Chemicals in swimming pools might increase your risk of cancer
Scientists found biomarkers associated with cancer in people who swam for just 40 minutes.
This is exactly the study I wanted to read while I'm sitting at a pool in Los Angeles. It makes me not want to go in, but experts say this should not discourage swimming.
The epidemiologists found 100 chemical byproducts from chlorine when they studied a public pool in Barcelona. Some of the chemicals were toxic and others had never been found before in pools and in chlorinated drinking water.
But don't toss your swimsuits just yet. This is far from a definitive study linking swimming to cancer.
Still, the three studies published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives built a bothersome picture. According to the Los Angeles Times:
- Blood samples, urine, and air samples taken from 49 non-smoking swimmers revealed four biomakers that signaled a toxicity to byproducts in the water.
- The second study found a biomarker that suggests short-term exposure can cause lung damage.
- After looking at chlorine and bromine, to compare the two disinfectants — the researchers found that the levels were similar. The researchers found 100 disinfection byproducts that had not been previously found in swimming pools.
Pools can use alternatives like ozone to kill off bacteria and pump in freshwater more often. Also, swimmers can also reduce their risk by taking a shower before entering the pool. This lessens the amount of organic material that reacts with the chlorine to create these byproducts.
Again, these biomarkers only suggest a possible risk in cancer. The studies will have to look at this for a longer amount of time to build a more complete case.
To be clear, researcher Manolis Kogevinas, MD, PhD, professor of epidemiology at the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology in Barcelona told WebMD:
"We do not say stop swimming. We should keep a clear message that swimmers should keep swimming."
Photo: Tom@HK / flickr
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com