A recent study examining the drinking habits of a third of US residents has uncovered a newly identified chemical, chloronitramide anion, in tap water. This chemical, a byproduct of water treatment, could potentially pose health risks, though its toxicity remains uncertain.

Chloronitramide anion is formed during the water disinfection process when chloramine—a compound created by mixing chlorine and ammonia—is used to treat public water supplies. Chloramine is widely employed to eliminate bacteria and viruses in municipal water systems. However, as it decays over time, it produces byproducts such as chloronitramide anion.

While the presence of this byproduct was first detected 40 years ago, the chemical's exact identity was only recently confirmed due to advancements in techniques.

Scientists are currently unsure whether chloronitramide anion is toxic. However, its structural similarity to other harmful molecules raises red flags. David Wahman, a research environmental engineer at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and one of the study's authors, stated, “It has similarity to other toxic molecules. We looked for it in 40 samples from 10 US chlorinated drinking water systems across seven states and found it in all samples.”

The study revealed that chloronitramide anion is present in every water system treated with chloramine. Given that approximately 113 million Americans rely on tap water treated with chloramine, this chemical could potentially affect a significant portion of the population.

Chloramine has been used in water disinfection for nearly a century, and the resulting byproducts, including chloronitramide anion, are a natural consequence of the treatment process.

Julian Fairey, the study’s lead author and an associate professor at the University of Arkansas, emphasized that while the identification of chloronitramide anion is a crucial step, more work is needed to assess its health implications. “We don’t know the toxicity, but this study has enabled us to be able to do that work now. Now, we can go about the hard work of trying to figure out what its toxicological relevance is in our water systems,” he explained.

Fairey also noted that prior research has linked disinfected drinking water to certain cancers including bladder and colorectal cancers. Consuming water with harmful chemicals can irritate the gastrointestinal tract, potentially leading to symptoms like nausea, vomiting, or diarrhoea if the exposure level is high.

Toxic chemicals can disrupt cellular function, potentially damaging organs like the liver and kidneys, which filter and process foreign substances.

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