Chlorinated Water & Humates

Many people concerned about chlorine in their municipal drinking water and have the opinion that humic and fulvic acid creates a health risk if ingested with chlorinated water. Beyond avoiding chlorine, selecting purified water when diluting Mineral Logic’s concentrated fulvic and humic products is simply the healthier choice.

Chlorine Reacts with Organic Substances

Chlorinated drinking water is not considered to be hazardous to our health, even though chlorine can react with several organic substances found naturally in water. The U.S. EPA limits the amount of chlorine in drinking water well below concentrations than those necessary for the formation of any significant levels of chlorinated hydrocarbons.

Even in the presence of humic and fulvic acid or shilajit, the amount of any potential chlorinated hydrocarbons is negligible in municipal drinking water and would not form a significant number of potential carcinogens that would be of any health concern.

EPA Regulation

It is well known in the scientific community that naturally occurring organic contamination of drinking water subsequently chlorinated for public safety does not lead to the significant formation of carcinogenic trihalomethanes.

The formation of carcinogenic trihalomethanes is highly dependent on the concentration of the organic components (total dissolved solids) as well as the concentration of chlorine in the drinking water. To this end the EPA has regulated that drinking water contain no more than 4 ppm chlorine and 500 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids (TDS).

Total Dissolved Solids is defined as all inorganic and organic substances contained in water that can pass through a 2-micron filter. The organic ions that pass through include pollutants, herbicides, and hydrocarbons. Interestingly, soil organic matter compounds such as humic/fulvic acids would also fall under TDS. Maintaining TDS at below 500 mg/L and chlorine below 4 ppm are considered safe levels by the EPA because it vastly reduces the formation of carcinogenic chlorinated organic compounds. Higher levels of either of these two parameters in drinking water are deemed unsafe by the EPA. Chlorination of water at 4 ppm provides drinking water that is essentially microbe-free.

To be clear, maintaining the parameters (less or equal to 4 ppm chlorine and < 500 mg/L TDS) does not eliminate the formation of chlorinated organic hydrocarbons but rather minimizes their formation below levels that the EPA considers harmful to health.

Virtually all sources of water (including spring water) contain some level of organic compounds, therefore chlorination of a public water source used for drinking will contain some level of chlorinated hydrocarbons.

For the reasons above, Mineral Logic recommends purified, reverse osmosis, or distilled water to use with our products. Not only are these water sources void of all chlorine—and thus, no chlorinated hydrocarbons can form, but they are also void of any other pollutants. Often marketers will define these water sources as “dead” water because everything has been removed. Therefore, our trace mineral products re-mineralize and revitalize these water sources with healthy trace minerals, electrolytes, and antioxidants. Additionally, healthy trace minerals and trace elements have been reduced in our diets due to industrial farming and chemical applications to crops.

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Whether your products fall under the categories of nutraceutical, beverage, functional food, or body-care, fulvic acid may very well be the supplement to set you apart, to truly assist your customers reach optimal health.

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Disclaimer: Our fulvic products are for supporting overall health by way of supplying minerals, trace minerals, antioxidants, electrolytes, and other micro-nutrients. Our products are NOT meant for the treatment, mitigation or prevention of any disease or health ailments.