In The News No More Chlorine E. Idaho pools try new technology to purify water. (Rick West for the Post Register Friday, March 15, 1996) REXBURG - Red eyes and the lingering smell of chlorine after a swim may be a thing of the past in some eastern Idaho pools. Thanks to new technology, Rexburg and Idaho Falls residents are enjoying clean swimming pools without enduring the irritation effects of chlorine, some pool managers are using copper and silver ions to purify the water. "Chlorine is a poison. The best benefit (of the ion rods) is that there are so many people who have reaction to chlorine," said Bryan Galbraith, manager of the Sports and Fitness Club in Rexburg, which started purifying its pool that way five months ago. With some people, chlorine causes asthmatic reactions, rashes and other undesirable side effects, Galbraith said. No one has complained about the new ionized pool, he said. And people notice the difference. "When our copper probes ran out, (and we had to use chlorine) we had a lot of people commenting they had noticed the difference," said Todd Myers, manager of the Idaho Falls Aquatic Center, which started ionizing its pool last July. Reinhart pool managers introduced the process in June. Nine swimmers on the Bonneville High School swimming team suffer from asthma and have benefited from the change, coach Guy Bliesner said. "They had difficulty last year. This year I haven't had any problems, the irritants are just not in the air," he said. "Anytime you lower the chlorine, you lower the irritation." Health club instructor Karen Klotzer agrees. "It's wonderful," she said. "Those people with sensitive skin no longer complain of allergic reaction." With ionization, copper and silver rods are placed in the main pipe carrying water into the pool. Every nine minutes, the polarization of the rods change, which purifies the water. At the same time, copper and silver slough off in the water, which also helps in purification. Together, the copper and silver particles do the job chlorine does. "Copper is an algaecide; it kills algae," Galbraith said. "Silver kills bacteria. That's why dentists use silver in fillings." A little chlorine is still used, but it is about the same amount found in Idaho Falls' drinking water, he said. The health club saves about $300 a month in chlorine expenses. And people like Klotzer are saving money on swimsuits. The instructor use to replace her swimming suits once a month because chlorine caused then to deteriorate. Because of the harmful effects of chlorine, Myers said there is a move to eliminate the chemical entirely. "I don't think we can get rid of it completely, but getting rid of two-thirds of it (the amount they eliminated by ionizing their pools) is pretty good," Myers said. "This is going in that direction (of eliminating chlorine)."