Newly identified chemical in drinking water is most likely present in many homes and could be toxic, study finds

According to a recent study, approximately one-third of Americans have been drinking tap water that contains an undisclosed chemical residue. Now, some experts are worried about that chemical’s potential for toxicity and are aggressively looking into it.

When water is treated with chloramine, a chemical created by combining chlorine and ammonia, the recently discovered material known as “chloronitramide anion” is created. In municipal water treatment systems, chloramine is frequently used to eradicate bacteria and viruses.

According to researchers, the byproduct’s presence was found approximately 40 years ago, but it wasn’t identified until recently due to advancements in analysis procedures that allowed scientists to ultimately ascertain the chemical’s structure.

Since the chloronitramide anion has never been investigated, it may take years to determine whether it is harmful. In part to encourage more study to address safety concerns, the researchers published their findings Thursday in the journal Science.

Although the substance has similarities to other chemicals of concern, the scientists claimed they do not have concrete evidence that it poses a threat. They believe that because it has been found so frequently, it merits investigation.

David Wahman, a research environmental engineer at the Environmental Protection Agency and one of the study’s authors, stated, “It has similarities to other toxic molecules.” 40 samples from ten chlorinated drinking water systems spread across seven states in the United States were examined for it. It was present in every sample.

As chloramine breaks down over time, the anion chloronitramide is created. According to him, it’s probably present in all drinking water that has been treated in this way.

The widespread presence of a byproduct with unknown hazards and its prolonged evasion by researchers raises concerns about the possible health impacts of the chemicals used to purify tap water.

According to the report, 113 million people in the United States get water from their taps that has been chloramine-treated. Water has been disinfected with the chemical for approximately a century. These days, it’s frequently employed to safeguard a system’s “residual,” or the water that stays in pipes for a few days after leaving a water treatment facility.

Because chlorine also produces byproducts, some of which are linked to bladder cancer and are controlled by the EPA, chloramine has gained popularity over chlorine.

The discovery was a significant step, according to David Reckhow, a research professor in civil and environmental engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, who was not involved in the study. He agreed that the drug was probably harmful, but he stated the ultimate objective is to determine whether it represents a hazard.

Because it is a relatively tiny molecule, it is likely to be able to infiltrate cells and biological processes. Additionally, he stated that the molecule is still reactive. “You worry about those kinds of things.”

Julian Fairey, principal author and an associate professor at the University of Arkansas, explained that the authors of the current study arrived at their findings after determining how to create large doses of the chemical for laboratory testing.

Fairey, a specialist on drinking water byproducts, stated, “This study has allowed us to be able to do that work now, even though we don’t know the toxicity.” “We can now begin the difficult task of determining its toxicological significance in our water systems.”

According to some earlier research, consuming sterilized water may be linked to a higher risk of developing various types of cancer, he continued.

“What’s causing these is unknown to us. We don’t know if this substance has anything to do with those results,” Fairey stated. “However, there have been inexplicable cases of specific cancers linked to treated drinking water.”

Conclusions regarding the toxicity of the recently discovered chemical, however, are probably years away. It would take even longer to consider potential regulation based on those latter results.

According to Alan Roberson, executive director of the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, “it’s a lot — probably a decade of research once a funding source is found.”

Water providers should closely monitor ongoing research and work to limit public exposure in the interim, according to Reckhow.

“You minimize as much as you can,” he replied. “You run with insufficient information and make the best decision you can with the toxicity. Unfortunately, that is the world in which we live.

Only a few disinfection byproducts, including several linked to chlorine use, are regulated by the EPA. According to scientists, the rules have forced some water suppliers to use more chloramine.

According to David Andrews, a senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy group that advocates for greater scrutiny of chemicals, “this study really calls into question whether or not this disinfection process is safer from a health perspective.”

He went on to say that although water systems include hundreds of disinfection byproducts, this one merits closer examination.

According to Andrews, “a lot of those other contaminants are occurring at lower concentrations or less frequently.”

According to Roberson, there is a certain amount of health risk associated with any drinking water treatment. There is a trade-off: Although cholera and typhoid have been nearly eradicated by disinfection procedures, some byproducts may be linked to an increased risk of cancer and miscarriage, according to study.

“You have a real risk-risk trade-off, which is why you’re adding the chloramine: you want to kill the bacteria and viruses,” he stated.

On their websites, a number of water utilities in the United States reveal whether they use chlorine or chloramine to treat the water they provide. According to Wahman, additional research is required, but some studies indicate that active carbon filters—like those found in refrigerator filters or residential water purification systems—can eliminate disinfection byproducts.