Chloroform

Safety

As might be expected from its use as an anesthetic, inhaling chloroform vapors depresses the central nervous system. Breathing about 900 parts of chloroform per million parts air (900 parts per million) for a short time can cause dizziness, fatigue, and headache. Chronic chloroform exposure may cause liver (in the liver, chloroform is metabolized to phosgene) and kidney damage, and some people develop sores when the skin is immersed in chloroform. Approximately 10% of the population has an allergic reaction to chloroform that produces a fever of around 40°C (104°F) upon exposure.

Related Topics:
Anesthetic - Central nervous system - Parts per million - Liver - Phosgene - Kidney

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Animal studies have shown that miscarriages occur in rats and mice that have breathed air containing 30 to 300 ppm chloroform during pregnancy and also in rats that have ingested chloroform during pregnancy. Offspring of rats and mice that breathed chloroform during pregnancy have a higher incidence of birth defects, and abnormal sperm have been found in male mice that have breathed air containing 400 ppm chloroform for a few days. The effect of chloroform on reproduction in humans is unknown.

Related Topics:
Miscarriage - Ppm - Pregnancy - Birth defect - Sperm - Reproduction

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Chloroform once appeared in toothpastes, cough syrups, ointments, and other pharmaceuticals, but it has been banned in consumer products in the United States since 1976.

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The NTP's eleventh report on carcinogens implicates it as reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen, a designation equivalent to IARC class 2A. It has been most readily associated with hepatocellular carcinoma. Caution is mandated during its handling in order to minimize unnecessary exposure; safer alternatives, such as dichloromethane, have resulted in a substantial reduction of its use as a solvent.

Related Topics:
Carcinogen - Hepatocellular carcinoma - Dichloromethane

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