Chemical found in drinking water causes more than 1,300 cases of bladder cancer a year (what better way to affect the whole population than through the public water supply?)

‘A chemical found in drinking water causes more than 1,300 cases of bladder cancer in the UK a year, a study has found.

The chemical, known as trihalomethanes (THMs) is a byproduct of a disinfectant in water, was known to be a cause of the disease.

Now, researchers have quantified its effect, finding it to be responsible for 1,356 diagnoses a year, or 9.2 per cent of all cases of bladder cancer in the UK.

Across Europe, it causes 6,500 cases, just under 5 per cent of the total for the continent.

Cause of cancer clarified

The average level of THMs in drinking water in all countries was well below the maximum possible limit in the EU

The study was conducted by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health and is published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.’

Read more: Chemical found in drinking water causes more than 1,300 cases of bladder cancer a year (what better way to affect the whole population than through the public water supply?)