A study published in the journal of Environmental Research
in 2012 suggested that the drinking water in northern Italy may be potentially
hazardous to infants- resulting in numerous birth defects.
The exposures to the chemical byproducts that form as a
result of the disinfectants added to drinking water in order to kill infectious
microbes may be the culprit- not the water itself. The mothers of infants who
drank the water throughout the first trimester of pregnancy had increased risk
for an array of anomalies including cleft palate, spina bifida, and renal
defects. This study is the first study in which researchers discovered a causal
relationship between exposures to the byproducts chlorite and chlorate in
drinking water that increases the risk of birth defects. In addition, this study is a part
of a larger research study that investigates the long-term exposure to the
byproducts present in drinking water.
Chemical disinfectants can create byproducts when added to drinking
water that form when the disinfectants interact with the organic matter in the
water. Trihalomethanes are a byproduct of chlorine and have been linked with
cancer and birth defects. The total amount of THMs in water is regulated in the
United States and other countries with water systems that are treated. The
Emilia Romagna region of northern Italy disinfects water with chlorine dioxide
and sodium hypochlorite. The chemical byproducts (DBPs) produced from those
disinfectants include chlorite, chlorate, and chloride ions. The effects of
DBPs remain largely unknown because it is difficult to assess the health
effects of the byproducts. The greatest exposures to DBPs are through drinking
tap water, inhaling them during showers or baths, and swimming in treated
pools. Chlorite has been known to cause blood problems in animal studies.
Furthermore, animal studies indicate chloride ions and chlorate may cause
impaired neurological development and thyroid complications as well as delays
in female sexual development.
In this study, researchers studied the link between eight
classes of birth defects and the mother’s exposure during the first trimester
of pregnancy to THMS, chlorite, and chlorate in drinking water. They compared
6, 134 babies born with congenital birth defects gathered from the (Regional
Malformation Registry) to babies born without birth defects (gathered from the
country’s Regional Birth Registry) in Emilia Romagna, Italy. Then, the
researchers determined the source of water the mother’s consumed during the
first months of pregnancy and estimated her exposure to DBPs using data from
the local water authorities that measure chlorate, THMs, and chlorine. Italy’s
limit for chlorite is 700 micrograms per liter of water.
In the study, 3.4 percent of women were presumed to have
been exposed to water exceeding this level. These women appear to have been 3
times as likely to give birth to infant with renal defects and nearly 7 times
as likely to have a baby with abdominal wall defects. Italy does not regulate
chlorate and expectant mothers in the higher chlorate exposure group had 9.6
times the risk of having babies with cleft palate as compared with mothers in a
low chlorate exposure group. Their babies also had 5 times the risk of spina
bifida and almost 3 times the risk of obtrusive urinary defects. The links
between chlorite and chlorite took into account factors including a mother’s
age, previous abortions, single or multiple births, whether parents were
related, and the city’s social economic status.
Due to the relatively small
size of the study population, further research is necessary in order to confirm
the associations in the study. In conclusion, the results of the study should
cause water treatment facilities around the world to be more aware of the
potential harm the byproducts of the most widely used disinfectants may pose to
infants. If further studies confirm the links, then cities must regulate the
amount of disinfectants used in the tap water.
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