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DANGERS OF CHLORINATED WATER 
 Recent studies indicate that some miscarriages --as well as some serious birth defects --may be caused by the chlorine added to drinking water as a disinfectant. [Details]


Pregnancy Warnings

Pregnant women increased their risk of miscarriage by drinking five or more glasses per day of tap water that contained a common chlorine by-product, according to a study by the California Department of Health Services.  [Details]


Chlorine - Trihalomethanes (THM's) & Disinfection By-Products

The experimental use of chlorine began in the 1890's to combat water-borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid. It quickly gained widespread acceptance because of its low cost and high efficiency in killing just about everything hazardous in the water. 

The problem with chlorine is that it is a known poison and the safety of drinking this poison over the long-term (i.e. your lifetime) is highly uncertain. The problem with the chlorination process is that chlorine combines with natural organic matter to form potent, cancer causing compounds known as Trihalomethanes (THMs). Trihalomethanes include such carcinogens as chloroform, bromoform, carbon tetrachloride, bischloroethane and others. The amount of THM's in our drinking water is theoretically regulated by the EPA. Although the maximum amount allowed by law is 100 ppb, a resent study showed 31 of 112 municipal water systems exceeded this limit. [Details]

World Water Crises (BBC)

Sunday, December 23, 2001
The Nile
A United Nations report predicts that access to water may be the single biggest cause of conflict and war in Africa in the next 25 years. Such wars are most likely to be in countries where rivers or lakes are shared by more than one country. There is already fierce national competition over water for irrigation and power generation - most notably in the Nile river basin. Cairo warned in 1991 that it was ready to use force to protect its access to waters of the Nile, which also runs through Ethiopia and Sudan. If the populations of these countries continue to rise, competition for the water could be fierce. 
Related Feature: Africa's potential water wars. 

Turkey
Turkey has been accused by Syria and Iraq of depriving them of much-needed water, as it continues to build a series of dams along the Euphrates and Tigris. It is also embarking on an ambitious project to sell water from its Manavgat river across the Middle East. 

The Aral Sea
The Aral Sea in Central Asia was once the world's fourth biggest inland sea, and one of the world's most fertile regions. But economic mismanagement has turned the area into a toxic desert. The two rivers feeding the sea, the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, were diverted in a Soviet scheme to grow cotton in the desert. Between 1962 and 1994, the level of the Aral Sea fell by 16 metres. The surrounding region now has one of the highest infant mortality in the world, and anaemia and cancers caused by chemicals blowing off the dried sea bed are common. 


The Aral Sea tragedy

Friday, December 21, 2001
Forty years ago, Muynak was a busy fishing port where the waters of the Aral Sea lapped up against the shoreline. Today the waters have receded so much, that there is not a drop as far as the eye can see.  [Full Story]


You try living down here

 Wednesday, October 3, 2001 
The federal government is uniquely positioned to protect a Great Lakes basin that is changing before our eyes in fundamental ways and deteriorating in many respects. It has the scope of action, the resources and a track record of successes. [The Globe & Mail] [Full Story]

Anti-pollution additive to be phased out 

September 25, 2001
WASHINGTON -- A Senate panel voted Tuesday to phase out the anti-pollution fuel additive MTBE after leaks were blamed for fouling some communities' drinking water.[Toronto Star] -  [Full Story]

Water plants poorly funded, hearing told 
September 24, 2001
Small Ontario water utilities are underfunded, their employees need more training and most are unprepared to cope with an emergency, a U.S. expert says. [Toronto Star] [Full Story]