• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.32 no.2 s.89
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• pp.171-178
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• 2006

The objectives of this study were to investigate the formation of trihalomethanes(THMs) and to compare the concentration level of THMs of swimming pools water by different disinfection methods such as chlorine, ozone-chlorine, and salt brine electrolysis generator (SBEG). The concentration of chloroform was the highest in the chlorine system, and the SBEG was the highest in the production of bromodichloromethane (BDCM), dibromochloromethane (DBCM) and bromoform. The average concentration of total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) in three disinfection systems were $64.5{\pm}27.4mg/l(SBEG),\;43.8{\pm}22.3mg/l(chlorine)$, and $30.6{\pm}16.1mg/l(ozone-chlorine)$, respectively. In chlorine and ozone-chlorine disinfection system, chloroform concentration was highest, followed by BDCN, then DBCM. In the SBEG, TTHMs was composed of 42% of chloroform, 28.9% of bromoform, 15.1% of BDCM and 14% of DBCM, respectively. The strongest correlation was obtained in the levels of chloroform and TTHMs in chlorine, and ozone-chlorine disinfection systems from both indoor and outdoor swimming pools ($r=0.989{\sim}0.999$, p<0.01). In the SBEG, the levels of BDCM and TTHMs showed a good correlation (r=0.913, p<0.01). In chlorine and ozone-chlorine disinfection systems at indoor swimming pools, pH, TOC and $KMnO_4$ consumption showed strong correlation with chloroform and TTHMs concentrations (p<0.01). In the SBEG, pH and TOC were also strongly correlated with chloroform (p<0.01). pH and TTHMs were correlated as well (p<0.05).