New Halogenated Disinfection Byproducts in Swimming Pool Water and Their Permeability across Skin

Abstract

Chlorine is widely used for disinfecting public swimming pool water. The disinfectant chlorine, protecting swimmers from pathogenic infection in swimming, may be responsible for some adverse effects on swimmers' skin and health. In this study, numerous new halogenated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in chlorinated pool water were detected with a powerful precursor ion scan method using electrospray ionization triple quadrupole mass spectrometry, with or without preseparation with ultra performance liquid chromatography. These new pool DBPs were demonstrated to be mainly halo(nitro)phenols, resulting from chlorination of human body substances (such as urine) in the presence of bromide. Among these new DBPs, 2,4-dibromophenol, 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2-bromophenol, 2,6-dibromo-4-nitrophenol, 2-bromo-6-chloro-4-nitrophenol, and 2,6-dichloro-4-nitrophenol were fully identified or confirmed. For 2,4-dibromophenol, 2,4-dichlorophenol and 2-bromophenol with pure standard compounds available, their permeability values across human skin were measured to be 0.031, 0.021, and 0.023 cm/h, respectively. The effects of chlorine on human skin were also investigated. The interaction of chlorine with epidermis was found to generate many new halogenated DBPs as well as common DBPs; the corneous layer was observed to become rough and even form larger pores after chlorine interaction. It is recommended that swimmers should avoid urinating in pools, and avoid prolonged swimming to reduce chlorine contact and prevent accelerated permeation of DBPs across skin.

Occurrence and human exposure of parabens and their chlorinated derivatives in swimming pools

“…S1, the concentrations of these compounds detected in indoor pools (mean 144 ng L −1 ) were roughly 20-fold higher than those in outdoor pools (mean 6.78 ng L −1 ). This result is consistent with previous reports that concentrations of DBPs in indoor pools were higher than those in outdoor pools (Xiao et al 2012;Yeh et al 2014). Compared to the indoor pools, opening times for outdoor pools are usually short.…”

“…However, growing studies suggest that exposure to the water in swimming pools may result in a variety of health risks, such as increased asthma and allergy, which are associated with microbial and chemical hazards (Bernard et al 2006;Pasquarella et al 2013Pasquarella et al , 2014. Recent studies have raised concerns on adverse health impacts associated with application of personal care products and disinfection by-products (DBPs) formed in swimming pools (Chowdhury et al 2014;Kim et al 2002;Xiao et al 2012). The presence of pollutants originating from the application of preservatives has been reported in swimming pools (Teo et al 2015;Terasaki and Makino 2008).…”

Predicting human exposure and risk from chlorinated indoor swimming pool: a case study

“…The combined treatments such as ozone and UV or salt electrolysis produced a lower probability of perceived health problems and greater satisfaction (Fernandez-Luna et al 2015). Further, Xiao et al (2012) reported DBP formation from human skin at a dose of 400 μg/L Br − and 2 mg/L Cl 2 . Disinfection practice can play an important role on exposure to DBPs in a swimming pool.…”

“…Emerging DBPs are being identified in pool water (Pan and Zhang 2013;Xiao et al 2012). The personal care and pharmaceutical products can be present in swimming pools, which can play an important role in the formation and distribution of emerging DBPs.…”

Biologically active carbon filtration for haloacetic acid removal from swimming pool water

“…Despite that the best known and most intensively investigated THMs remained at relatively low concentrations (18-133 μg/L) in swimming pool water (Fantuzzi et al, 2001;Chu and Nieuwenhuijsen, 2002), surveys around the world have reported that the THAA concentrations in swimming pools could be higher than 6800 μg/L, which is several orders of magnitude higher than the abovementioned MCL (Tang, 2011;Simard et al, 2013;Wang et al, 2014;Chowdhury et al, 2014;Teo et al, 2015). As these DBPs can be taken up through dermal absorption (Xiao et al, 2012), ingestion, and inhalation (Lee et al, 2009), increasing attention is being focused on the potential health risks associated with exposure to such high levels of DBPs for pool users and attendants at indoor and outdoor pools Liviac et al, 2010;Richardson et al, 2010). It is therefore highly desirable to develop technologies on effective control of HAAs in swimming pool water.…”