The presence of chloroform in drinking water taken from the St Lawrence and the related health effects Municipalities that draw their drinking water from the St Lawrence have to treat it so that it meets strict public health standards. The last stage in water treatment generally consists in adding chlorine to destroy bacteria. This study was done under the Human Health component of St Lawrence Vision 2000. T he chlorination processes used to disinfect drinking water result in the formation of by-products, some of which may contaminate drinking water supply systems.
Chloroform is one of the most abundant chlorination by-products in drinking water.
This compound is known to be carcinogenic in animals, and suspected to have the same effect in humans. Government agencies set standards related to the maximum acceptable concentration of chloroform in water supply systems. However, in setting these standards, consideration is given only to exposure through ingestion, not to inhalation or absorption through the skin. Yet, chloroform can be absorbed through inhalation or through the skin when people wash dishes or take a bath or shower. A study on the different routes of absorption of chloroform A team with the public health research unit at CHUQ undertook a two-part study to estimate the combined effect of all routes of absorption of chloroform.