Chlorine: Biocide, chemical weapon, used in insecticides, dyestuffs and it plays havoc with skin, hair and possibly our immune systems!

I swam with a fast swimmer in my age group named, Steve J., at the Santa Monica college pool the other day and he told me that on a trip to China he had the opportunity to train in a pool located in, Macau, that used absolutely no chlorine whatsoever but rather they used ozone. He remarked how crystal clear the pool water was, that it was the cleanest pool-water he ever swam in.

So, these past few weeks I have been Googling chlorine alternatives and this here is an article at About.com which is as pro-ozone as I am now. [link] The ozone filtration, or airation zaps, the water off-hours or in closed-off standing pool nearby and filters the water back into the pool. When it is time to swim, the water consequentlylooks like a tide-pool in Bermuda. No asthma risk, viral/bacterial, or perhaps cancer risk whatsoever. The water becomes essentially untainted or fresh. Look at that water in the photo. That pool is the Macau Aquatics Center in China.

Another interesting comparison chart I found plays up the difference between ozone and chlorine. [link] Caveat: This firm sells ozone systems.

There are other chemical alternatives such as brine and saline but I am sold on Ozone. Every article I have read points to it as the safest, most healthy way to swim. Ipso facto, chlorine is a biocide. Read as it kills all life and we are swimming in gallons of it almost everyday. We should seek this as an alternative.