‘Waa EPA PROGRAM OFFICES REGULATE CHLORINE, AND UNDER WHAT LAWS IS IT REGULATED?

EPA OFFICE
Pollution Prevention & Toxics

Air

eal

Solid Waste &
Emergency Response

Water

Law

Toxic Substances Control Act

Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA): Regulations (§ 313)
Toxics Release Inventory data

Clean Air Act

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund)

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act / EPCRA (§ 304/311/312)

Clean Water Act

A technical support document is available from the TSCA Assistance Information Service, (202) 554-1404,

WHAT OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES OR GROUPS CAN I CONTACT FOR INFORMATION ON CHLORINE?

AGENCY/GROUP PHONE NUMBER
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (404) 639-6000
American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (513) 742-2020
Consumer Product Safety Commission 301) 504-0994
Food and Drug Administration (301) 443-3170

National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (EnviroHealth Clearinghouse) (800) 643-4794
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) (800) 356-4674
: Administration (Check your local phone book under U.S, Department of Labor)

PHONE NUMBER
(202) 554-1404
(800) 535-0202
(202) 260-1531
(919) 541-0888
(800) 858-7378
(800) 535-0202

(202) 260-7588


and the environment depend on how
much chlorine is present and the
length and frequency of exposure
Effects also depend on the health of a
person or condition of the envi-
ronment when exposure occurs.

Breathing small amounts of
chlorine for short periods of time
adversely affects the human respi-
ratory system. Effects range from
coughing and chest pain to water
retention in the lungs. Chlorine ir-
fitates the skin, the eyes, and the
fespiratory system. These effects are
not likely to occur at levels of chlo-
rine that are normally found in the
environment.

Human health effects asso-
ciated with breathing or otherwise
consuming small amounts of chlo-
Tine over long periods of time are not
known. They are currently under
investigation. Some studies show
that workers develop adverse effects
from repeat inhalation exposure to
chlorine, but others do not. Labora-
tory studies show that repeat expo-
sure to chlorine in air can adversely
affect the immune system, the blood,
the heart, and the respiratory system
of animals.

Chlorine causes environ-
mental harm at low levels. Chlorine
is especially harmful to organisms
living in water and in soil


United States EPA 749-F-94.010
Enwronmental Protection December 1994
Agency

Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (7401)

SEPA Chemicals in the
Environment

CHLORINE

(CAS NO. 7782-50-5)



Chemicals can be released to the envi-
ronment as a result of their manufacture,
processing, and use. The EPA has de-
veloped information summaries on se-
fected chemicals to describe how you
might be exposed to these chemicals,
how exposure to them might affect you
and the environment, what happens to
them in the environment, who regulates
them, and whom to contact for addi-
tional information. EPA is committed to
reducing environmental releases of
chemicals through source reduction and
other practices that reduce creation of
pollutants.

WHAT IS CHLORINE, HOW IS IT
USED, AND HOW MIGHT I BE
EXPOSED?

Chlorine is a highly reactive gas
It is a naturally occurring element.
Chlorine is produced in very large
amounts (23 billion pounds in 1992) by
eighteen companies in the United States.
US demand for chlorine is expected to
increase slightly over the next several
years and then decline. The expected
decline in US demand is due to envi-
ronmental concems for chlorinated or-
ganic chemicals. The largest users of
chlorine are companies fhat make eth-
ylene dichloride and other chlorinated
solvents, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) res-
ins, chlorofluorocarbons, and propylene
oxide. Paper companies use chlorine to
bleach paper. Water and wastewater
treatment plants use chlorine to reduce
water levels of microorganisms that can


spread disease to humans

Exposure to chlorine can occur in
the workplace or in the environment fol-
lowing releases to air, water, or land. People
who use laundry bleach and swimming pool
chemicals containing chlorine products are
usually not exposed to chlorine itself.
Chlorine is generally found only in indus-
trial settings. Chlorine enters the body
breathed in with contaminated air or when
consumed with contaminated food or water.
It does not remain in the body due to its
reactivity.

WHAT HAPPENS TO CHLORINE IN
THE ENVIRONMENT?

Chlorine dissolves when mixed with
water. It can also escape from water and
enter air under certain conditions. Most
direct releases of chlorine to the environ-
ment are to air and to surface water. Once in
air or in water, chlorine reacts with other
chemicals. It combines with inorganic ma-
terial in water to form chloride salts. It
combines with organic material in water to
form chlorinated organic chemicals. Be-
cause of its reactivity chlorine is not likely to
move through the ground and enter
groundwater. Plants and animals are not
likely to store chlorine.

HOW DOES CHLORINE AFFECT
HUMAN HEALTH AND THE
ENVIRONMENT?

Effects of chlorine on human health