Swimmers contribute to additional formation of N-nitrosamines in chlorinated pool water

초록

This study aimed to investigate the concentrations of N-nitrosamines in chlorinated indoor pool water and to determine whether swimmers' bodily inputs of organic and inorganic substances increase those concentrations. Three public indoor pools in Chuncheon, Korea were visited for the purposes of obtaining both source (chlorinated drinking water) and pool water samples and comparing their concentrations of six N-nitrosamines as well as certain water quality parameters. Three N-nitrosamines, specifically Nnitrosomorpholine (NMOR), N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), and N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), could be quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD). NDMA, showing average and maximum concentrations of 49.5 and 208 ng L-1, respectively, was the major compound found. Paired t-tests showed significantly higher concentrations of NDMA, total nitrosamines, free residual chlorine, combined residual chlorine (chloramines), total residual chlorine, total nitrogen, dissolved organic carbon, Cl-, NO3-, and SO<inf>4</inf>2- in the pool water than in the source water samples at α=0.01, suggesting that organic and inorganic loads from swimmers might contribute to those elevated N-nitrosamine concentrations. © 2011 Korean Society of Environmental Risk Assessment and Health Science and Springer.

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