CHLORINE GAS

Per gallon of water treated,

possibly the safest form of
residual disinfection
Emotion And Misinformation Driving
Shift To Alternative Disinfectants
 Ignoring historical facts
 Misguided regulations
 Inaccurate government databases
 “BHOPAL SYNDROME” & worst case scenarios
 Misuse and generic use of the word “Chlorine”
 Safety and health risks associated with the
alternatives
 A Long History Of Making The
Technology Safe
 Vacuum Feed Technology
 Chlorine Institute
 An innovative industry developed many
safety devices
 Well Intended But Misguided
Regulations Are Causing Fear

 RMP

 FIFRA
Government Databases On Chlorine
Incidents Are Meaningless

 Release quantities only

 Don’t differentiate between industries
 No injury or death data
 Suspect database info is largely Hypo
accidents
 We Are Beginning To Collect
Historical Facts Specific To Our Industry

 Newspaper clippings
 CI and other trade associations
 Membership and end users
 Misuse Of The Word “Chlorine”
 400 “Chlorine” accidents in newspaper

 Media and layperson use “Chlorine” to describe hypo

accidents

 65% of Chlorine accidents are hypo

 50% of hypo accidents use “Chlorine” in headline

 Damages reputation of Chlorine gas disinfection

 Safety issues with alternative
disinfectants
 Calcium Hypochlorite: Gas releases, fires,
explosions
 Sodium Hypochlorite: gas releases when
combined with other chemical
 Onsite generation: Detonation of hydrogen
 MEDIA REPORTED
“CHLORINE” INCIDENTS

Calcium Hypo
30%
35%
Sodium Hypo

Compressed
Cl2 Gas
35%
 Compressed Chlorine Gas
Incidents
 Only 35 to 40% of “chlorine accidents”
involve compressed gas
Compressed Chlorine Gas Incidents

Water

20%

50% Industrial

30%
Swimming
Pools
 Source of Leak

10% Lead
Gasket
15%
Valve
Packing
75%
Other
Type Of Vessel Involved

150 lb. Cylinders

Ton Containers

Railcars
 Chlorine Incident Statistics
 Majority of events occurred when the tanks were being
changed out.

 Majority of the “quantities released” were less than 25

lbs.

 There were 3 releases over 300 lbs

 2 water treatment plant operator fatalities since 1979

(both asthmatic)

 Zero offsite fatalities going back to 1959

 More Concerns With Alternatives
 Chlorate and Bromate formation are
greater concern when using hypo
 CA may require NSF grade salt for onsite
generators
 EPA is now beginning to look into the
regulation of “reactives”
Chlorine gas is possibly the safest
form of disinfection available
 Eliminate emotion
 Clarify misinformation
 Analyze historical data and statistics