"Roger Zoul" wrote:

Martin W. Smith wrote:
:: "Roger Zoul" wrote:
::
::: Carmen wrote:
::::: Hi,
::::: On 7-Sep-2004, "Roger Zoul" wrote:
:::::
:::::: 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.
:::
::::: 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.
::
:: You know they use chlorine in swimming pools quite a lot. It does
:: cause asthma in children, but I've not heard of any other medical
:: problems.
::
:: It dries out your hair (well, the whole mix of pool chemicals does)
:: and your skin, and it makes you smell like chlorine. It turns your
:: hair green. When the weather is very hot, chloramine gas can form
:: over the surface of the pool, which will make you gag.
::
:: If you are worried about bleach, why not use something else?

Yeah, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to use the suggestions given
in the post by Bob.

BTW, I'm not hyper-worried about bleach per se, but I have a house full of
cleaners that sit there for years. Simple & cheap solutions that work, are
less toxic, and environmentally safe seem like a good options to me. Plus,
I don't like the smell and the thought of a lot of chemicals.

Just a suggestion... you can ignore it, of course... but you are
beginning to sound like you are developing an anxiety problem.