swimming in a covered swimming pool where chlorine has been used as a disinfectant can lead to mutations in a person’s DNA.

The study was carried out by the High Council of Scientific Investigation, CSIC, the Centre for Environmental Epidemiology, CREAL, and the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, IMIM, along with the Barcelona autonomous university, UAB, and the Clínic Hospital in the city.

They set 49 adults swimming in the water for 40 minutes and discovered that reactions were produced in lung permeability by the disinfectants in the water reacting with the organic matter of the swimmer. The conclusion came following analysis of blood, urine and breath samples from the volunteers.

The researchers also concluded that the action of the chlorine on the skin could cause DNA mutations.

However they also explicitly underline that swimming is beneficial for health, saying that such benefits would be increased by reduction in the use of chemical products for disinfection.

Details of the study have been published in the Environmental Health Perspectives magazine.

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