MMS (Chlorine Dioxide)
Some History

1814: Chlorine dioxide is discovered by Sir Humphry Davy, when he adds sulfuric acid (H2SO4) to potassium chlorate (KClO3). It is an antimicrobial biocide recognized in the early 1900s. Since then it is well known for its disinfectant properties.

1930’s: Beginning of more frequent use of chlorine dioxide for disinfecting areas. A major benefit of chlorine dioxide is that, as a true gas, it expands uniformly to fill the space it’s disinfecting. Due to concerns about the logistics of safely transporting the gas, sodium chlorite began to be manufactured as a relatively safe precursor chemical, and the industries using chlorine dioxide would then generate the gas onsite as needed. Because of chlorine dioxide’s solubility in water, it starts being used as a water treatment.

1944: First commercial application. Used as a Biocide/Taste and Odor Control agent in domestic water at Niagara Falls in the USA.

1950’s: Begins extensive use of chlorine dioxide in water treatment plants and swimming pools in the U.S.A. Likewise it is discovered that chlorine dioxide destroys biofilm, the algal slime that collects in cooling towers, among other places and harbors harmful bacteria. Chlorine bleach by contrast cannot kill biofilm.

1956: Brussels, Belgium, switches to chlorine dioxide from chlorine for its drinking water disinfection operations. This marks the first large scale use of chlorine dioxide for potable water treatment.

1967: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the United States first registers chlorine dioxide as a disinfectant and sanitizer. The registration is for chlorine dioxide in the liquid form. Indicated uses include food processing, handling and storage plants, bottling plants, washing fruit and vegetables, sanitizing water, controlling odors, and treating medical wastes.

1970’s: The EPA begins recommending using chlorine dioxide instead of chlorine bleach to treat water. Hundreds of municipal water systems successfully convert to chlorine dioxide. This happens across the United States and Europe; more so for the latter. The conversion is catalyzed by a safer environmental profile of chlorine dioxide over chlorine, because chlorine dioxide does not produce any harmful byproducts, as does chlorine bleach.

1977: Three thousand municipal water systems achieving biological control using chlorine dioxide.

1980’s: Chlorine dioxide gradually replaces chlorine in many industries – in the pulp and paper industry as a bleaching agent, in industrial water treatment as a biocide and as an odor control agent, in food processing as a sanitizer.

1983: The EPA recommends chlorine dioxide as a solution to trihalomethanes (THMs). When chlorine is used to disinfect water and make it potable (chlorination), THMs are produced as a by-product. THMs have been linked to cancer (i.e., they are carcinogenic). Chlorine dioxide does not produce THMs.

1988: The EPA registers chlorine dioxide as a sterilizer. This means chlorine dioxide is both safe and effective to use in hospitals, healthcare facilities, and laboratories.

1990: Use of chlorine dioxide as a disinfectant, sanitizer and sterilizer grows across many industries and countries. Some of the industries are the beverage industry, fruit and vegetable processing plants, pulp and paper industries, and industrial waste treatment sites. These industries are spread across the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe.

2001: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other government agencies use chlorine dioxide to decontaminate buildings contaminated with Anthrax. The chlorine dioxide was completely effective against the tiny Anthrax spores. The buildings, walls and furnishings suffered no damage from the treatment.

2005: FEMA again uses chlorine dioxide. It is used to eradicate mold infestations in homes damaged by the flood waters from Hurricane Katrina. After a 12-hour treatment, a New Orleans restaurant is able to banish all mold inside without rebuilding.

2010: The United States Food and Drug Administration issue a warning on using MMS according to Jim Humble protocols. They label it as industrial bleach. But at the same time they have approved the use of chlorine dioxide for use in mouthwashes, toothpastes, and as a food service disinfectant among other uses, citing it as being a better alternative than chlorine.

2014: The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) registers ProKure V and PERFORMACIDE® as disinfectants against the Ebola virus. Both contain chlorine dioxide. ProKure V claims it “begins to kill pathogens in a matter of seconds, whereas other commonly used, more traditional disinfectants take minutes. The rapid speed in which ProKure V kills pathogens makes it a product of choice for helping contain infectious-disease outbreaks and keeping public facilities cleaner and safer for everyone.” PERFORMACIDE® “is a unique chlorine dioxide generator and delivery system. Chlorine dioxide is a potent virucide.”