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IDENTIFICATION OF NEW DRINKING WATER DISINFECTION BY-PRODUCTS FROM OZONE, CHLORINE DIOXIDE, CHLORAMINE, AND CHLORINE
Citation:
Richardson, S D. IDENTIFICATION OF NEW DRINKING WATER DISINFECTION BY-PRODUCTS FROM OZONE, CHLORINE DIOXIDE, CHLORAMINE, AND CHLORINE. Presented at 7th International Conference of the Israel Society for Ecology and Environmental Quality, Tel Aviv, Israel, June 13-18, 1999.
Description:
Due to concern over the potential adverse health effects of trihalomethanes (THMs) and other chlorinated by-products in chlorinated drinking water, alternative disinfection methods are being explored. Ozone, chlorine dioxide, and chloramine are currently popular alternatives to chlorine, as they kill microorganisms effectively, but do not produce appreciable levels of THMs, which are regulated by many countries. Although these alternative disinfectants are widely used, there is little information on the DBPs they produce. Are they safer or more harmful than those formed by chlorine? To answer this question and to ultimately determine if there are harmful DBPs that should be minimized, our laboratory has been carrying out comprehensive studies aimed at identifying all detectable disinfection by-products (DBPs) from these alternative disinfectants. To identify these new DBPs, we are using GC/MS (EI and CI, low and high resolution), GC/IR, and LC/MS. Using these techniques, we have identified many DBPs from ozone, chlorine dioxide, chloramine, and chlorine, many of which have never been reported previously. A comparison of DBPs identified to-date will be presented. Also, we have recently begun a project to identify DBPs from Israel drinking water. Preliminary results of that research will be presented.