Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company
The Boston
Globe
February 3, 1999, Wednesday ,City Edition
SECTION: NATIONAL/FOREIGN; Pg. E6
LENGTH: 250 words
HEADLINE:
CORRECTION ;
FOR THE RECORD
BODY:
AMPLIFICATION: Douglas B. MacDonald, executive director of
the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, offers the following comment on
yesterday's question about the possibility of health hazards in chlorinated
water: "Some animal studies suggest that certain compounds formed when chlorine
is used to disinfect water may be carcinogenic. But the Environmental Protection
Agency, where this information is being taken into account into new health
protection standards, has said, 'The causal relationship between exposure to
chlorinated surface water and cancer has not yet been demonstrated. However,
several studies have suggested a weak association in various subgroups. . . .
This conclusion does not preclude the possibility that a causal link may be
established at a later date by future epidemiology and toxicology studies.'
Many water suppliers believe caution dictates a shift away from chlorine
as the key bulwark that germs not be transmitted through drinking water. The
MWRA, for example, is building a new disinfection facility that, like other new
facilities in many communities, will mostly rely on ozonation rather than
chlorination. In the meantinme, the level of the chlorine
by-products in MWRA water is well below the levels set by current
federal health standards that have recently been tightened in response to
chlorine concerns."
Detailed information on the testing parameters and
results for the MWRA water system can be obtained by calling (617) 788-1170.
LOAD-DATE: February 03, 1999 
