How does chlorine affect children?
Childrencan be affected by exposure to chlorine in the same ways as adults. We do not know whether children differ from adults in their susceptibility to chlorine. In general, children may be more vulnerable to corrosive agents than adults because of the smaller diameter of their airways.We do not know if exposure to chlorine can result inbirth defectsor other developmental effects.
Short-term exposures (minutes) to high concentrations of chlorine affect children in the same manner they affect adults, but children may be more sensitive. We do not know what the effects could be in children following longer-term, low-level exposure to chlorine gas or hypochlorite solution. We do not know whether exposure to chlorine gas during pregnancy can result in damage to unborn babies because there are no studies of pregnant women or pregnant animals exposed to chlorine gas.
