Chlorine in Drinking Water Linked to Hazardous By-Products Formation Shift.
The researchers studied the formation of harmful chemicals in drinking water due to chlorine treatment. They found that volatile disinfection by-products were mainly chlorine-based, while semi-volatile ones were bromine-based. Oxygen played a key role in forming semi-volatile compounds. Trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids correlated with chlorine levels, but other compounds did not. Different analytical techniques were used to identify and quantify these compounds. The results suggest that bromine quickly reacts with organic matter in water and gets destroyed by chlorine.