Chlorine reacts with sweat, urine in pools

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Feb. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers have determined how certain airborne contaminants are created when chlorine reacts with sweat and urine in indoor swimming pools.

Purdue University environmental engineer Ernest R. Blatchley III said the findings are a step toward learning how to reduce the formation of "volatile disinfection byproducts" that cause respiratory irritation.

"Some indoor swimming pools seem to have a characteristic chlorine odor," Blatchley said in a statement. "You may think you're smelling chlorine, but you are probably smelling a mixture of disinfection byproducts. If their concentrations get high enough, then they can become an irritant to your respiratory system, to your skin and to your eyes."

Standard tests for swimming pool water detect inorganic byproducts, or chemical compounds that do not contain carbon-hydrogen bonds.

The researchers said they are the first to identify the presence of organic volatile disinfection byproducts, which become airborne and pose health concerns.

The findings were published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Last summer the U.S. National Swimming Championships in Indianapolis were interrupted after swimmers experienced difficulty breathing.