Consider the Source: Farm runoff, chlorination byproducts, and human health

EWG Report || Consider the Source: Farm runoff, chlorination byproducts, and human health: "The first ever nationwide assessment of chlorination byproducts in drinking water, released by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG), shows that more than one hundred thousand women are at elevated risk of miscarriage or of having children with birth defects because of chlorination byproducts (CBPs) in municipal tap water. CBPs are formed when chlorine reacts with organic material in the water. The Maryland Suburbs of Washington, DC lead the list for the number of pregnancies at risk in individual communities or water systems, while Texas tops the list for number of pregnancies at risk statewide.

Chlorine is added to tap water to kill microbes. But chlorine also reacts with organic matter, including sewage, animal waste, and soil and plant material that comes from run-off caused by agriculture and urban sprawl to form harmful CBPs. At least ten major peer-reviewed epidemiological studies have shown elevated risks of birth defects and miscarriages for women drinking chlorinated tap water. In addition, the U.S. EPA has estimated that CBPs cause up to 9,300 cases of bladder cancer nationwide every year. [...]"