Excessive swimming or taking long baths in chlorinated water may increasethe riskof developing bladder cancer , a new study has claimed .
A team of Spanish scientists found that cancer-causing chemicals called trihalomethanes (THM), which are created as a byproduct of chlorinating water , can be absorbed through the skin . And people who regularly swim in chlorinated pools or take lots of showers or long baths are actually absorbing too much THM, putting themselves at risk of developing cancer , the Daily Mail reported .
For their study , the researchers examined 1,270 people and found those, who drank more bottled water to avoid the health risks posed by drinking tap water , actually lose the beneficial effects by swimming more and taking more showers . "People with more money and more education may think that they're reducing their risk of exposure to water contaminants by drinking bottledwater ," saidGemma Castaqo-Vinyals from the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) in Castilla La Mancha , Spain .
While it is true that chlorine water can be used to make water safe because it kills bacteria , it can also be dangerous . Water treatment plants use chlorine to kill bacteria , as well as algae that can clog up the pipes . However , it is used not because it is the most effectivesolution ,butbecauseitis the cheapest . It is also widely used by industry as a bleaching agent , which means that there is bleach in the water that comes out of the tap to be drunk or used in swimming pools . And chlorinated water does not have to be drunk in order to enter the body . It can be readily absorbedby theskin while swimming . Although chlorine is great for killing bacteria , it cannot differentiate between good bacteria and bad ones .
A team of Spanish scientists found that cancer-causing chemicals called trihalomethanes (THM), which are created as a byproduct of chlorinating water , can be absorbed through the skin . And people who regularly swim in chlorinated pools or take lots of showers or long baths are actually absorbing too much THM, putting themselves at risk of developing cancer , the Daily Mail reported .
For their study , the researchers examined 1,270 people and found those, who drank more bottled water to avoid the health risks posed by drinking tap water , actually lose the beneficial effects by swimming more and taking more showers . "People with more money and more education may think that they're reducing their risk of exposure to water contaminants by drinking bottledwater ," saidGemma Castaqo-Vinyals from the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) in Castilla La Mancha , Spain . "However , despite being apparently cleaner andtaking more exercise , a result of taking more frequent and longer baths , and using swimming pools more often — they are actually increasing their risk of THM exposure ."
However Castaqo-Vinyals added that the additional risk of developing bladder cancer through the water contaminants was "small" . The new findings were reported in the online journal BioMed Central . While it is true that chlorine water can be used to make water safe because it kills bacteria , it can also be dangerous . Water treatment plants use chlorine to kill bacteria , as well as algae that can clog up the pipes . However , it is used not because it is the most effectivesolution ,butbecauseitis the cheapest . It is also widely used by industry as a bleaching agent , which means that there is bleach in the water that comes out of the tap to be drunk or used in swimming pools . And chlorinated water does not have to be drunk in order to enter the body . It can be readily absorbedby theskin while swimming . Although chlorine is great for killing bacteria , it cannot differentiate between good bacteria and bad ones .
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