1 year, 10 months ago
What are the dangers of Chlorinated Swimming Pools ?
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Chlorine, drowning and hitting your head when you dive in.
you don't have to read it all just avoid exposure to chlorine through inhalation, ingestion, and eye or skin contact
"INTRODUCTION
This guideline summarizes pertinent information about chlorine for workers and employers as well as for physicians, industrial hygienists, and other occupational safety and health professionals who may need such information to conduct effective occupational safety and health programs. Recommendations may be superseded by new developments in these fields; readers are therefore advised to regard these recommendations as general guidelines and to determine whether new information is available.
4. DOT label: Poison gas
* Appearance and odor
Chlorine is a greenish-yellow gas with a characteristic pungent odor. It condenses to an amber liquid at approximately -34 degrees C (-29.2 degrees F) or at high pressures. Odor thresholds ranging from 0.08 to part per million (ppm) parts of air have been reported. Prolonged exposures may result in olfactory fatigue.
EXPOSURE LIMITS
* OSHA PEL
The current Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permissible exposure limit (PEL) for chlorine is 1 ppm (3 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m(3))) as a ceiling limit. A worker's exposure to chlorine shall at no time exceed this ceiling level CFR 1910.1000, Table Z-1.
* NIOSH REL
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has established a recommended exposure limit (REL) for chlorine of 0.5 ppm mg/m(3)) as a TWA for up to a 10-hour workday and a 40-hour workweek and a short-term exposure limit (STEL) of 1 ppm (3 mg/m(3))1992.
* ACGIH TLV
The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) has assigned chlorine a threshold limit value (TLV) of 0.5 ppm (1.5 mg/m(3)) as a TWA for a normal 8-hour workday and a 40-hour workweek and a short-term exposure limit (STEL) of 1.0 ppm (2.9 mg/m(3)) for periods not to exceed 15 minutes. Exposures at the STEL concentration should not be repeated more than four times a day and should be separated by intervals of at least 60 minutes 1994, p. 15.
* Rationale for Limits
The NIOSH limits are based on the risk of severe eye, mucous membrane and skin irritation 1992.
The ACGIH limits are based on the risk of eye and mucous membrane irritation 1991, p. 254.
HEALTH HAZARD INFORMATION
* Routes of Exposure
Exposure to chlorine can occur through inhalation, ingestion, and eye or skin contact 1992.
* Summary of toxicology
1. Effects on Animals: Chlorine is a severe irritant of the eyes, mucous membranes, skin, and lungs in experimental animals. The 1 hour LC(50) is 239 ppm in rats and 137 ppm in mice ()and Lewis 1989. Animals surviving sublethal inhalation exposures for 15 to 193 days showed marked emphysema, which was associated with bronchiolitis and pneumonia and Clayton 1982. Chlorine injected into the anterior chamber of rabbits' eyes resulted in severe damage with inflammation, opacification of the cornea, atrophy of the iris, and injury to the lens 1986.
2. Effects on Humans: Severe acute effects of chlorine exposure in humans have been well documented since World War I when chlorine gas was used as a chemical warfare agent. Other severe exposures have resulted from the accidental rupture of chlorine tanks. These exposures have caused death, lung congestion, and pulmonary edema, pneumonia, pleurisy, and bronchitis et al. 1991. The lowest lethal concentration reported is 430 ppm for 30 minutesand Clayton 1982. Exposure to 15 ppm causes throat irritation, exposures to 50 ppm are dangerous, and exposures to 1000 ppm can be fatal, even if exposure is brief and Lewis 1989; Clayton and Clayton 1982. Earlier literature reported that exposure to a concentration of about 5 ppm caused respiratory complaints, corrosion of the teeth, inflammation of the mucous membranes of the nose and susceptibility to tuberculosis among chronically-exposed workers. However, many of these effects are not confirmed in recent studies and are of very dubious significance 1991. A study of workers exposed to chlorine for an average of 10.9 years was published in 1970. All but six workers had exposures below 1 ppm; 21 had TWAs above 0.52 ppm. No evidence of permanent lung damage was found, but 9.4 percent had abnormal EKGs compared to 8.2 percent in the control group. The incidence of fatigue was greater among those exposed above 0.5 ppm 1991. In 1981, a study was published involving 29 subjects exposed to chlorine concentrations up to 2.0 ppm for 4- and 8-hour periods. Exposures of 1.0 ppm for 8 hours produced statistically significant changes in pulmonary function that were not observed at a 0.5 ppm exposure concentration. Six of 14 subjects exposed to 1.0 ppm for 8 hours showed increased mucous secretions from the nose and in the hypopharynx. Responses for sensations of itching or burning of the nose and eyes, and general discomfort were not severe, but were perceptible, especially at the 1.0 ppm exposure level 1991. A 1983 study of pulmonary function at low concentrations of chlorine exposure also found transient decreases in pulmonary function at the 1.0 ppm exposure level, but not at the 0.5 ppm level 1991. Acne (chloracne) is not unusual among persons exposed to low concentrations of chlorine for long periods of time. Tooth enamel damage may also occur 1983. There has been one confirmed case of myasthenia gravis associated with chlorine exposure 1995.
