===== A message from the 'toxicscaucus' discussion list =====

AmeriScan: July 14, 1999
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CHLORINATED INDOOR WATER USE PRODUCES INDOOR AIR POLLUTION

Environmental engineers at the University of Texas at Austin have documented that showers and dishwashers contribute to indoor air pollution. When tap water contains even trace amounts of harmful chemicals such as radon, gasoline, or byproducts of chlorination, these chemicals can be transferred from water to indoor air. This process, called volatilization or chemical stripping, adds to a growing list of indoor air pollutants, the air researchers report in the July 1 issue of "Environmental Science and Technology." The researchers, led by Dr. Richard Corsi, associate professor of civil engineering, ran a series of experiments using dishwashers, clothes washers, showers and bathtubs. Corsi's group determined that significant percentages of all tested pollutants transferred from water to indoor air. Dishwashers were the worst culprits, releasing chemicals when the door is opened after washing.
Corsi says most public water supplies contain at least small amounts of toxic chemicals associated with chlorination. People may be exposed to the chemicals just as much by breathing them than by drinking them, he says. "It is important to maintain well-ventilated surroundings during wateruse," Corsi says. "For example, leave the bathroom fan on or window open when showering, use the hood fan above the stove when boiling water. Commercially available activated carbon canisters will remove volatile organic compounds from water prior to their discharge through a faucet or shower head."

I have the paper that was published in "Environmental Science and Technology." if anyone wants a copy of it.
--
Jeffrey A. Hollender
Seventh Generation
Safer for You and
the Environment
www.seventhgen.com

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