Jump to navigation Skip to main content. Chloroform is a clear liquid with an ether-like odor and a slightly sweet taste. It is a naturally-occurring chemical, but most of the chloroform in the environment is man-made. Chloroform is a member of a group of chemicals called "trihalomethanes. Chloroform can be formed during the break-down of chlorine-containing compounds, and may be found in small amounts in chlorinated drinking or swimming pool water. Chlorine treatment of drinking water is often necessary to prevent diseases that can be a major cause of illness.
Chloroform evaporates quickly. Most of the chloroform that ends up in lakes, streams, or soil evaporates into the air. However, chloroform that seeps through soil into ground-water can remain unchanged for many years. People who work with chloroform are at a greater risk. In general, people may also be exposed by inhaling the chemical as they do laundry or bathe with contaminated water. People can get low level exposure when they use contaminated water for drinking or for preparing food.
Chloroform can pass through the skin when people handle pure chloroform or products that contain it. For example, touching contaminated soil, or using contaminated water for activities such as bathing, swimming or doing laundry. No standards exist for regulating the amount of chloroform allowed in the air of homes. We use a formula to convert workplace limits to home limits. Based on the formula, we recommend levels be no higher than 0.
Most people can't smell chloroform until levels reach , ppbv or higher. In the past, chloroform was extensively used to induce and maintain medical anaesthesia. Its use as an anaesthetic was discontinued due to the severe adverse health effects associated with its use.
Chloroform can exist naturally in the environment. It is also released into the environment from workplaces where it is manufactured.
Chloroform is indirectly produced when chlorine reacts with organic compounds. Therefore, a number of water disinfection processes including chlorination of drinking water, waste water and swimming pools contribute to the formation and release of chloroform into the environment. Disinfection processes at pulp and paper plants are also potential sources of chloroform.
People may be exposed to chloroform by breathing contaminated air or by eating food containing chloroform. Drinking water may also be a source of exposure to very small amounts of chloroform. Workers involved in the production and use of chloroform and those working at sites where chloroform is indirectly produced for example water treatment plants , may be exposed to higher levels of chloroform than the general population.
However, safe limits are enforced to protect the employees; such levels are below those that are thought to cause harmful effects. The presence of chloroform in the environment does not always lead to exposure. In order for it to cause any adverse health effects, you must come into contact with it. You may be exposed by breathing, eating, or drinking the substance or by skin contact. Following exposure to any chemical, the adverse health effects that you may encounter depend on several factors, including the amount to which you are exposed dose , the way you are exposed, the duration of exposure, the form of the chemical and if you were exposed to any other chemicals.
Inhalation of chloroform vapours may lead to symptoms such as shortness of breath and dryness of the mouth and throat. Ingestion of chloroform can cause a burning sensation in the mouth and throat, nausea and vomiting. Chloroform can be absorbed into the body via ingestion or inhalation. Symptoms include excitement and nausea followed by dizziness and drowsiness. More severe exposures to chloroform may cause heart problems, fitting, unconsciousness and in some cases death.
Delayed effects up to 48 hours after the exposure of acute toxic chloroform exposure are liver and kidney damage. Skin contact with chloroform may lead to irritation and inflammation of the exposed area.
Exposure of the eyes to chloroform vapour may cause a stinging sensation, and eye contact with liquid chloroform can cause immediate pain and inflammation. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has concluded that there is enough evidence in experimental animals, but not in humans that chloroform can cause cancer.
Therefore, it has classified chloroform as possibly having the ability to cause cancer in humans. People with breathing problems such as asthma may be more sensitive to the effects of chloroform. Available evidence does not indicate that exposure to chloroform during pregnancy will have a direct effect on the unborn child. However, if the exposure to chloroform causes the mother to become unwell this may affect the health of the unborn child.
It is very unlikely that the general population will be exposed to a level of chloroform high enough to cause adverse health effects. However, if you have any health concerns regarding exposure to chloroform seek guidance from your GP or contact NHS To help us improve GOV. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. Cookies on GOV.
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