Health effects of high chlorine levels?

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CurtisT

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Jul 2, 2009
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Perhaps this will land in the controversial topics part of the forum, but after studying the CYA / Chlorine chart, I have to ask a question. I hope I don't get branded a heretic! :oops:

I get the whole concept that the CYA binds up part of the chlorine and from the standpoint of preventing algae, the higher levels of chlorine are needed. What I'm struggling with is the following from the Iowa state code for public pools (and other states seem to have similar rules):

"Bathers shall not be permitted in swimming pools when the disinfectant chlorine residual is greater than 5.0 ppm."
http://www.legis.state.ia.us/Rules/Curr ... /64115.pdf

This makes me think that the State of Iowa at least thinks (not that state legislatures are ever wrong!) that something is bad about levels > 5.0PPM. I'd sure like to understand that in addition to killing algae that there are no potential dangerous side effects from higher levels of chlorine.

This seems rather scary..
http://www.gasdetection.com/TECH/cl2.html (a lot of it is about chlorine gas, but some references to skin irritation at levels above 5PPM)

Is the CYA enough to prevent side effects of the higher chlorine levels?


I've read several posts here about the relationship between chlorine / CYA and algae prevention... is there a post that addresses potential health issues?
 
FC levels above 5 do indeed cause problems when CYA is zero. The idea that CYA has anything to do with it at all is very new, ie 40 years old, compared to the rate at which state rules get updated. A large number of places still use the rules they were using 50 years ago, when no one understood how CYA worked.

The bio-activity level of chlorine is far far lower in the presence of CYA, so the effective chlorine level is much lower. That impacts almost all of the effects chlorine has, including skin irritation. About the only situation where it doesn't behave exactly as if the chlorine level was lower, would be if you drink the water. And even there, the difference isn't as large as it might seem because the time constants are fairly long.
 
this question comes up fairly often (I asked about it myself) and I can tell you that running my pool per the chart (target 8ppm for cya of 70) has presented no problems and prevented many like algae and other viruses, bacterias, etc. for me, my wife and daughter who has been in it since 10 months of age.
 
CurtisT said:
Is the CYA enough to prevent side effects of the higher chlorine levels?

I've read several posts here about the relationship between chlorine / CYA and algae prevention... is there a post that addresses potential health issues?
Click to expand...
The short answer is yes, the CYA significantly reduces the active chlorine (hypochlorous acid) concentration and that significantly reduces chlorine's reactivity for killing pathogens and oxidizing chemicals (including skin, hair, etc.) including, in some cases (such as for nitrogen trichloride) the creation of disinfection by-products. I responded to another post referring to state codes here.

Richard
 
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