Chloramine in tap water - is it safe?
Dear Sir or Madam,
This is a Freedom of Information Request.
My tap water is chloraminated by my local water company(Severn Trent Water Ltd) and I'm concerned about the safety of this chemical,which is linked to rectal and bladder cancers,is linked to anaemia in children,and can apparently leech lead from pipes into tapwater which can cause brain damage and low intelligence.
Why is chloramine now being used to treat tap water instead of chlorine?
Is chloraminated water safe for human and animal consumption?
Who authorised the use of chloramine in UK drinking water,and when did this take place?
Have the effects of chloramine consumption been studied on behalf of any British govermenment agency - what were the findings?
Do you have evidence to show that chloramine is safe for human and animal consumption - I would like to see any evidence.
Yours faithfully,
M Jones
Dear Sir or Madam,
This request is overdue a response.
By law,the Health Protection Agency should have answered promptly.
You are now breaking the law to have not replied by the 23rd October 2009.
Yours faithfully,
M Jones
Dear Mr Jones
I apologise for the delay in responding to your request
Please find attached the Health Protection Agency's response to your
questions.
Feel free to contact me if you require further clarification.
Kind regards
Leigh Kelly
Freedom of information Officer
Dear Leigh Kelly,
Thank you for your response.
Of the five questions I posed in my quest for information about chloramine,you have only provided a very partial response to the second and fifth questions (within the World Health Organisation PDF report you provide a link to),and this report hardly makes for reassuring reading.
It is questionable whether simply linking to this organisation's website is even a legitimate method of responding to a FOI request?What evidence is there that this information can be trusted as valid and true?This applies to all of the other links you've provided.
You have not provided any information in response to the other three questions.
I would now very much like for you to provide a FULL response to my request for information,as is required by law.
Yours sincerely,
M Jones
Dear Sir or Madam,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Health Protection Agency's handling of my FOI request 'Chloramine in tap water - is it safe?'.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ch...
Yours faithfully,
Michael Jones
Dear Mr Jones
Please find attached the Health Protection Agency's response to your
request
Kind regards
Leigh Kelly
Freedom of information Officer
Michael Jones left an annotation ()
26 November 2009
www.hpa.org.uk
Email: [Health Protection Agency request email]
Dear Mr Jones
Re: Certification of chloramine
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request dated 23 November 2009
regarding information held by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) on the certification
of chloramine. Under section 1 (1) (a) of the Act I can confirm that we do not hold the
information you have requested.
In accordance with our section 16 duty to provide advice and assistance I would
suggest that you contact the British Standards Institution (http://www.bsigroup.com/)
regarding chlorine BS EN 937:1999, and ammonium sulphate BS EN 12123:1999.
You may also find more information in Annex 2 of the Drinking Water Inspectorate’s
list of approved products for use in Public Water Supply in the United Kingdom
(http://www.dwi.gov.uk/31/pdf/soslist06.pdf)
I hope you have found this information useful, however, if you are dissatisfied with
this response and would like a copy of the HPA complaints procedure then please
contact Mr George Stafford, Complaints Manager at: Health Protection Agency, 61
Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ.
Please note that you have the right to an independent review by the Information
Commissioner’s Office if a complaint cannot be resolved through the HPA complaints
procedure. The Information Commissioner’s Office can be contacted by writing to
Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire
SK9 5AF.
Please contact me if you require any further information or assistance.
Yours sincerely
Leigh Kelly
Freedom of Information Officer
Health Protection Agency
Document Outline
Dear Health Protection Agency,
Thank you for your response.
Is the reason for you being unable to provide a British Standard (BS:EN) for chloramine that such a standard does not actually exist for this chemical?
It is interesting to note that whilst you claim you do not have access to the British Standard (BS:EN) for chloramine,yet you provide me with the British Standard information to two other chemicals which appear to have no connection to my Freedom of Information Request - perhaps you could explain the purpose of the inclusion of this data in your response?
I have looked at Annex 2 of the Drinking Water Inspectorate's "List of Approved Products For Use In The Public Water Supply in the United Kingdom" but can find no mention of chloramine - exactly what information were you suggesting that I 'may' find in this document?
Yours sincerely,
M.Jones
T Gillett left an annotation ()
If the law is being broken then who is responsible for the remedy? 2 years is a long time to be waiting for adequate replies.
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susanpickford left an annotation ()
Many water companies are attempting to put ammonia in drinking water treatment. Ammonia plus chlorine creates chloramine. You can learn much more about the many hazards of chloramine on our website www.chloramineinfocenter.net . Here you will find information about massive fish kills, highly toxic byproducts, acute adverse health effects, plumbing issues, lead issues and much more. Our information is based upon peer reviewed studies by the top water professionals in the country. Many are authored by EPA scientists and published in the AWWA journal and American Chemistry Society publications. There is no doubt in the scientific community that chloramine byproducts will be regulated in the future as at least two of them have already been classified by EPA as "probable human carcinogens". It is immoral for water companies to initiate chloramine systems knowing that the byproducts are 100 times more toxic than those of chlorine and 2000 times less effective in killing ecoli. Germany has banned the use of chlroamine for 30 years, France has banned it as well. The World Health Organization has cautioned against the use of chloramine as it exposes consumers to ecoli and rotoviruses and polio 1. Please see our website and contact me via the website for any further information and how to oppose the use of chloramine in your area.