Production of various disinfection byproducts in indoor swimming pool waters treated with different disinfection methods.
In this study, the concentrations of disinfection byproducts (DBPs), including trihalomethanes (THMs; chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane, and bromoform), haloacetic acids (HAAs; dichloroacetic acid and trichloroacetic acid), haloacetonitriles (HANs; dichloroacetonitrile, trichloroacetonitrile, bromochloroacetonitrile, and dibromoacetonitrile), and chloral hydrate (CH) were measured in 86 indoor swimming pools in Seoul, Korea, treated using different disinfection methods, such as chlorine, ozone and chlorine, and a technique that uses electrochemically generated mixed oxidants (EGMOs). The correlations between DBPs and other environmental factors such as with total organic carbon (TOC), KMnO(4) consumption, free residual chlorine, pH, and nitrate (NO(3)(-)) in the pools were examined. The geometric mean concentrations of total DBPs in swimming pool waters were 183.1±2.5μg/L, 32.6±2.1μg/L, and 139.9±2.4μg/L in pools disinfected with chlorine, ozone/chlorine, and EGMO, respectively. The mean concentrations of total THMs (TTHMs), total HAAs (THAAs), total HANs (THANs), and CH differed significantly depending on the disinfection method used (P<0.01). Interestingly, THAAs concentrations were the highest, followed by TTHMs, CH, and THANs in all swimming pools regardless of disinfection method. TOC showed a good correlation with the concentrations of DBPs in all swimming pools (chlorine; r=0.82, P<0.01; ozone/chlorine; r=0.52, P<0.01, EGMO; r=0.39, P<0.05). In addition, nitrate was positively correlated with the concentrations of total DBPs in swimming pools disinfected with chlorine and ozone/chlorine (chlorine; r=0.58; ozone/chlorine; r=0.60, P<0.01), whereas was negative correlated with the concentrations of total DBPs (r=-0.53, P<0.01) in the EGMO-treated pools.
Seoul Metropolitan Government Research Institute of Public Health and Environment, Gyeonggi Province 427-070, South Korea.
Jin
J
Lee
Myung-Jin
MJ
Jun
Man-Ho
MH
Lee
Min-Hwan
MH
Lee
Seog-Won
SW
Eom
Kyung-Duk
KD
Zoh
D000085:Acetates / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D000097:Acetonitriles / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D002697:Chloral Hydrate / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D002713:Chlorine / Q000737:chemistry*; D004202:Disinfectants / Q000737:chemistry*; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods*; D016877:Oxidants / Q000737:chemistry*; D010126:Ozone / Q000737:chemistry*; D056910:Republic of Korea; D013551:Swimming Pools; D022882:Trihalomethanes / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
D000085:Acetates; D000097:Acetonitriles; D004202:Disinfectants; D016877:Oxidants; D022882:Trihalomethanes; D014867:Water; D002697:Chloral Hydrate; D002713:Chlorine; D010126:Ozone