Key Points Chlorine plays a vital role in public health. 98 percent of U.S. drinking water systems rely on chlorine or chlorine-based products for disinfection. Once chlorine was introduced to the water supply, deaths from typhoid fever dropped from 25,000 per year in 1900 to fewer than 20 per year in the entire United States by 1960. The World Health Organization estimates that 25,000 children die from waterborne diseases each day in parts of the world where chlorinated water is not used. Chlorine chemistry is integral to the manufacture of 85 percent of all pharmaceuticals, including vitamins and medicines that treat heart disease, hypertension, ulcers, leukemia, arthritis, pneumonia, allergies and symptoms of the common cold.
Chlorine ensures a wide selection of nutritious and low-cost grains and produce.
About 96 percent of crop-protection chemicals use chlorine in the manufacturing process. Chlorine is a critical building block. Modern plastics are a product of chlorine chemistry. One of the most versatile and widely used plastics is vinyl. The durability, cost-effectiveness and other attractive properties of vinyl make it especially popular for building and construction.