A highly toxic
and unnecessary
treatment alternative
Chloraminated Tap Water
VA Beach tap water
Chlorine
 Most effective disinfectant for drinking water
 Effectively kills e-coli, rotaviruses and polio 1
 Successfully used nation-wide over 100 years
 Dissipates quickly - sparing environment and
minimally affecting people
So, Why Chloramine?
Organic Material + Chlorine = Disinfection
Raw Water
Byproducts
(DBP)
DBPs of Chlorine
Trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Haloacetic Acids (HAA)
1970’s EPA studies
TTHMs and HAAs
“may” cause bladder cancer
(quality of these studies has been challenged by
more recent science)
RESULT
TTHMs and HAAs were regulated
80 ppb and 60 ppb respectively
(Stage 1 )
Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority
Charlottesville, VA
 DISINFECTANTS AND DISINFECTION BY-PRODUCTS
 (TTHMs) Trihalomethanes
35.6 ppb
 (HAAs) Haloacetic Acid
40.5 ppb 19 - 42 ppb
 Free Residual Chlorine
1.48 ppm 0.2 - 1.9 ppm
22 - 58ppb
RWSA’s THMs ( regulated at 80 ppb) and HAAs (regulated at 60
ppb) are well within regulated limit of Stage 2 regs. No need to
chloraminate this system, yet it is being scheduled.
WHY ?
Need to reduce TTHMs and HAAs
Options offered by EPA:
Better filtration of organics before disinfection
Granular Activated Carbon (GAC)
UV Light
Chlorine Dioxide
Chloramine
Cheapest alternative = chloramine
CHLORAMINE
ADVANTAGES:
 Ammonia binds to chlorine
– maintains residual in longer lines – no booster
needed
- reduces reactivity to organic material
- thereby reducing formation of regulated TTHMs
and HAAs
- HOWEVER………
CHLORAMINE
 DISADVANTAGES:
 Adverse SHORT TERM health effects
 Adverse LONG TERM health effects
 LEAST EFFECTIVE BIOCIDE
 Fatal to aquatic life and watersheds
 Corrodes pipes and fixtures/leaches lead
 Homeland Security risk
 Can’t be filtered out, does not dissipate
 Water wasted in excessive flushing
HEALTH
EFFECTS
SHORT TERM HEALTH EFFECTS
Thousands of people in over 20 states
reporting:
Persistent skin rashes - burns
 Pennsylvania
Exposed to chloraminated
water for 3 minutes
Not exposed to
chloramine

In Colorado
In California
Respiratory Asthma like symptoms
Mono-Chloramine speciates into
di-, tri-Chloramine with change in
temperature and pH
Tri-chloramine – known respiratory irritant
In study intended to measure dermal effect – 100% of
test mice died from inhaling tri-chloramine vapor
Digestive ailments –
Reflux
Colitis
Painful stomach
LONG TERM HEALTH EFFECTS
Organic Material + Chloramine = Nitrogen
in Raw Water
Disinfection
Byproducts
(NDBP)
DBPs of Chloramine
N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA)
Hydrazine (rocket fuel)
DXAA
Iodoacetic Acid
LONG TERM HEALTH EFFECTS:
 Creates a new, more toxic family of byproducts
NDMA HYDRAZINE DXAA IODOACETIC ACID
* Up to 100,000 times MORE TOXIC than TTHM/HAA
* More toxic at smaller doses
* Genotoxic, Cytotoxic and Mutagenic
* Cannot be filtered out
* Absorbed through skin in shower, bath, pool
* NDMA and Hydrazine = ‘probable’ human
carcinogens
* Formed in distribution system
Iodoacetic Acids-most toxic DBPs found
Nationwide DBP occurrence study iodoacids were identified for the first time as
DBPs in drinking water disinfected with
chloramines.
Sources of iodine compounds
soil
sea water intrusion
iodinated contrast media from
hospitals
Environ. Sci. Technol. 2006, 40, 7175−7185
Environmental Health Perspectives Dec 2011
Pharmaceuticals as NDMA precursors
Commonly used drugs form Nitrosamines in
chloraminated water
 Zantac (stomach acid reducer, ulcer)
 Unisom (sleep aid)
 Imitrex (migraine therapy)
 Allerest 12 Hour (antihistamine)
 Axid (ulcer, heartburn)
 Cardizem (high blood pressure, angina)
 Clistin (antihistamine)
 Tetracycline (antibiotic)
Common household products can react with
Chloramine to form NDMAs
 Commonly used shampoos,
conditioners and soaps
contain ingredients that can
react with chloramine to form
NDMAs
 Suave shampoo and Dawn
dish detergent positively
identified as forming NDMAs
in chloraminated water
INEFFECTIVE BIOCIDE
 Chloramine is the LEAST effective biocide of all
the available treatments
* 2,000 X less effective in killing e-coli,
*100,000 X less effective in killing rotavirus
*ineffective against Giardia and
Cryptosporidium
FISH KILLS
 Documented Fish Kills
in Virginia, California and British Columbia
* McLean in NOVA ---9 miles of stream killed “everything down to the earthworms”
* Henrico Co Fish Kill in Feb 2012
* Protected Steel Head Trout
* 1000 species of salmonids and
invertebrates
CORROSIVE – LEACHES LEAD
 Washington D.C. – 4 years –




