DRINKING-WATER DISINFECTION BY-PRODUCTS - AN AUSTRALIAN PERSPECTIVE

Disinfection of water supplies is of paramount importance for the prev ention of waterborne diseases. Unfortunately, an unwanted side effect is the formation of by-products. Currently, chlorine and monochloramin e are the only agents used to disinfect major drinking water supplies in Australia. Historically, some Australian waters have produced high concentrations of disinfection by-products (DBPs) upon chlorination. H owever, most water authorities in Australia do not routinely monitor D BP concentrations, with only a few analysing for THMs alone. According ly, there has been very little information available on the nature, di stribution and typical concentrations of DBPs in Australian drinking w aters. A number of analytical methods for the determination of DBPs we re assessed and an analytical survey of 16 drinking Raters from around Australia was conducted to determine their occurrence. Typically, DBP concentrations, with the exception of cyanogen chloride, were lowest in chloraminated waters. The survey revealed that for some waters, chl oroacetic acid and chloral hydrate are the DBPs most likely to exceed the 1996 NHMRC Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.