Chlorine Everywhere: Should We Be Concerned?

More than two hundred years ago, a Scottish chemist named Charles Tennant mixed limestone and chlorine gas and came up with the chemical compound sodium hypochlorite (formula: NaOCl). On April 30, 1799, Tennant was granted patent #2312 for his creation of a powder bleach which is commonly known today as chlorine bleach. With this development, the world has become a cleaner, safer place to live. Today, chlorine bleach is widely used to whiten clothing and writing paper. It is also used on washable surfaces to remove mildew.

Chlorine, a greenish-yellow diatomic gas, has many uses: as an oxidizing agent, as a disinfecting agent in water purification, and especially as a bleaching agent. It is added to so many things that we use everyday, including household cleansers, washing machines, plastics, recycled paper, and swimming pools. In very small amounts, chlorine is used to disinfect or purify drinking water. For a time, the chlorine added to drinking water was thought to be harmful to health. This anxious concern was based on the fact that chlorine goes through numerous chemical transformations once added to water, resulting to the formation of small amounts of certain by-products that may cause cancer. However, researches and studies that are being undertaken continuously for close to three decades now all indicate that it is probably time this fear is put to rest; chlorinated drinking water isn't likely to increase cancer risk.

Chlorine bleach, on the other hand, is not totally exculpated. In fact, certain household hazards are associated with it. As examples: chlorine bleach dissolves out the dyes in non-colorfast fabric; it can discolor clothing, especially if the water used contains iron in large amount; and it gnaws through the fabric if not diluted properly.

But these household hazards may be insignificant if we compare them to the risks posed by chlorine bleach to our health. Some people, for example, may inadvertently combine chlorine bleach with other household products that contain acids or ammonia. Such combinations can emit deadly fumes. It is, therefore, necessary to always check the labels on, say, detergents for acids and ammonia before you add chlorine bleach to them.

Some people may find that fabrics washed in chlorine can be nettling to their skin, although chlorine is not known to be one of those substances that induce allergy. It's quite a relief to know, too, that the environment is safe from any possible threat of hazard from chlorine bleach that is used for laundry since this biodegrades innocuously into water and oxygen. [Read the Original Article]