Historically, the disinfection and sanitation of
water, food products and food-processing
equipment have used halogen-containing disinfectants
such as chlorine or iodine (Biocide Int.
Corp. 1994). The use of chlorine, in particular
world-wide, has improved our quality of life
and prevented many disease outbreaks caused
by waterborne pathogens. Chlorine was ¢rst
used as a disinfectant in 1897 to treat polluted
water mains after an outbreak of typhoid fever
in England and later was used in 1912 after a
typhoid fever outbreak in Niagra Falls, New
York (Sconce 1962). Chlorine was introduced
in the ¢shing industry in 1935, and continues