Given below are two statements, one labeled as Assertion (A) and the other labeled as Reason (R). **Assertion (A):** Chlorine is less effective as a disinfectant in water purification at high pH levels (above 8.5). **Reason (R):** At high pH, hypochlorous acid (HOCl) dissociates into hypochlorite ions (OCl⁻), which are significantly less effective at penetrating bacterial cell walls than neutral HOCl. In the context of the above statements, which of the following is correct?

Options:

• A: Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
• B: Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
• C: A is true but R is false.
• D: A is false but R is true.

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