Most harmful chlorine exposures are the result of inhalation, causing airway irritation, wheezing, difficulty breathing, sore throat, cough and chest tightness.
Being exposed to chlorinated hydrocarbons in overchlorinated pool can lead to hypersensitivity and "asthma-like" respiratory conditions in some swimmers.
Also, even though chlorine concentrations in a pool environment are at acceptable "safe" levels, it is a swimmer's exercising that produces abnormal levels of exposure to this toxin (exercising in a chlorinated pool increases the levels of assimilation of chlorine related gases.)