Hi,
::: How It Causes Harm:
::: "The Clorox company states that chlorine is basically safe. They
say
::: that it breaks down into harmless salt and water. This is very
true,
::: but
::: only in a laboratory test tube under very controlled conditions.
::: Chlorine
::: itself is not the real issue at hand, but how the byproducts of
::: chlorine such
::: as organochlrines and dioxins remain in the environment.
::
:: You're smart and well-educated, but not in chemistry. :-) A
:: "byproduct" is a breakdown product of some mixture. Chlorine is
an element. It is already in its simplest naturally occuring form.
:: Chlorine cannot break down into hydrogen and oxygen or salt
elements like sodium.

I think what they mean is that if chlorine gets into the environment
it can act on other materials and the resulting chemical reaction
may lead
to things like organochlorines and dioxins.

Besides the chlorine that is naturally present in the environment,
it's in most of the things in your household - including the water
itself. Look at the labels in your house. Chlorine is also used in
the vast majority of places in the US to disinfect the water and make
it safe to drink.

:: These people probably meant that chlorine can be made *part of*
:: substances such as the ones they list, but that's not going to
occur just because of the presence of chlorine atoms.

Well, the issue is that the bleach has to go somewhere in the
environment, which may result in these byproducts. I never said
dioxin are in
bleach, someone else simply made the comment they aren't, which I
don't
dispute.

If dioxins worry you that much there are some things you can do to
limit your exposure to them. Since they're fat soluble don't eat the
fatty animal based foods like butter and eggs or the fat or skin of
meats and poultry. Don't eat salmon. Don't drive a car or light your
fireplace (no woodburning of any type). To limit the amount of
chlorine you release into the environment you can do the following: No
Splenda. They use chlorine atoms in Splenda. No salt. Throw out
most of your vitamins. Don't use bleached paper products like coffee
filters, toilet paper or notebook and copier and printer papers. No
PVC stuff. There's more, and if you search you'll get lots of good
ideas.

Take care,
Carmen
PS If you get cancer or some communicable disease leave it untreated.
The hospital waste gets burned and that'll lead to dioxin release.
And yes, I am being a smartass. Come on Roger. You're more capable
of independent thought than that. The source you provided is clearly
written by people with little knowledge of the subject. A cursory
glance ought to have set off alarm bells. Is there some lady with
Greenpeace leanings you're interested in or something?