In a story in Chemical and Engineering News, researchers are worried about the environmental impact of using chlorinated sea water in toilets. Coastal communities, including 80 percent of people living in Hong Kong already flush their toilets with seawater.
According to the article, there are already toxic by-products when regular wastewater is treated with chlorine, but they say it will be worse with seawater because there are higher concentrations of bromide and iodide that produce by-products that are more toxic to marine life when that water leaches into coastal waters.
Researchers in China conducted experiments to see if this was the case, and surprisingly, they found the opposite to be true. The more important question is whether introducing freshwater to a marine (saltwater) environment would produce a negative effect. More studies need to be conducted, but flushing salt water could help keep the environment the wastewater goes from being suddenly introduced to freshwater. View the article for more information.
http://cen.acs.org/articles/93/web/2015/11/Flushing-Toilets-Seawater-Protect-Marine.html
Razi Berry, Founder, and Publisher of Naturopathic Doctor News & Review (ndnr.com) and NaturalPath (thenatpath.com), has spent the last decade as a natural medicine advocate and marketing whiz. She has galvanized and supported the naturopathic community, bringing a higher quality of healthcare to millions of North Americans through her publications. A self-proclaimed health-food junkie and mother of two; she loves all things nature, is obsessed with organic gardening, growing fruit trees (not easy in Phoenix), laughing until she snorts, and homeschooling. She is a little bit crunchy and yes, that is her real name.
