September 1997 |
ToxFAQs™ |
for |
Chloroform |
(Cloroformo) |
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This fact sheet answers the most frequently
asked health questions about chloroform. For more information,
you may call the ATSDR Information Center at 1-888-422-8737.
This fact sheet is one in a series of summaries about hazardous
substances and their health effects. This information is important
because this substance may harm you. The effects of exposure
to any hazardous substance depend on the dose, the duration,
how you are exposed, personal traits and habits, and whether
other chemicals are present.
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HIGHLIGHTS: Exposure to chloroform
can occur when breathing contaminated air or when drinking
or touching the substance or water containing it. Breathing
chloroform can cause dizziness, fatigue, and headaches.
Breathing chloroform or ingesting chloroform over long
periods of time may damage your liver and kidneys. It
can cause sores if large amounts touch your skin. This
substance has been found in at least 717 of the 1,430
National Priorities List sites identified by the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). |
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What
is chloroform? |
Chloroform is a colorless liquid with
a pleasant, nonirritating odor and a slightly sweet taste.
It will burn only when it reaches very high temperatures.
In the past, chloroform was used as an
inhaled anesthetic during surgery, but it isn't used that
way today. Today, chloroform is used to make other chemicals
and can also be formed in small amounts when chlorine is added
to water.
Other names for chloroform are trichloromethane
and methyl trichloride.
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What
happens to chloroform when it enters the environment? |
- Chloroform evaporates easily into the air.
- Most of the chloroform in air breaks down eventually,
but it is a slow process.
- The breakdown products in air include phosgene and hydrogen
chloride, which are both toxic.
- It doesn't stick to soil very well and can travel through
soil to groundwater.
- Chloroform dissolves easily in water and some of it may
break down to other chemicals.
- Chloroform lasts a long time in groundwater.
- Chloroform doesn't appear to build up in great amounts
in plants and animals.
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How
might I be exposed to chloroform? |
- Drinking water or beverages made using water containing
chloroform.
- Breathing indoor or outdoor air containing it, especially
in the workplace.
- Eating food that contains it.
- Skin contact with chloroform or water that contains it,
such as in swimming pools.
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How
can chloroform affect my health? |
Breathing about 900 parts of chloroform
per million parts air (900 ppm) for a short time can cause
dizziness, fatigue, and headache. Breathing air, eating food,
or drinking water containing high levels of chloroform for
long periods of time may damage your liver and kidneys. Large
amounts of chloroform can cause sores when chloroform touches
your skin.
It isn't known whether chloroform causes
reproductive effects or birth defects in people.
Animal studies have shown that miscarriages
occurred in rats and mice that breathed air containing 30
to 300 ppm chloroform during pregnancy and also in rats that
ate chloroform during pregnancy. Offspring of rats and mice
that breathed chloroform during pregnancy had birth defects.
Abnormal sperm were found in mice that breathed air containing
400 ppm chloroform for a few days.
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How
likely is chloroform to cause cancer? |
The Department of Health and Human Services
(DHHS) has determined that chloroform may reasonably be anticipated
to be a carcinogen.
Rats and mice that ate food or drank
water with chloroform developed cancer of the liver and kidneys.
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Is
there a medical test to show whether I've been exposed to chloroform? |
Although the amounts of chloroform in
the air that you exhale and in blood, urine, and body tissues
can be measured, there is no reliable test to determine how
much chloroform you have been exposed to or whether you will
experience any harmful effects.
The measurement of chloroform in body
fluids and tissues may help to determine if you have come
into contact with large amounts of chloroform, but these tests
are useful for only a short time after you are exposed. Chloroform
in your body might also indicate that you have come into contact
with other chemicals.
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Has the federal government made recommendations to protect human health? |
The EPA drinking water limit for total
trihalomethanes, a class of chemicals that includes chloroform,
is 100 micrograms per liter of water (100 µg/L).
The EPA requires that spills or accidental
releases of 10 pounds or more of chloroform into the environment
be reported to the EPA.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) has set the maximum allowable concentration of chloroform
in workroom air during an 8-hour workday in a 40-hour workweek
at 50 ppm.
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Glossary |
Carcinogenicity: A substance with the
ability to cause cancer.
CAS: Chemical Abstracts Service.
Ingesting: Taking food or drink into
your body.
Microgram (µg): One millionth of
a gram.
Miscarriage: Pregnancy loss.
ppm: Parts per million.
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References |
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR). 1997. Toxicological Profile for chloroform. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
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Where can I get more information? |
ATSDR can tell you where to find occupational
and environmental health clinics. Their specialists can recognize,
evaluate, and treat illnesses resulting from exposure to hazardous
substances. You can also contact your community or state health
or environmental quality department if you have any more questions
or concerns. For more information, contact:
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Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Division of Toxicology
1600 Clifton Road NE, Mailstop F-32
Atlanta, GA 30333
Phone: 1-888-42-ATSDR (1-888-422-8737)
FAX: (770)-488-4178
Email: ATSDRIC@cdc.gov
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