of water. It has been medically proven that just a 5% drop in body fluids will cause a 25 to 30% loss of energy in most people, a 15% drop causes death! It is also estimated that more than 2/3 of all people do not drink enough water and suffer some degree of dehydration. The result being a large part of our population operating at only 70 to 75% of their capacity, or less. Unfortunately most people turn to stimulants like caffeine and sugar to boost their energy level rather than drinking more water, which is what our body needs to produce natural energy. Caffeine, alcohol and sugar are all strong diuretics and actually cause your body to lose water, resulting in a further loss of natural energy production and eventually can lead to a dependency on artificial energy.

A large part of our body’s energy comes from a compound called ATP, Adenosine-Tri-Phosphate, which is produced during the osmotic flow of water through the cell membrane to generate hydroelectric energy. ATP is then stored in energy pools and used as chemical energy in our body. The mineral content of our body fluids and the absence of contaminants create the proper environment for this natural energy production.

Our body in reality is a complex Hydro Generator, using the elements of nature to become the miracle machine we were intended to be. The purity of the water we drink greatly impacts our strength and energy level. Any time a toxic chemical (chlorine included) gets inside our body we must then use up some of our strength and energy to reduce and repair the damage done by that contaminant. Water is also what our liver uses to metabolize fat into usable energy. Drinking an abundance of clean chemical free water speeds up our metabolism and allows our body to assimilate nutrients better, resulting in increased strength and energy.

Our body’s detoxification system is probably the single most important component to optimum health, and the one process that relies most heavily on an excess intake of clean water. We’ve all heard it said that we should drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water each day. Drinking the minimum will only help maintain a minimum level of health. Our body will use at least 8 glasses of water each day under normal relatively passive activity to maintain the basic bodily functions such as digestion, temperature control, joint lubrication and skin hydration. Each time we exhale, blink our eyes or make any kind of movement at all we use up some of the available water in our system. Even the constant beating of our heart is a water consuming process. We're continuously depleting the available water level in side our body. In order for our body to properly perform the essential task of filtering and flushing out toxins we must consume a level of water above the minimum. The more of an excess that exists, the more our body is able to rid itself of the elements that promote disease and aging. It’s a beautifully simple process that can make a tremendous difference in the degree of health we achieve and maintain, but we have to let it happen by consuming an abundance of clean, healthy water!

A healthy recommendation for water consumption would be at least 10-12 glasses each day, with optimum benefits reached at 14 to 16 glasses a day. (Caffeinated or sweetened beverages should not be counted towards your daily water intake as they actually cause the body to excrete water.) It’s possibly the best health enhancement habit you can develop and it’s so simple a glass of water every one to two hours. Try it...drink at least 10 glasses of water every day for just one week and you’ll be amazed at how much better you feel!

Equally important to proper detoxification as quantity is quality. If we consume water that already contains traces of harsh chemicals, like chlorine or any of the other 2100 different synthetic chemicals that have already been detected in our water supplies, then that water doesn’t have the same ability to pick up and carry out chemical contaminants from our body. Water that is free from contaminants can take on and transport out of our body toxins that find their way into our system through other means.

We are constantly exposed to and ingest a wide variety of harmful chemicals. Every thing from the foods we eat which contain artificial preservatives, colors and pesticide residue to the clothes we wear which harbor traces of laundry and dry cleaning chemicals that are absorbed through our skin, all expose us to toxins. The air we breathe and virtually everything we touch contains potentially harmful chemicals that are taken in by our body. It is difficult if not impossible to maintain the purity of the air we breathe, the things we touch and the foods we eat, which only makes the purity of our water even more important.

Our water quality is the only part of our personal environment that we can easily obtain total control over. With an abundant intake of clean healthy water we allow our body to perform all the healing processes it is naturally capable of.

In this age of fast food, synthetic medicines and complex lifestyles we tend to over look the obvious. Our body is a water machine, performing millions of life giving tasks with each passing second, and in each of these synchronized miracles there is one primary ingredient...WATER!

A study of the human body can only lead to an overwhelming appreciation and respect for it’s creator. Keeping our body clean on the inside is not only essential to good health, but an action of appreciation for such a wondrous gift, LIFE!

What Are The Benefits Of Using Ozone In Swimming Pools? Ozone is used in pools to improve the quality of the water. It does this by reducing the amount of chemicals required, eliminating the unpleasant side effects of these chemicals, and improving the performance of the filtration equipment. The result will be a pool that is; brilliantly clear, much nicer to swim in, safer and easier to look after.

Ozone:

	is a powerful sanitizer, produced on site continuously
	improves water quality
	is non irritating
	is tasteless
	reduces unpleasant chemical odours
	is kinder to bathers, kinder to equipment

 More benefits - Improved Water Quality: Water Clarity

A characteristic of an Ozone treated pool is the outstanding water clarity. This is the result of the ability of Ozone to combine small insoluble particles that would normally pass through a filter, into larger particles that can be effectively trapped by the filter. This process is called flocculation, and Ozone is a very good flocculent. The result is a crystal clear pool with a clarity that is unmatched.

