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MX and Other Potentially Hazardous Chlorinated By-Products

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Haloforms and Related Compounds in Drinking Water

Part of the book series: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry ((HEC5,volume 5 / 5G))

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Abstract

Surface water is the main source of drinking water in many countries. Chlorination of water is, for technological and economic reasons, the commonly used disinfection method, despite the fact that some of the numerous chlorination by-products are considered potentially harmful to human health.

The aim of the chapter is to present state of the art findings in the field of chlorination on a by-product found in drinking water known as MX, i.e., 3-chloro-4-(dichloromethyl)-5hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone, which is discussed in detail, due to its high potential mutagenicity and common presence in tap water.

Chlorination by-products such as chloroform and other trichloromethanes have been known for over 20 years. In 1986, a strongly mutagenic compound, namely: 3-chloro-4(dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2(5H) furanone (MX) was identified in chlorinated waters. Its presence in tap waters was confirmed in many countries.

Commonly, at least 30% of mutagenic activity in drinking water is due to MX. The mutagenic activity of MX is comparable with the activity of aflatoxin. Due to its high activity and common presence in tap water, the World Health Organization has placed MX on the list of disinfection by-products potentially hazardous to humans. Yet, due to the lack of adequate toxicological data and rather complicated analytical procedures, no guidelines for MX in drinking water have yet been established. However, in the recent draft of the Third Edition of the WHO Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality, the recommended value associated with a 10−5 risk is 1.8 μg 1−1, which is much above of commonly found concentrations.

Extensive review of international literature on the subject as well as the authors’ own research, particularly on MX analyses, were used as the basis of this chapter.

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Abbreviations

5-MHF:

C5 methyl hydroxyfuranones

AOX:

Adsorbable organic halocarbons

BA:

Butenoic acid

BMX:

Brominated hydroxyfuranones

Bu:

Butyl

CMCF:

3-Chloro-4(chloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone

DCAA:

Dichloroacetic acid

dCMF:

4-(Dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone

E-MX:

2-Chloro-3(dichloromethyl)-4-oxbutenoic acid, open ring MX isomer

GAC:

Granulated activated carbon

HHF:

Halogenated hydroxyfuranones

i-Bu:

Isobutyl

i-Pr:

Isopropyl

LD50 :

Lethal dose for 50% of population

MBA:

3,4-Dibromo-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone

MCA:

3,4-Dichloro-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone

MCF:

3-Chloro-4-methyl-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone

mCMF:

4-Chloromethyl-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone

Me:

Methyl

MX:

3-Chloro-4(dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2(5H) furanone

NDMA:

Nitrosodimethylamine

NOAEL:

No adverse effect levels

NVOX:

Non-volatile organic halocarbons

Ox-E-MX:

Oxygenated form of E-MX

Ox-MX:

Oxygenated form of MX

Red-MX:

Reduced form of MX

s-Bu:

sec-Butyl

SVOX:

Semi-volatile organic halocarbons

TCAA:

Trichloroacetic acid

TDI:

Tolerable daily intake

THM:

Trihalomethanes

TOX:

Total organic haloorganic compounds

UDMH:

1,1-Dimethylhydrazine

USEPA:

United States Environmental Protection Agency

VOX:

Volatile organic halocarbons

VSD:

Virtual save dose

WHO:

World Health Organization

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Water Treatment Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Adam Mickiewicz University, Drzymaly 24, 60-613, Poznań, Poland

    Przemyslaw Andrzejewski & Jacek Nawrocki

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  1. Przemyslaw Andrzejewski
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  2. Jacek Nawrocki
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Water and Air Quality Lab., Dept. of Environm. Studies, University of the Aegean, University Hill, 811 00, Mytilene, Greece

    Anastasia D. Nikolaou

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Andrzejewski, P., Nawrocki, J. (2003). MX and Other Potentially Hazardous Chlorinated By-Products. In: Nikolaou, A.D. (eds) Haloforms and Related Compounds in Drinking Water. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 5 / 5G. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-44997-3_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-44997-3_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-53618-2

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