Skip to content
How Did Dichloroacetic Acid Get In My Water?
Dichloroacetic Acid is a chemical compound which is an analog of acetic acid. It is also known as Bichloroacetic acid. Dichloroacetic Acid is one of the five haloacetic acids and a member of the chloroacetic acids family. It is an essential chemical compound in medical research, especially in cancer treatment. This type of chloroacetic acid is a trace product of the process of chlorination of drinking water. Dichloroacetic Acid can get into water systems through improper disposal of waste from pharmaceutical factories. Like other Haloacetic Acids (HAAs), it can be formed in water systems through chlorination, ozonation or chloramination of drinking water.
Health Effects
Although it is used as a therapeutic agent to treat diabetes, lactic acidosis, and familial hyperlipidemia, Dichloroacetic Acid in drinking water may cause health problems during pregnancy, liver and kidney damages, reproductive difficulties, eyes and nerve problems, and an increased risk of getting cancer. Dichloroacetic Acid is common in municipal water since it is a trace product of chlorination of drinking water. It could effect as many as 160 million American households per EWG.org.
While the best way to remove the contamination from your drinking water is by eliminating the source of the pollutant, a solid carbon block water filter systems can help remove Dichloroacetic Acid to below the EPA’s contamination level standards. You will want to avoid a Granular Activated Carbon filter (GAC) as these have low removal levels of Dichloroacetic Acid.