Alberta Health Services contact for Health Related questions re: Chloramines

Editor:

Re: Chloramine

Chloramine has been used safely in Canada and the United States for years. Many water utilities are in the process of switching to chloramine because of its benefits.

Chloramine is not absorbed through the skin. When ingested, it is broken down by stomach acid into its components ammonia and chloride. These parts are absorbed and metabolized by the body. Both ammonia and chloride are commonly found in other food products.

Chloramines and other products are removed from water used in hemodialysis as it can have a weakening effect. The Southern Alberta Renal Program has already installed the appropriate carbon filters in home-based water systems of home hemodialysis patients in the area. These systems will be monitored to ensure chloramines and other products are being removed.

Individuals with kidney disease can still safely consume and bathe in water treated with chloramines.

Any time municipalities use chemicals to protect our drinking water, careful monitoring is undertaken to ensure those chemicals are in safe concentrations. This monitoring is conducted by both municipal and provincial bodies to meet federal drinking water guidelines.

Suffice it to say, Alberta Health Services recognizes chloramine as a safe disinfectant that reduces the formation of disinfection by-products and disease-causing organisms.

Thank you very much for your attention to this matter. If you have any questions, or if I can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to call the local Environmental Public Health Office at 403-362-2682.

There is also additional information available at http://www.nrsc.ca/.

Sincerely,

Vivien Suttorp, BSc, MD, MPH, CCFP, FCFP
Medical Officer of Health
Alberta Health Services – South Zone

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