Written by: Cameron Ashby
What is water chlorination? How does it affect me?

If this is done by the state governement DON'T tell me that this is bad for me. 
Whatever you are about to say is not as bad as having untreated water!!! 
Why would the state government also hurt their own drinking water??? Give me a break -- 


This is what you might think now. Push through I urge you to hear me out.

Above in the image you can see that I have brought up chlorine use. The EPA (though increasingly useless) shines some great information on water chlorination. Let's take a look at a section from above. 

It says, "Trihalomethanes occur when naturally-occurring organic and inorganic materials in the water react with the disinfectants, chlorine and chloramine." The statement is followed up with, "Some people who drink water containing total trihalomethanes in excess of the MCL over many years could experience liver, kidney, or central nervous system problems and increased risk of cancer."

Trihalomethanes (THMs) are chemical compounds in which three of the four hydrogen atoms of methane (CH4) are replaced by halogen atoms. Many trihalomethanes find uses in industry assolvents or refrigerants. THMs are also environmental pollutants, and many are considered carcinogenic. Trihalomethanes with all the same halogen atoms are called halofo

Now this table may seem useless at first glance. What are these chemical compounds and HOW DOES IT AFFECT ME?
Great question. How would you say CHLOROFORM affects a person?

It was first prepared in 1831 by the American chemist Dr. Samuel Guthrie. He combined whiskey and chlorinated lime in an attempt to produce a cheap pesticide. 

In 1847, the Scottish physician Sir James Young Simpson first used the colorless, non-flammable liquid as an anesthetic. He discovered that if you put a few drops of this liquid onto a rag or sponge and place it over the patient's nose, causing the patient to inhale the vapors, chloroform had an unusual affect. Chloroform was seen to have narcotic effects on the central nervous system and produce these effects quite quickly.

The first death by Chloroform was that of a 15-year-old girl in 1848. Chloroform was much more dangerous and difficult to administer than what was used before, ether.

On the other hand, there were higher risks associated with chloroform than with ether, and its administration required greater physician skill. There were early reports of fatalities due to chloroform, beginning with a 15-year-old girl in 1848.
Skill and care were required to differentiate between an effective dose (enough to make patient insensible during surgery) and one that paralyzed the lungs, causing death. Fatalities were widely publicized, and the risks involved led some patients facing surgery to decline anesthesia and brave the pain. 

Still, use of chloroform spread quickly. In the 20th century Chloroform came under attack due to it's carcinogenicity upon ingestion.  

Currently, Chloroform is used mainly in the preparation of fluorocarbons, used in aerosol propellants and refrigerants. This was said about the fumes that we breathe while showering.