drinking water disinfection by-products (DBPs) -- in the range commonly encountered in the US -- do not affect fetal survival (not harmful to unborn fetus).

Such is the finding of a research team from University of North Carolina School of Public Health headed by David A. Savitz, Ph.D., Director of the Center of Excellence in Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Disease Prevention at MSSM, and formerly Chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

According to David A. Savitz, Ph.D., lead investigator of the study:

"Decisions about treating drinking water nationwide rest in part on these health concerns, and our results provide assurance that there is no measurable adverse effect of disinfection by-products on risk of miscarriage.

Given the need to control risk of infection through treatment and the huge expense involved in further reducing DBPs, this is good news for the water utility industry and their customers."

This is a particularly important finding revoking the suggestion of a previous study that linked exposure to elevated levels of DBPs to pregnancy loss.

DBPs are produced from the interaction of chlorine with organic material in raw water. Chemical DBPs has been linked to potential reproductive toxicity, including trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs).

Find more details from Science Daily.