Chlorine In Tap Water Evaporates

Steve Lower - Dept of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University (retired)

Scocasso!: "What about chlorine? We all know it's in our tap water (and what else, I do not know), and the smell and taste is not very appealing. Many people use water filters to remove some of this chlorine, at least, the smell and taste of it. What is the effect of chlorine in tap water on humans that consume it regularly? "

Steve Lower: "As far as I know, there is no evidence that chlorine or its decomposition product hypochlorous acid is harmful at the concentrations allowed for water disinfection. The only problem arises when the water contains organic materials such as humins from decayed vegetation or nitrogen-rich agricultural runoff; chlorine react with these to form chloramines which can be carcinogenic."

Scocasso!: "I know people from other countries that have come to live in Canada, and many of them boil their water in order to reduce the chlorine; or so they tell me. Does boiling water really evaporate chlorine from the water?"

Steve Lower: "Yes, any gas dissolved in water will be expelled when it is boiled. But this applies to oxygen as well, so boiled water should be aerated before added to an aquarium - or better yet, use a bubbler aerator in the aquarium.

  "A good activated-carbon filter such as the Brita will remove most chlorine and its by-products."

View his interesting websites here to learn more: 
http://members.shaw.ca/slower/SteveChem/
http://members.shaw.ca/slower/SKLstuff.html