Perhaps no other advancement of public health has been as significant. Yet, few know the intriguing story of a simple idea--disinfecting public water systems with chlorine--that in just 100 years has saved more lives than any other single health development in human history._x000d_
At the turn of the 20th century, most scientists and doctors called the addition of chloride of lime, a poisonous chemical, to public water supplies not only a preposterous idea but also an illegal act--until a courageous physician, Dr. John L. Leal, working with George W. Fuller, the era's greatest sanitary engineer, proved it could be done safely and effectively on a large scale._x000d_
This is thefirst book to tell the incredible true story of the first use of chlorine to disinfect a city water supply, in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1908. This important book also corrects misinformation long-held in the historical record about who was responsible for this momentous event, giving overdue recognition to the true hero of the story--an unflagging champion of public health, Dr. John L. Leal._x000d_
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