Risks and Benefits of Pool Chlorination, with Manolis Kogevinas

EHP: The Researcher's Perspective

Chlorine is one of the most common disinfectants used to kill microbes in water and make it safe for humans to swim in and drink. But when chlorine and other disinfectants combine with organic matter in pools such as sweat, urine, and skin cells, the results are disinfection by-products (DBPs), which have been linked with adverse health effects in animals and humans. In this podcast, Manolis Kogevinas discusses recent research on the carcinogenic and genotoxic potential of DBPs, but he also explains why people don't necessarily need to stop swimming in pools. Kogevinas is a professor and co-director of the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology in Barcelona, Spain. Visit the podcast webpage to download a full transcript of this podcast.