Common chemicals in drinking water have not been tested for safety

A common disinfectant in drinking water breaks down into a chemical compound that we know almost nothing about, including whether it has any potential toxic health effects on those who drink it.

Chlorine has been used to disinfect drinking water for more than a century. However, some drinking water systems in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia now use a closely related chemical disinfectant called chloramine. This is because chlorine byproducts have been linked to bladder and colon cancer, lower birth rates and miscarriages Julian…