About Carbon Tetrachloride
What is Carbon Tetrachloride?
Carbon tetrachloride is an organic compound with chemical formula CCI4. It is a colorless liquid with a sweet, ether-like odor. The chemical compound is soluble in alcohol, chloroform, ether, benzene, naphtha, formic acid, and carbon disulfide.
What Types of Industrial Uses Does it Have?
The organic compound is essential in the production of chlorofluorocarbon propellants and refrigerants. Carbon tetrachloride is also used as a fire extinguisher and dry cleaning agent. It is also an important ingredient in the manufacturing of nylons.
How Does Carbon Tetrachloride Get into Your Drinking Water?
Discharge from chemical plants can get into nearby water systems. Heavy rainfall will cause runoff of the chemical compound into water sources.
What are the Health Risks Associated with Carbon Tetrachloride?
Liver problems and an increased risk of getting cancer are among the health risks associated with the organic compound.
How Common is Carbon Tetrachloride in Water?
The chemical is uncommon in most water systems. However, contamination is possible if chemical factories do not have proper waste management. In the case of chemical runoff, you must make the necessary action to remove the contaminant to below the EPA’s drinking water regulations.
What is the EPA’s Contamination Level Standards for Carbon Tetrachloride in Drinking Water?
The EPA’s MCLG for carbon tetrachloride is set at zero while the MCL for the contaminant is at 0.005 mg/L or 5 ppb. Quick action is required if your drinking water contains carbon tetrachloride above the set contamination level standards by the EPA.
What is the Best Reduction Filter for Removing Carbon Tetrachloride from Drinking Water?
You can remove carbon tetrachloride from drinking water using granular activated carbon in water filter systems. A reliable water treatment system like AquaOx is equipped with premium activated carbon to remove the contaminant to below 0.005 mg/L or 5 ppb. Call us today and let us help you safeguard your family’s health by setting up your first line of defense against water contaminants!
From The Agency of Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Carbon tetrachloride is a clear liquid that evaporates very easily. Most carbon tetrachloride that escapes to the environment is therefore found as a gas. Carbon tetrachloride does not easily burn. Carbon tetrachloride has a sweet odor, and most people can begin to smell it in air when the concentration reaches 10 parts carbon tetrachloride per million parts of air (ppm). It is not known whether people can taste it or, if they can, at what level. Carbon tetrachloride is a manufactured chemical and does not occur naturally in the environment.
Carbon tetrachloride has been produced in large quantities to make refrigeration fluid and propellants for aerosol cans. Since many refrigerants and aerosol propellants have been found to affect the earth’s ozone layer, the production of these chemicals is being phased out. Consequently, the manufacture and use of carbon tetrachloride has declined a great deal.
In the past, carbon tetrachloride was widely used as a cleaning fluid (in industry and dry cleaning establishments as a degreasing agent, and in households as a spot remover for clothing, furniture, and carpeting). Carbon tetrachloride was also used in fire extinguishers and as a fumigant to kill insects in grain. Most of these uses were discontinued in the mid-1960s. Until recently, carbon tetrachloride was used as a pesticide, but this was stopped in 1986.
