1991年底,秘鲁出现了30多万霍乱病例,疫病还蔓延到邻近的国家。不少公共卫生官员把这次绝迹了多年的传染病的流行归咎于秘鲁的许多地区未用氯消毒饮用水。令人深思的是,该国有些地区放弃了用氯对水进行处理的原因之一却是防病,他们害怕氯的副产物会致癌。 用氯消毒饮水可说是20世纪公共卫生的最大进步,它保全了数千万人免受传染病侵害,对人类的贡献可说是居功至伟。然而,到了20世纪70年代中期,有人研究发现,当氯和未经处理的水中的有机物物质起化学反应时,会生成“氯仿”这类 At the end of 1991, there were more than 300,000 cases of cholera in Peru. The epidemic also spread to neighboring countries. Many public health officials attributed the epidemic of this infectious disease that had been extirpated for many years to the disinfection of drinking water without chlorine in many parts of Peru. It is thought deeply that one of the reasons that some areas of the country have abandoned the treatment of water with chlorine is prevention. They are afraid that the byproduct of chlorine can cause cancer. Disinfecting drinking water with chlorine is arguably the greatest advancement in public health in the 20th century. It protects tens of millions of people from infectious diseases and contributes to humanity. However, by the mid-1970s, studies have found that when chlorine and untreated water organic matter reacts chemically, it will produce “chloroform”