Fourier wrote: » Just reading a few papers on it (there are apparently labs that have tested this in detail!), it seems chlorine bonds with the urea salt in urine to form trichloramine. The typical "pool smell" is actually trichloramine!! It is a powerful disinfectant and can in fact aid in the healing of some wounds, though it is bad for your lungs. I'm not a chemist, so hopefully my reading is accurate.
A study has found that urinating in swimming pools is more than just unsanitary - it can also produce poisonous chemicals when urine and chlorine react. One in five Americans have admitted to relieving themselves in swimming pools, while US Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps described peeing in a pool as "kind of a normal thing to do for swimmers" because chlorine destroys bacteria in water But now research is suggesting it could actually be a health hazard (as well as disgusting). Researchers from the China Agricultural University and Purdue University found that when uric acid, a compound in urine, and chlorine mix it can produce substances that could cause health problems - namely trichloramine and cyanogen chloride. The latter is listed as a classified substance under the US Chemical Weapons Convention because it could potentially be used in chemical warfare. Trichloramine has been linked to breathing problems and cyanogen chloride can affect the lungs, heart and nervous system. Scientists have not yet identified all of the specific ingredients in sweat and urine that could cause these potentially harmful compounds to form. A study published in the journal of Environmental Science and Technology looked at what happens when urine reacts with chlorine. Lead authors Jing Li and Ernest Blatchley found that when they mixed uric acid and chlorine both of the potentially harmful compounds formed within an hour. They calculated that more than 90 per cent of the compound in pools comes from urine. Uric acid accounted for 24 to 68 percent of the byproduct cyanogen chloride in the pool water samples. According to The Atlantic, a person leaves about 30 to 80 millilitres of urine behind each time they visit a swimming pool. Mr Blatchley said that if a lot of people are in a swimming pool at one time and urinate in the pool, there is the potential for a lot of cyanogen chloride to form and deplete the chlorine in the pool. Cyanogen chloride would normally decay rapidly, but less chlorine could allow it to stay present in the water for longer. However the amounts of cyanogen chloride generated are highly unlikely to meet the World Health Organisation's 'danger zone' of 70 micrograms per litre. Ars Technica were also quick to point out that dying of cyanogen chloride poisoning originating from chlorine in water and urine is extremely unlikely - think three million swimmers urinating in one very chlorinated pool. The authors concluded that swimmers might want to consider peeing outside of the water to improve swimming conditions. “Given that uric acid introduction to pools is attributable to urination, a voluntary action for most swimmers, these findings indicate important benefits to pool water and air chemistry that could result from improved hygiene habits on the part of swimmers.” Link: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/urinating-in-swimming-pools-produces-a-chemical-warfare-agent-but-it-would-take-a-lot-of-pee-to-9227844.html
If the paper weren’t laid out in complete grammatical sentences and published in JACS, you’d swear it was the work of a violent lunatic. I ran out of vulgar expletives after the second page. ... Hydrogen sulfide, for example, reacts with four molecules of FOOF to give sulfur hexafluoride, 2 molecules of HF and four oxygens. . .and 433 kcal, which is the kind of every-man-for-himself exotherm that you want to avoid at all cost.
mzungu wrote: » Ever been in a swimming pool and your eyes go bloodshot? Usually chlorine gets the blame, however this is not the case. Chlorine on its own is fine and won't cause irritation. The irritation comes from contaminants in the pool (urine and sweat) which bind to the chlorine in the water creating a chemical compound which in turn causes your eyes to sting.
Capt'n Midnight wrote: After the war loads of German engineers went to NASA and the rest is history ...
Capt'n Midnight wrote: For Das Boot the cameras were so noisy they entire thing had to be dubbed. As most of the crew were bilingual they did both the German and English
Capt'n Midnight wrote: » In the German versions of Arnold Schwarzenegger's films someone else does the voice.
goat2 wrote: » looking at those already in the pool, give an indication as to whether a pool is clean or not, watching how often they rub their eyes
New Home wrote: » I was told a while back that now there's a substance that's added to the pools that make the water turn black if it comes into contact with urine. Not sure if that's true, though, or if it's true only for some pools.
Capt'n Midnight wrote: » In the German versions of Arnold Schwarzenegger's films someone else does the voice. For Das Boot the cameras were so noisy they entire thing had to be dubbed. As most of the crew were bilingual they did both the German and English
sunnysoutheast wrote: » The submarine which was used for the external shots was also the sub in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
the purple tin wrote: » Red wine has no taste. The flavour you get while drinking it is actually coming from the smell. The next time you have a head cold drink some and it will taste like water.
Anders Shy Aircraft wrote: While smell plays an important part in the discernment of flavours...
mzungu wrote: » Chlorine on its own is fine and won't cause irritation.
cdeb wrote: » Dr Elsa Schneider, the Nazi villainess in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, went to school in Mount Anville.
quickbeam wrote: » Absolutely not! I'm completely anosmic (lack a sense of smell) and red wine (or white, come to that) certainly doesn't taste like water.
Anders Shy Aircraft wrote: » While smell plays an important part in the discernment of flavours in most things, it is completely untrue that red wine, of and in itself, has no flavour. My brother had no sense of smell and could certainly taste and discriminate between red wines. While blindfolded anosmics can struggle to differentiate between some particular flavours they can still tell red wine from water.
the purple tin wrote: » It would appear that I've been sold a lemon
Cookie_Monster wrote: » Chlorine on it's own is not fine and will kill you. Our local pool had a bit of an issues last year where the chlorine dosing system had a malfunction and overdosed the pool. 7 people were hospitalised.