If you were worried about chlorine in drinking water, just look what they've found now.

It has been recently reported that water samples taken from a US town's water supply showed that the average level of trihalomethanes has increased about 9 percent from its previous average, which was above standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The trihalomethanes are a carcinogenic byproduct formed when chlorine used to disinfect drinking water interacts with organic materials in the water supply.

One theory about why the trihalomethanes levels might be higher is that the farther water travels from the water treatment plant, the more time chlorine has to interact with organic materials.

There have also been reports of drugs found in drinking water samples taken from all over the United States, Canada and other areas of the world.

These were waters intended for public use.

As if we don't have enough to worry about.

First, it was simply a matter of taste.

The level of chlorine in drinking water at my house varies, but sometimes it would smell like pool water.

One day, I went to cook pasta and luckily looked in the bottom of the pot first. It was yellow. You could literally see the chlorine granules.

Of course, you couldn't see the drugs found in drinking water.

And, there are lots of other contaminants too small to be seen by the naked eye, but that does not mean that they are not dangerous.

My family has had a kitchen purifier since the day that the treatment facility said the level of chlorine in drinking water was considered safe, even though I could see it.

The taste was terrible.

Later, I learned that when used to disinfect, chlorine in drinking water releases toxins known as THMs or trihalomethanes.

Recently, I learned that those cause cancer.

Apparently, researchers have known for a while, but journals were afraid to publish the results.

They were afraid that there would be protests about chlorine in drinking water and the result would be that facilities would stop disinfecting.

Chlorination is the best way to kill E-coli and other bacteria that cause illnesses and death.

During a cholera outbreak in Peru, officials hesitated to use chlorination, even though it was recommended by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

They hesitated because they knew that THMs cause cancer.

Over 10,000 people died as a result in less than a month.

So, if chlorine in drinking water is news to you, don't petition the government to stop using it.

That would be a threat to public health.

Just buy a filtration device for your kitchen and you won't have to worry about it.

If you get a good system, you won't have to worry about the drugs found in drinking water either.

The levels are very low, but scientists are unsure about what the combination of the different drugs found in drinking water samples could do over the course of a person's life.

There is no immediate health risk. It's a long term risk, similar to the risk of cancer from THM exposure.