Bleach VS Chlorine Dioxide

[Kc Fiedler]

Let me start by saying that I am NOT looking for opinions on this.

Can anyone point me to some hard and fast objectified analysis of household bleach vs chlorine dioxide as far as their relative effects on the body over extended periods and effectiveness at killing waterborne illness?

I love AquaMira and am very curious about switching to just bleach if it really works and is truly safe.

I have yet to find anything across the web proving that bleach is a safe and effective water treatment method.

I'm not looking for trail journals of people who have used bleach. I'm seeking a reputable/scholarly source if possible to solve this lingering question. Is there an old thread with pertinent information that I missed?

Thanks.

[Dogwood]

Isn't everything someone's opinion? Even if the "objective" analysis is done by a lab? I'm not about to site where I received all my info as I'm out the door in a few hrs to get on a flight but chlorine dioxide(two part AM drops), as far as I read, is easier on the human body over the long term compared to household laundry bleach(sodium hypochlorite or sodium hypochlorite) although we had a discussion on AM drops concerning health here on WB only about a month ago. In a pinch, if I had nothing else and felt it absolutely necessary to treat my water I would use unscented household bleach on a temporary basis but not over the long term because of the possibly killing off of all(most?), including good, intestinal digestive flora which seems to be a habitual practice in the U.S. even as practiced by the western medical community with the over prescribing of antibiotics. IMHO, I don't think you are going to get much(any?) research info specifically making this comparison regarding the consequences to intestinal flora but I'm interested in seeing what others come up with.

[Slo-go'en]

Well, I found this quick enough at http://www.clordisys.com/WhatIsCD.pdf

Environmental Impact

Chlorine dioxide’s special properties make it an ideal choice to meet the challenges of today's environmentally concerned world.Actually, chlorine dioxide is an environmentally preferred alternative to elemental chlorine. When chlorine reacts with organicmatter, undesirable pollutants such as dioxins and bio-accumulative toxic substances are produced. Thus, the EPA supports thesubstitution of chlorine dioxide for chlorine because it greatly reduces the production of these pollutants. It is a perfect replacementfor chlorine, providing all of chlorine's benefits without any of its weaknesses and detriments. Most importantly, chlorine dioxidedoes not chlorinate organic material, resulting in significant decreases in trihalomethanes (THMs), haloacetic acids (HAAs) andother chlorinated organic compounds. This is particularly important in the primary use for chlorine dioxide, which is waterdisinfection. Other properties of chlorine dioxide make it more effective than chlorine, enabling a lower dose and resulting in alower environmental impact.

What about liquid? Will CD get

[Malto]

It doesn't get much better than this.

http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drin...treatment.html

[Meriadoc]

Good information there. And in a much more digestible version than the hundreds page long study I looked at a while back.

Looks like I might change the backup chemicals I use.

[Kc Fiedler]

Found a quick blerb by Buck Tilton (founder of WMI) about bleach as a water disinfectant. That seems to suggest bleach is effective at killing all but Crypto. I know Buck personally and know what kind of research and fact finding he does before giving his word on something so that's as good as gold.

The Washington State Department of Health website also contains a table of bleach ratios and supports the use of household bleach as a disinfectant, the table is here.

Louisiana State Univeristy also has some information on the use of household bleach for disinfection, also containing a table of ratios here.

The EPA website also endorses the use of bleach here.

Looks like the most important thing to note is that bleach won't kill every type of pathogen (most notably Crypto) so if there's a unique water borne pathogen warning out for your area, consider using multiple disinfection methods.

The link from the CDC that actually talks about using bleach is located here. Malto's initial link takes us to a page with some really good information about specific water borne illnesses and how to disinfect each one most efficiently.

I feel pretty comfortable in trusting bleach to disinfect my water on an AT thru. Still not much information on the health effects of bleach vs chlorine dioxide but Dogwood might be right, the data probably just isn't out there.

Dogwood... facts and opinions are mutually exclusive. I think you'd have a pretty difficult time effectively supporting a debate on the side of "everything is an opinion". Especially in today's rationalized scientific world. That's just my two cents on your question of "Isn't everything someone's opinion".

[gunner76]

So in my mind the question for people hiking the AT ( or XYZ hiking trail ) ...which of the major players Protozoa - Cryptosporidium; Protozoa - Giardia intestinalis (also known as Giardia lamblia); Bacteria - (for example, Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli) and Viruses - (for example, enterovirus, hepatitis A, norovirus, rotavirus), have been found in the water sources along the trail.

As for my self, I have used bleach to treat my drinking water and rarely at that.

[Kc Fiedler]

Wise question, Gunner.