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. 2024 Apr;132(4):44004.
doi: 10.1289/EHP14529. Epub 2024 Apr 30.

A Delicate Balance: Water Disinfection and By-Product Immunotoxicity

Carrie Arnold

A Delicate Balance: Water Disinfection and By-Product Immunotoxicity

Carrie Arnold. Environ Health Perspect. 2024 Apr.

Abstract

Mouse macrophages and human blood cells exposed to very high levels of three trihalophenols showed changes in RNA methylation, pointing to one mechanism by which disinfection by-products may harm health, even as disinfection protects it in other ways.

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Figures

Walkways lined with metal railings cross above concrete channels with water flowing through them
Graphical abstract
Walkways lined with metal railings cross above concrete channels with water flowing through them
In water treatment plants, chlorine contact chambers like the one shown here both disinfect water and lay the groundwork for the formation of DBPs, which the new study suggests may have immunotoxic effects. Image: © Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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