Chlorinated water carries cancer risks in men
Chlorination of water contributes to high concentrations of by-products, the ingestion of which is associated with a high risk of colorectal cancer in men.Such conclusions were made by scientists from the Swedish Karolinska Institute - the largest in Europe among medical schools. The results of the study are published in the scientific journal JNCI.
It turned out that after chlorination of drinking water - the cheapest method of disinfection, the so-called trihalomethanes are formed, which include chloroform, bromine, dichloromethane and dibromochloromethane. It has long been known that all of them are easily absorbed into the gastrointestinal tract. And with prolonged exposure, they damage human internal organs. Moreover, trihalomethanes induce malignant liver and kidney tumors. And some damage DNA.
And here's a new study. After experiments, these substances have been shown to increase the risk of bladder cancer and colorectal cancer (tumors of the colon and rectum).
The authors of the study followed middle-aged and elderly men and women for more than two decades. It turned out that men who had the highest exposure to trihalomethanes were 20% more likely to get colorectal cancer and 60% more likely to get left-sided colorectal cancer. A total of 60,000 patients were examined.
Curiously, no such association with disinfectants was observed in women.
Swedish scientists pointed out that in addition to chlorine there are other and more effective methods of disinfection, so the use of trihalomethanes should be discontinued.