Comparative evaluation of health hazards associated with industrial chemicals and their derivates forming during water chlorination

: Many industrial chemicals found in waste waters are able to form organochlorine by-products during water disinfection. The transformation of seven model compounds, cyclohexene, n-butanol, diphenylmethane, acetophenone, aniline, 1-methylnaphthalene, and phenylxylylethane during a reaction with active chlorine was studied. Aqueous chlorine and sodium hypochlorite were used as chlorinating agents. The products of the reaction were analyzed by means of chromatomass-spectrometry. A schematic model of diphenylmethane transformation was proposed. Comparative evaluation of hazards associated with the model chemicals and their derivates confirmed that chlorination products can be more toxic and dangerous than the initial compounds, and may possess mutagenic and cancerigenic properties.