What are chlorination disinfection by-products and how are they formed?
Chlorination disinfection by-products (CDBPs) are chemical compounds that form when water containing natural organic matter (the decay products of living things such as leaves, human and animal wastes, etc.) is chlorinated. Chlorine disinfection of water can lead to the formation of a number of chlorination by-products of which trihalomethanes (THMs) are only one subgroup. Among the many chlorination by-products, THMs are most often present and in the greatest concentration in drinking water and as such are used as indicators of total disinfection by-product formation.
