Letter of Support – Alberta Health Services
Archive Comments Off on Letter of Support – Alberta Health ServicesDear Mayor Shields:
Thank you for your letter on January 16, 2013. I would like to reconfirm the support of Alberta Health Services for your community’s continued use of chloramines as a disinfectant in drinking water.
As you are aware the use of chloramines as a disinfectant for drinking water treatment is not a new technology but rather a practice with a long history based on sound research. In recent years, a large number of cities in Canada and the United States have adopted the use of chloramines.
In Canada, the chemical is being added to water in the cities of Toronto, Ottawa, Waterloo, Hamilton, Saskatoon, Edmonton, and Victoria. Larger American cities that use chloramines include Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Jersey, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington DC.
Chloramines have been approved as a disinfectant for safe drinking water by various levels of government in Canada, including Health Canada, Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (“Alberta Environment”), Alberta Health, and Alberta Health Services. These agencies work very closely together and have examined all aspects of the use of this chemical in drinking water disinfection and have deemed it to be both effective and safe.
Furthermore, Health Canada, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the World Health Organization have all published evidence-based documents on the use of chloramines and other disinfectants for use in drinking water treatment.
Alberta Health Services is committed to working with your community and Alberta Environment to ensure that your municipal water treatment system continues to provide safe water from both a microbial and chemical standpoint. We will provide on-going public health information and technical advisory support in the use of chloramines in your City’s drinking water supply.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact Ken Longmore, Supervisor for Environmental Public Health at 403-502-8204.
Yours truly,
Chris Eagle, MD, MBA, FRCPC
President and Cheif Executive Officer