What was carbon tetrachloride used for?
Carbon tetrachloride (Carbon tet) is a non-flammable colorless liquid with a heavy, sweet odor. Before 1970, carbon tet was widely used as a cleaning fluid in home and industry. Until 1986, the chemical was used as a grain fumigant. Carbon tet is still used to manufacture propellants and other industrial chemicals.
Why is CCl4 banned?
Carbon tetrachloride, or CC14, that was used as dry cleaning and fire-extinguishing agent, was banned worldwide in 1987 under the Montreal Protocol. It destroys the ozone and contributes to the ozone hole over Antarctica. But CCl4 concentration in the atmosphere is falling by only 1 per cent per year.
Why is carbon tetrachloride so toxic?
Carbon tetrachloride is an organic compound that causes severe hepatic damage by inducing a state of oxidative stress. Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) binds to triacylglycerols and phospholipids throughout subcellular fractions and causes lipid peroxidation in the liver parenchymal cells.
Is carbon tetrachloride illegal?
To protect the general public from exposure to carbon tetrachloride, the federal government has limited or banned the use of this compound in most common household products and fire extinguishers, and has discontinued its use as a pesticide.
Is carbon tetrachloride safe?
Exposure to high concentrations of carbon tetrachloride (including vapor) can affect the central nervous system and degenerate the liver and kidneys, and prolonged exposure may lead to coma or death. Chronic exposure to carbon tetrachloride can cause liver and kidney damage and could result in cancer.
How much carbon tetrachloride is toxic?
► Carbon Tetrachloride can damage the liver and kidneys. OSHA: The legal airborne permissible exposure limit (PEL) is 10 ppm averaged over an 8-hour workshift; 25 ppm, not to be exceeded during any 15-minute work period; and 200 ppm as a 5-minute maximum peak in any 4 hour work period.
Does carbon tetrachloride destroy ozone?
Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) is an ozone-depleting substance, accounting for about 10% of the chlorine in the troposphere. Under the terms of the Montreal Protocol, its production for dispersive uses was banned from 2010.
Does carbon tetrachloride deplete ozone layer?
Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), once commonly used as a cleaning agent, is an ozone-depleting chemical. In the 1980s, when scientists discovered that CCl4 was contributing to the destruction of the ozone layer, the synthetic compound was included on a list of substances to be phased out of production.
Is carbon tetrachloride still used today?
Carbon tetrachloride has been widely used in industry and dry-cleaning establishments as a degreasing agent, and in households as a spot remover for clothing, furniture, and carpeting. Consumer and fumigant uses of carbon tetrachloride have been discontinued and only industrial uses remain.
Is carbon tetrachloride harmful to humans?
Human symptoms of acute (short-term) inhalation and oral exposures to carbon tetrachloride include headache, weakness, lethargy, nausea, and vomiting. Acute exposures to higher levels and chronic (long-term) inhalation or oral exposure to carbon tetrachloride produces liver and kidney damage in humans.
Can you buy carbon tetrachloride?
Contrary to popular myth, it isn’t “banned” (at least in small quantities for research use) – you can still buy it from the chemical companies. Carbon tetrachloride can be a touchy subject.
How long does carbon tetrachloride last in the environment?
It evaporates quickly from surface water. Only a small amount sticks to soil particles; the rest evaporates or moves into the groundwater. It is very stable in air (lifetime 30-100 years). It can be broken down or transformed in soil and water within several days.
What are the health effects of carbon tetrachloride?
The primary effects of carbon tetrachloride in humans are on the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system (CNS). Human symptoms of acute (short-term) inhalation and oral exposures to carbon tetrachloride include headache, weakness, lethargy, nausea, and vomiting.
Does carbon tetrachloride cause cancer?
Carbon tetrachloride can cause cancer in animals. Carbon tetrachloride has been found in at least 425 of the 1,662 National Priority List sites identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
What are carbon tetrachloride molecules used for?
Carbon Tetrachloride is used as a solvent for oils and fats, as a refrigerant and as a dry-cleaning agent. Inhalation of its vapors can depress central nervous system activity and cause degeneration of the liver and kidneys.
What does carbon tetrachloride mean?
carbon tetrachloride. noun. a colorless, nonflammable, vaporous, toxic liquid, CCl4, usually produced by the reaction of chlorine with carbon disulfide , methane, or other carbon-containing compounds: used mainly as a refrigerant, fire extinguisher, cleaning fluid, solvent, and insecticide.