	The water is softer.
	Reduces total dissolved solids (TDS) by coagulating particles.
	Ozone has neutral pH (that means it does not affect the pH of the pool).
	Ozone is not pH dependent (that is it is effective regardless of the pool pH).
	It produces no undesirable residuals; no chloramine build-up.
	No irritation to the eyes, nasal passages or throat.
	No more dried out skin, bleached hair or faded swimwear.
	It neutralises body oils, soaps and their suds.
	The by-products of Ozone are heat, filterable solids and pure oxygen.

 Cost Saving:

	Reduces chemical consumption significantly (amount depends on Ozone generator size).
	Ozone instantly turns combined chlorine (if used together) into 'free-  available' chlorine, making it 100% useable.
	Reduces TDS, so you don't have to drain the pool, saving money on water costs (& chemical costs).
	Prolongs the life of the equipment by reducing calcium and scale build-up.

 Maintenance Savings:

	Weekly, rather than every other day chemical check.
	Reduce the need to store large quantities of toxic chemicals which break
	down, becoming ineffective in storage and risk spillage or inadvertent release.
	No overdosing possible - no financial waste.
	Pool requires fewer cleanings.
	Less calcium build up on plaster.

Next to chlorine, lead is the most common contaminant found in tap water. Lead in drinking water usually originates between the water main in the street and the household faucet, so treatment from a central point is neither logical or practical. Most lead in drinking water comes from lead lined pipes, lead solder and brass plumbing fixtures inside your home. The EPA estimates that 98% of all homes have pipes, fixtures or solder joints in the household plumbing that can contribute some level of lead to the tap water.It has been determined and recognized by the EPA that there is no safe level for lead in drinking water and that any level poses some degree of adverse health effects. Ironically lead takes it’s greatest toll on small children. Even very low levels of lead can cause reduced IQs, learning disabilities and behavioral problems such as hypertension and reduced attention span in children. And often the effects of lead are life long and irreversible.In adults lead in drinking water causes high blood pressure and reduces hemoglobin production necessary for oxygen transport and interferes with normal cellular calcium metabolism. Water borne lead effects every one in a very tragic and permanent way. Lead exposure is cumulative and long lasting. This toxic metal is stored by the body, primarily in teeth and bones. When the body is under physical stress, or deficient in certain minerals, the stored lead is released in varying quantities depending on the individuals physical state.Essentially, lead has a very damaging effect on the body’s electrical system, the nervous system. It causes the critical life giving messages, sent from the brain to every cell and organ in our body, to become distorted. This results in the onset of a chain of tragic health effects.

It is estimated by the U.S. EPA that lead in drinking water contributes to 560,000 cases of learning disorders in children and 680,000 cases of hypertension in adults, each year in the U.S. alone. Some studies have even shown a relationship in exposure to lead and adolescent crime. Areas in large cities that have shown to have higher levels of lead in the drinking water, have also been found to have a higher rate of pre-adult crime. The effects of lead in drinking water; depression, anxiety, learning disabilities and hypertension are many of the same factors that lead to anti-social behavior and in some cases violent activities in children and teenagers.

In the first quarter of 1993, the EPA released a first-time report that showed the results of the new test at the tap requirements for lead in drinking water. The report documented that, in America, 42 states exceeded the legal limits of lead in drinking water and that other states failed to do the required testing. Some areas had lead levels in excess of 450 parts per billion, thirty times the legal limit of 15 ppb. The level the EPA has set as the safe level, or MCLG (maximum contaminant level goal), is -0- ppb.The U.S. EPA has also found that in adult males, better control over lead in drinking water could prevent over 680,000 cases of hypertension, 650 strokes, 880 heart attacks, and 670 premature deaths from heart disease every year in America alone.In 1991, the U.S. EPA lowered the federal standard for the allowable level of lead in drinking water from 50 ppb (parts per billion) to 15 ppb. This new standard was an improvement, but according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, was in violation of federal law. The law requires EPA to set Maximum Contaminant Levels based on “health effects” and not economic feasibility. Even though research presented to the EPA documented that there is NO safe level for lead in drinking water, and that any level poses certain adverse health effects, the allowable level was set at 15 ppb after an intense lobbying effort by the water utilities. EPA’s new standard also gave water utilities, that were out of compliance, up to 20 years to comply.

Essentially, every household with indoor plumbing has some level of lead in the tap water that represents a health risk. The biggest tragedy of lead contamination from drinking water is that it is completely preventable. By taking a few simple steps, beginning with Point-Of-Use filtration of our drinking water, we can virtually eliminate the crippling effects of lead on our society, and most importantly on our children.