This includes those most vulnerable - the elderly, people with weakened immune systems, AIDS patients and others who need to make the most informed decisions possible about their drinking water. The new rule comes none too soon for pregnant women. According to a study published in the February 18 edition of the journal Epidemiology, a link has been found between drinking chlorinated tap water and miscarriage. Pregnant women in their first trimester who drink five or more glasses of cold tap water daily may be at higher risk of miscarriage, according to the study of California chlorinated drinking water. The heightened risk is linked to exposure to a contaminant found in chlorinated water in a majority of municipal water systems nationwide.
Chlorine helps purify water and prevents bacterial infections.
TTHMs have been associated with increased cancer risk, at least in animals, and federal regulators have limited the amount allowed in drinking water. The study, led by California health department investigators Kirsten Waller and Shanna Swann, examined the records of 5,144 pregnant women from the Fontana, Santa Clara and Walnut Creek areas. All the women drank water that met state and federal drinking standards. The most practical thing that we've come up with is to tell women in that category to boil some water and put it in the refrigerator. State and federal officials said the study is not definitive and more tests are planned.