Determination of trihalomethane concentrations in indoor swimming pools water of Bandar Abbas, Iran

Introduction: Chlorination has been used as a major disinfectant process for public drinking and swimming pool water in many countries. However, it was concern over the disinfection byproducts (DBPs) by the reaction of chlorine with organic material in water and the effect on human health. The purpose of this study was to determination trihalomethane concentrations in indoor swimming pools water of Bandar Abbas. Methods: Water samples were collected from five different indoor swimming pools in Bandar Abbas. A total of 15 pool samples were collected and analyzed for determination of chloroform, TOC, EC, Turbidity. Trihalomethane (chloroform) analysis by the GC system was performed with ECD detector. Water and air temperature and the amount of residual chlorine and PH levels were measured at the site. Results: In this study, mean concentration of chloroform in swimming pool water was 93.48 micrograms per liter and the mean concentration of total organic carbon (TOC) in swimming pool was 9.58 milligrams per liter. There was a correlation between chloroform and TOC (r = 0.49, P<0.05), between number of swimmer and chloroform (r = 0.636, P<0.01) and between residual chlorine and chloroform (r = 0.639, P<0.01). Conclusion: High concentration of trihalomethane was found in Bandar Abbas swimming pools. The difference between the number of swimmers, water temperature, residual chlorine, and TOC influence on Trihalomethane Concentrations between pools is more than within pools.