Vitamin C: History of Use for Dechlorination

Vitamin C is the standard means of dechlorination for critical medical applications such as dialysis where the presence of chlorinated water would be catastrophic. It is also used for the de-chlorination of lab samples.

Water utilities must remove chlorine and chloramine before discharging treated water into the environment. Some municipalities choose Vitamin C for this purpose. The use of vitamin C is a more costly method however, it is better for the environment and for aquatic species than alternative methods of dechlorination.

The National Risk Management Research Laboratory of the EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) has demonstrated that Vitamin C is a safe and rapid agent for the removal of residual chlorine.