Dibromoacetaldehyde, a halogenated byproduct found in drinking water, exhibits genotoxicity.

The relative cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of Haloacetaldehydes (HALs) are ranked as follows: For cytotoxicity, tribromoacetaldehyde (TBAL) is approximately equal to chloroacetaldehyde (CAL), both surpassing dibromoacetaldehyde (DBAL), which is nearly equal to bromochloroacetaldehyde (BCAL) and dibromochloroacetaldehyde (DBCAL), followed by iodoacetaldehyde (IAL), bromoacetaldehyde (BAL), which is comparable to bromodichloroacetaldehyde (BDCAL), then dichloroacetaldehyde (DCAL), and finally, trichloroacetaldehyde (TCAL) having the lowest cytotoxicity. Compared to other Disinfection By-Product (DBP) chemical classes, HALs demonstrate significant cytotoxicity. In terms of genotoxicity, DBAL shows the highest genotoxic potential, followed by CAL, which is roughly equal to DBCAL, then TBAL, which is comparable to BAL, with BDCAL, then BCAL, nearly equivalent to DCAL, and IAL presenting the lowest genotoxicity.