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The main reason of applying chlorination is to sterilize microbes existing in the drinking water treatment. But chlorination could lead to the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) by the reaction of free chlorine with humic substance in the water. Especially the DBPs including trihalomethanes (THMs), haloacetic acids (HAAs), haloacetonitriles (HANs), and haloketones (HKs) exist in the tap water. The US environmental protection agency (US EPA) defines that trihalomethanes, dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, and dichloroacetonitrile among DBPs are probable/possible human carcinogens. US EPA suggests maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for THMs (80$\mu$g/L) and HAAs (60$\mu$g/L) in drinking water. In Korea, THMs in drinking water has been surveyed but DBPs in general has not been studied in drinking water practically. Therefore only THMs have been regulating as criteria compounds since 1990 but neither HAAs nor HANs. Researches on HAAs are yet to be found. HAA formation potentials(HAAFPs) have not been practiced. HAAs depends on the characteristics of water sources by chlorination. In this study, HAAFPs from three distinct sources were investigated by laboratory chlorination experiments. This study was performed to measure the level of HAAs in drinking water in Seoul area. At April 1996, after collecting the raw waters from the three sites with the different properties, the water samples were chlorinated at various conditions(pH 5.5, pH 7.0 and without pH adjustment) in the state of raw water to have 0. 5mg/L of residual chlorine concentration. And the raw water, treated water, and tap water of water treatment were collected to measure the HAAs concentration. The quantitative analysis of HAAs was conducted by US EPA methods.
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