Chemical Name:
Carbon Tetrachloride [56-23-5]

Hazardous Physical/Chemical Properties:
-noncombustible, colorless liquid (sweet, aromatic, etherlike odor)
-molecular weight: 153.84, boiling point (760 mm Hg): 76.7degrees C, specific gravity (water=1): 1.59 at 20degrees C, vapour density (air = 1 at boiling point of carbon tetrachloride): 5.3, melting point: -23 degrees C, vapour pressure at 20 degrees C: 91.3 mm Hg, solubility: slightly soluble in water; miscible with alcohol, benzene, chloroform, ether, carbon disulphide, petroleum ether, and oils
-evaporates very easily
-clear, non-flammable liquid which is almost insoluble in water
- most carbon tetrachloride that escapes to the environment is therefore found as a gas
- does not easily burn
- most people can begin to smell it in air when the concentration reaches 10 parts carbon tetrachloride per million parts of air (ppm)
- manufactured chemical and does not occur naturally in the environment
-container may explode when exposed to heat

Routes of Entry: There are three main routes of entry for carbon tetrachloride. These three routes of entry include: respiration (inhalation), contact with the skin and/or eye, and ingestion. Humans inhale carbon tetrachloride in the form of vapour. Carbon tetrachloride can be exposed to the eye through exposure to concentrated solutions (liquid) and through certain types of aerosols such as vapour and mists. The skin can be exposed to carbon tetrachloride through the form of a liquid or vapour. Both types can be absorbed through the skin. Humans can ingest carbon tetrachloride in the form of liquid or solids (e.g. food).

Effects on the Body: There are both acute and chronic effects of exposure to carbon tetrachloride.
Acute Effects: One acute effects caused by exposure to carbon tetrachloride is mild eye and skin irritant. Carbon tetrachloride vapour mildly irritates the eyes which have reported to have caused visual disturbances in the past. Prolonged or repeated contact of the liquid with the skin can cause pain, erythema, hyperemia, weal formation, tissue defatting and blistering. Some other symptoms of acute effects include: abdominal cramps, nervousness, dyspnea, cyanosis, oliguria, proteinuria, hepatomegaly, and optic neuritis. Exposure to carbon tetrachloride has also been reported to have caused depression of the central nervous system. Workers exposed to unspecified levels of carbon tetrachloride have experienced dizziness, vertigo, mental confusion, and incoordination which are all signs and symptoms of central nervous system depression.

Chronic Effects: It has been reported that exposure to carbon tetrachloride can cause liver and kidney damage in humans. Liver damage is more common with those who have ingested the chemical in liquid form than from inhalation of the vapour. Those who drink alcohol, who have poor nutritional status, and people with pre-existing liver or kidney disease are more prone to poisoning. Mild acute poisoning can cause renal injury and decreased renal blood flow and filtration. In severe acute poisoning, however, anuria and terminal uremia require active restoration of renal function or death occurs. It has been stated that renal injury with secondary cardiac failure due to exposure of the chemical through inhalation is the major cause of fatality.
One of the biggest chronic effects caused by carbon tetrachloride is cancer. Carbon tetrachloride is classified as a possible human carcinogen. However there is inadequate evidence of carcinogenicity in humans whereas there is sufficient evidence in animals. Some cases have reported that workers exposed to this chemical through inhalation have gotten liver cancer. However, there is not enough data to formulate a cause-and-effect relationship.
Some cases have reported an occurrence of liver cancer in workers who

Sources of Exposure:
-produced in large quantities to make refrigeration fluid and propellants for aerosol cans
-widely used as a