New water compound discovery raises health risk concerns
Scientists from the US and Switzerland have discovered a new chemical compound in drinking water that arises from the breakdown of chloramine, reports "Science".
23 November 2024 10:28
Researchers from the US and Switzerland have identified a new chemical compound in drinking water, which forms as a result of chloramine breakdown.
Chloramine is commonly used to disinfect water, protecting against diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever. In the US, over 113 million people consume water treated this way. In Europe, this substance is used on a much smaller scale but is also encountered.
The team from the University of Arkansas and ETH Zurich discovered the chloronitramide anion (Cl–N–NO2-), the final product of chloramine decomposition. Although its toxicity is not yet known, its similarity to other toxic substances is concerning. Research on this compound has been ongoing for a decade.
For decades, researchers suspected that a similar compound existed but had not been able to prove it experimentally until now.
Professor Julian Fairey's group emphasises that the discovery of the chloronitramide anion is a significant step in understanding the mechanisms by which toxic compounds form in water. "It's a very stable chemical with a low molecular weight. It's a very difficult chemical to find. The hardest part was identifying it and proving it was the structure we were saying it was," said the scientist.
Potential risks
The detection that Cl–N–NO2- is indeed present in drinking water raises what researchers believe are questions about potential health risks associated with it.
"It's well recognised that when we disinfect drinking water, there is some toxicity that's created. Chronic toxicity, really. A certain number of people may get cancer from drinking water over several decades. But we haven't identified what chemicals are driving that toxicity. A major goal of our work is to identify these chemicals and the reaction pathways through which they form," noted Prof. Fairey.
Even if the compound turns out to be non-toxic, research will help better understand the formation of similar compounds in water. This is crucial for controlling and minimising health risks associated with water disinfection.
