Researchers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have quantified the occurrence of more than 200 previously unidentified disinfection by-products (DBPs) for the first time and determined that disinfectants other than chlorine can produce comparable levels of DBPs that may pose health risks, according to a new report recently released by the agency's Ecosystems Re-search Division.
A drinking water DBP is formed when the chemical used for disinfecting the drinking water reacts with natural organic matter and/or bromide/iodide in the source water. Popular disinfectants include chlorine, ozone, chlorine dioxide and chloramine. Source waters include rivers, lakes, streams, ground water and sometimes seawater. We have only known about DBPs since 1974, when chloroform was identified as a DBP resulting from the chlorination of tap water. Since then, hundreds of DBPs have been identified in drinking water.