EPA and CDC ignored and hid
evidence of high levels of lead
in the water after chloramine
started
–law suits by parents are
pending
– 1000’s of children exposed
for 4 years
- no amount of lead is safe for
children.
Dr. Marc Edwards exposed
the levels through the press.
Other municipalities had excessive lead in tap
water after chloramine was implemented
 West View, PA* 19 out of 98 homes elevated
lead levels
* levels of up to 130 ppb
* > 8X the EPA maximum
 Greenville, NC
 Duke study
 Chapel Hill, NC

Lead-free brass fittings
 Poughkeepsie, NY
 Could not control lead
leaching despite pH
changes and corrosion
inhibitors
 Reverted back to chlorine
Chloramine pits copper pipe
 California – Developer suing
water authority for pitted
copper pipes throughout new
development.
 Seeking more than $20
million in damages, citing
product liability, negligence,
private nuisance and breach
of warranty.
Chloramine is destructive to plumbing
 Destroys rubber
plumbing gaskets
 Causes pipe corrosion
(leaching lead and other
dangerous metals)
 Shortens lifespan of
appliances
Hot water heater
Representative failures from buildings after a utility
switched to chloramine -from Marc Edwards 2003
HOMELAND SECURITY
 Remember chlorine + ammonia is more stable, less
reactive
- Intentional contamination of our water –
Chlorine will react – levels will drop –
alarms will go off
Chloramine will not readily react –
levels will NOT drop and no alarms will
go off
US Army Corps of Engineers Construction Engineering Research Lab,
Champaign, Il. 61826
FILTRATION
Home v. Water treatment facility
Point of Use and Whole House Filters
 * only reduces the mono-chloramine
 * does not affect di- and tri- chloramine
 * does not reduce or eliminate toxic byproducts
 * does not protect you at school, work, vacation, family
homes, hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, etc
 * expensive + continuing expense – paying for protection
from water we are paying to receive
• Most households cannot afford effective filtration
WASTES WATER
Chloramines allow build-up of biofilm in distribution
system
Necessitates annual “chlorine burns” to clean
distribution system of bioslime. Reporting DBPs are
exempted by EPA during burns
Causes water system bio-fouling forcing utilities to
discharge pollution into our environment and wasting
massive amounts of drinking water.
Example--Pinellas Co, FL-flushing volume increased
from 5.7 to 35 million gal/month.
Poughkeepsie, NY-excessive flushing due to corrosion
Municipalities that rejected
chloramine:
 Seminole Co FL 2012
 Leesburg VA 2011
 Highland Park IL “upgraded to chlorine” 2011
 Pittsburg PA 2011
 Poughkeepsie NY 2011
 West Columbia SC 2007
Poughkeepsie NY
 March 2012 Water Board Meeting Minutes:
 “Keith B......stated that his crews had to flush frequently
wasting millions of gallons of water. Keith stated he also
had multiple fire hydrant leaks. Sean E....... stated it is
important that we capture what we know now to make
decisions. Sean expressed concern that any action taken
consider the life time costs not just capital expenses."
States that do not use
chloramine:
 AK AL CT GA ID NM RI UT
 States where <1% of the population are
on chloramine systems:
AR DE HI MD NV NY OH WV
ADVANTAGES:
DISADVANTAGES:
1. maintains residual effects
2. reduces TTHMs and
HAAs
1. Short term health effects
2. Long term health effects
3. Ineffective biocide
4. Fish kills and watersheds
5. Lead leaching-pipe
pitting
6. Homeland Security risk
7. can’t be filtered, boiled
out
excessive
8. Wastes water from
flushing
Making a Case for
Granular Activated Carbon
as a Water Treatment Option
Water Treatment Diagram
GAC is an EPA BAT for the
following contaminants
• Disinfection Byproducts (DBPs)
• Mercury and Cadmium
• Natural Organic Matter
• Synthetic Organic Chemicals (specifically:
benzo(a)pyrene, di(2-ethylhexyl)adipate, di(2ethylhexyl)phthalate, hexachlorobenzene, dioxin)
• Radionuclides
June 21 Public Hearing
Four Govt Boards Represented
 Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority
 Charlottesville City Council
 Albemarle Board of Supervisors
 Albemarle County Service Authority
June 21 Public Hearing
Panel Members
 Dr. Dwight Flammia, MD, Toxicologist, Virginia Dept. of
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Health
Mark Edwards, Ph D., Civil Engineering Professor, Virginia
Tech
Ms. Susan Pickford, Esq., Chloramine Info Center Web Site
Mr. Robert W. Bowcock, Integrated Resource Management,
Inc.
Ben Stanford, Ph. D., Hazen and Sawyer
Mr. Jim Moore, Virginia Dept. of Health Lexington Field
Office
Mr. Steve Via, American Water Works Association
Mr. Jerry Higgins, Superintendent-Manager, BlacksburgChristiansburg VPI Water Authority