* Signs and symptoms of exposure
1. Acute exposure: Acute exposure to low levels of chlorine results in eye, nose, and throat irritation, sneezing, excessive salivation, general excitement, and restlessness. Higher concentrations causes difficulty in breathing, violent coughing, nausea, vomiting, cyanosis, dizziness, headache, choking, laryngeal edema, acute tracheobronchitis, chemical pneumonia. Contact with the liquid can result in frostbite burns of the skin and eyes 1992.
2. Chronic exposure: Chronic exposure to low levels of chlorine gas can result in a dermatitis known as chloracne, tooth enamel corrosion, coughing, severe chest pain, sore throat, hemoptysis and increased susceptibility to tuberculosis 1992. "
you don't have to read it all just avoid exposure to chlorine through inhalation, ingestion, and eye or skin contact
"INTRODUCTION
This guideline summarizes pertinent information about chlorine for workers and employers as well as for physicians, industrial hygienists, and other occupational safety and health professionals who may need such information to conduct effective occupational safety and health programs. Recommendations may be superseded by new developments in these fields; readers are therefore advised to regard these recommendations as general guidelines and to determine whether new information is available.
4. DOT label: Poison gas
* Appearance and odor
Chlorine is a greenish-yellow gas with a characteristic pungent odor. It condenses to an amber liquid at approximately -34 degrees C (-29.2 degrees F) or at high pressures. Odor thresholds ranging from 0.08 to part per million (ppm) parts of air have been reported. Prolonged exposures may result in olfactory fatigue.
EXPOSURE LIMITS
* OSHA PEL
The current Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permissible exposure limit (PEL) for chlorine is 1 ppm (3 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m(3))) as a ceiling limit. A worker's exposure to chlorine shall at no time exceed this ceiling level CFR 1910.1000, Table Z-1.
* NIOSH REL
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has established a recommended exposure limit (REL) for chlorine of 0.5 ppm mg/m(3)) as a TWA for up to a 10-hour workday and a 40-hour workweek and a short-term exposure limit (STEL) of 1 ppm (3 mg/m(3))1992.
* ACGIH TLV
The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) has assigned chlorine a threshold limit value (TLV) of 0.5 ppm (1.5 mg/m(3)) as a TWA for a normal 8-hour workday and a 40-hour workweek and a short-term exposure limit (STEL) of 1.0 ppm (2.9 mg/m(3)) for periods not to exceed 15 minutes. Exposures at the STEL concentration should not be repeated more than four times a day and should be separated by intervals of at least 60 minutes 1994, p. 15.
* Rationale for Limits
The NIOSH limits are based on the risk of severe eye, mucous membrane and skin irritation 1992.
The ACGIH limits are based on the risk of eye and mucous membrane irritation 1991, p. 254.
HEALTH HAZARD INFORMATION
* Routes of Exposure
Exposure to chlorine can occur through inhalation, ingestion, and eye or skin contact 1992.
* Summary of toxicology
1. Effects on Animals: Chlorine is a severe irritant of the eyes, mucous membranes, skin, and lungs in experimental animals. The 1 hour LC(50) is 239 ppm in rats and 137 ppm in mice ()and Lewis 1989. Animals surviving sublethal inhalation exposures for 15 to 193 days showed marked emphysema, which was associated with bronchiolitis and pneumonia and Clayton 1982. Chlorine injected into the anterior chamber of rabbits' eyes resulted in severe damage with inflammation, opacification of the cornea, atrophy of the iris, and injury to the lens 1986.
