Carbon Tetrachloride
CCl₄·Affects liver, kidneys
A formerly common solvent and dry cleaning fluid banned from consumer products. Now a legacy groundwater contaminant near old industrial sites and refrigerant manufacturers.
CCl₄
EPA limit
0.005 mg/L (MCL)
Most at risk
Households near former chemical plants, dry cleaners, refrigerant manufacturers, or old industrial waste sites
Found in
City water · Well water · Industrial areas
AquaOx filters
YesActivated coconut shell carbon
What it does to you
Health effects
Carbon tetrachloride is a potent liver and kidney toxin. Acute exposure causes hepatic necrosis and renal failure even at moderate doses. It is one of the classic chemicals used in laboratory research to induce liver damage in animal studies. Chronic low-dose exposure causes progressive liver injury.
The EPA classifies CCl₄ as a likely human carcinogen and IARC lists it as Group 2B, possibly carcinogenic to humans, based on liver tumors in rodents. The compound was also a major ozone-depleting substance and is regulated internationally under the Montreal Protocol.
CCl₄ is volatile and contributes to inhalation exposure during hot showers in addition to ingestion. The 5 ppb MCL reflects both the carcinogenicity concern and the well-documented liver toxicity.
Where it comes from
How it gets into your water
Carbon tetrachloride was once ubiquitous. It served as a dry cleaning fluid, fire extinguisher charge, grain fumigant, and degreasing solvent through the mid-20th century. Consumer use was banned in the United States in 1970, and industrial use ended in the 1990s.
Despite the bans, decades of release left widespread groundwater plumes. Current detections come from former chemical plants (especially refrigerant manufacturers), dry cleaners, old industrial waste sites, and leaking underground storage tanks. The compound is dense, persistent, and migrates downward through soil into aquifers where it lasts for decades.
Chemical plants
Legacy CFC refrigerant manufacturing
Dry cleaners
Pre-1970s cleaning fluid contamination
Contaminated wells
Plumes from former industrial waste sites
Underground tanks
Leaks from old solvent storage
Find out for yourself
Is it in your water?
Carbon tetrachloride is EPA-regulated, so all community water systems must test for it and report results on the Consumer Confidence Report. Detections in treated city water are uncommon but happen in cities with industrial histories.
Private well owners near former chemical plants, refrigerant manufacturers, dry cleaners, or industrial waste sites should request a VOC panel that includes CCl₄ along with TCE, PCE, and chloroform. State drinking-water programs and EPA EnviroFacts both maintain maps of known contamination sites.
The fix
How AquaOx filters it
Activated carbon is the standard treatment for chlorinated solvents including carbon tetrachloride. The Centaur catalytic carbon and coconut shell carbon stages in The AquaOx adsorb CCl₄ efficiently as water passes through.
For homes on a known industrial plume, we recommend pairing The AquaOx whole-home system with the under-sink RO at the kitchen tap so drinking and cooking water get a second-stage polish.