What are DBPs or CBPs?
Disinfection byproducts (DBPs) (also known as chlorination byproducts (CBPs)) are produced by the addition of chlorine at the municipal plant to a surface source of water such as we have here in the Front Range area of Colorado. The Cities of Boulder, Lafayette, Louisville, Longmont, and Left Hand Water District all rely on surface water. Surface water contains a small amount of organic matter which reacts with the chlorine to produce such byproducts as trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids which are suspected of being carcinogenic in humans. The USEPA in 1979 set a maximum contaminant level of 100ppb (parts per billion). In 1999, that level was decreased to 80ppb. Eight recent studies looked at the relationship of low-level exposure to these DBPs and rates of fetal birth defects and spontaneous abortion. These studies were reviewed in the May 2002 issue of “Water Conditioning and Purification Magazine”. The conclusion was that there was “moderate evidence for association of DBPs with s