2. Effects on Humans: Severe acute effects of chlorine exposure in humans have been well documented since World War I when chlorine gas was used as a chemical warfare agent. Other severe exposures have resulted from the accidental rupture of chlorine tanks. These exposures have caused death, lung congestion, and pulmonary edema, pneumonia, pleurisy, and bronchitis et al. 1991. The lowest lethal concentration reported is 430 ppm for 30 minutesand Clayton 1982. Exposure to 15 ppm causes throat irritation, exposures to 50 ppm are dangerous, and exposures to 1000 ppm can be fatal, even if exposure is brief and Lewis 1989; Clayton and Clayton 1982. Earlier literature reported that exposure to a concentration of about 5 ppm caused respiratory complaints, corrosion of the teeth, inflammation of the mucous membranes of the nose and susceptibility to tuberculosis among chronically-exposed workers. However, many of these effects are not confirmed in recent studies and are of very dubious significance 1991. A study of workers exposed to chlorine for an average of 10.9 years was published in 1970. All but six workers had exposures below 1 ppm; 21 had TWAs above 0.52 ppm. No evidence of permanent lung damage was found, but 9.4 percent had abnormal EKGs compared to 8.2 percent in the control group. The incidence of fatigue was greater among those exposed above 0.5 ppm 1991. In 1981, a study was published involving 29 subjects exposed to chlorine concentrations up to 2.0 ppm for 4- and 8-hour periods. Exposures of 1.0 ppm for 8 hours produced statistically significant changes in pulmonary function that were not observed at a 0.5 ppm exposure concentration. Six of 14 subjects exposed to 1.0 ppm for 8 hours showed increased mucous secretions from the nose and in the hypopharynx. Responses for sensations of itching or burning of the nose and eyes, and general discomfort were not severe, but were perceptible, especially at the 1.0 ppm exposure level 1991. A 1983 study of pulmonary function at low concentrations of chlorine exposure also found transient decreases in pulmonary function at the 1.0 ppm exposure level, but not at the 0.5 ppm level 1991. Acne (chloracne) is not unusual among persons exposed to low concentrations of chlorine for long periods of time. Tooth enamel damage may also occur 1983. There has been one confirmed case of myasthenia gravis associated with chlorine exposure 1995.
* Signs and symptoms of exposure
1. Acute exposure: Acute exposure to low levels of chlorine results in eye, nose, and throat irritation, sneezing, excessive salivation, general excitement, and restlessness. Higher concentrations causes difficulty in breathing, violent coughing, nausea, vomiting, cyanosis, dizziness, headache, choking, laryngeal edema, acute tracheobronchitis, chemical pneumonia. Contact with the liquid can result in frostbite burns of the skin and eyes 1992.
2. Chronic exposure: Chronic exposure to low levels of chlorine gas can result in a dermatitis known as chloracne, tooth enamel corrosion, coughing, severe chest pain, sore throat, hemoptysis and increased susceptibility to tuberculosis 1992. "
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Chlorine is commonly used in pools to contain bacteria and algae levels as well as to help break down body oils. When chlorine is used at normal/low levels, it is generally harmless.
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Dangers of High Chlorine Levels in Swimming Pools
1. Irritation
Chlorine can often cause skin irritation by destroying the body's supply of vitamin E and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and can also cause generalized redness and itchiness of the eyes.
2. Asthma
There is a slight increase in respiratory problems; asthma in particular shows the highest percentage increase in children who spend a lot of time in chlorinated pools.
3. Fatigue
Chronic fatigue syndrome is another issue associated with prolonged exposure to chlorine.
4. Toxins
Toxins are more easily absorbed into the skin with regular chlorine contact.
5. Cancer
Chlorine has been associated in some studies with cancer of the larynx, esophagus, breast, bowels and especially the bladder.
6. Heart Disease
There is evidence that excessive chlorine levels in the body are responsible for elevated cases of heart disease.
---end quote---
You may also want to consider reading this ---->>> http://swimsuits.lovetoknow.com/Danger_of_Chlorine_in_Swimming_Pools
----quote----
Dangers of High Chlorine Levels in Swimming Pools
1. Irritation
Chlorine can often cause skin irritation by destroying the body's supply of vitamin E and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and can also cause generalized redness and itchiness of the eyes.
2. Asthma
There is a slight increase in respiratory problems; asthma in particular shows the highest percentage increase in children who spend a lot of time in chlorinated pools.
3. Fatigue
Chronic fatigue syndrome is another issue associated with prolonged exposure to chlorine.
4. Toxins
Toxins are more easily absorbed into the skin with regular chlorine contact.
5. Cancer
Chlorine has been associated in some studies with cancer of the larynx, esophagus, breast, bowels and especially the bladder.
6. Heart Disease
There is evidence that excessive chlorine levels in the body are responsible for elevated cases of heart disease.
---end quote---
You may also want to consider reading this ---->>> http://swimsuits.lovetoknow.com/Danger_of_Chlorine_in_Swimming_Pools
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
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