Uses and Environmental Effects of Chloroform

The other term used for chloroform is  trichloromethane. It is an organic compound. It is a colorless liquid which smells like ether. It is sweet in taste and burns only when it reaches a very high temperature so it is safe to handle. Chloroform is denser than water and it is slightly soluble in water too. The structural formula of chloroform is CHCl3. It is an industrial product so it is produced at large scale in the industries. It is primarily used in the production of refrigerants although initially it was used as anesthetic during surgery. Let’s discuss about the structure of the chloroform :

History

Chloroform was used by Sir James Young Simpson in 1847. Although its use was very rare it was used in the Mexican-American war ( 1846-1847). Initially the use of chloroform as a prominent anesthesia was in practice even by the armies of different countries during wars. In the wars, surgeries were performed for the wounded soldiers. The use of chloroform as anesthesia became common because it was easy to handle. It was easy to inhale it and it worked in less time.

Structure of Chloroform(CHCl3 Structure)

It is a tri halogen  derivative of methane. It has a typical structure of methane in which three out of four atoms of hydrogen are replaced by Chlorine. The IUPAC name of chloroform is 1,1,1 Tri Chloro Methane. Thus, the structure of chloroform is tetrahedral. 

Melting point :-  -64° C                  

Boiling point :-  62°C                  

 Specific Gravity :- 1.50              

  Density :- 1.49g/cm3

Production of Chloroform 

As discussed, chloroform is made primarily from methane. Some amount of methane is taken and then chlorine is added to it. This compound of methane and chlorine is heated up to a high temperature which is between 400 °C to 500 °C

       CH4 + Cl2 → CH3Cl + HCl

CH3Cl + Cl2 → CH2Cl2 + HCl

CH2Cl2 + Cl2 → CHCl3 + HCl

CHCl3 + Cl2 → CCl4 + HCl

Four products are formed after this process. They are Chloromethane, Dichloromethane, Chloroform and Carbon Tetrachloride. All of these products are separated by the process of distillation.

Uses of Chloroform 

• Chloroform is most importantly used in the production of Freon refrigerant R-22. Although due to constant increment in global warming many countries have banned the use of the application of R-22 yet it is in demand in various countries.
• Initially it has been used as anesthetic during medical surgeries. It even started being used by robbers, kidnappers and other ill intended people to knock out their targets. 
• It is also used as the solvents for substances like iodine, fats etc.

Effects on Human Health

Chloroform has adverse effects on human health. Here we discuss the most common practices related to chloroform which causes harm to human health:

• As discussed initially at the time of operating surgeries on the patients the medical practitioners used chloroform as the prominent anesthesia. Further, its side effects were discovered. It has a harmful effect on the liver, kidney and central nervous system. Due to its toxic nature the practice of using it as anesthesia is completely abandoned now and it is replaced by other safer products.
• When chloroform oxidizes in the presence of light it produces toxic gasses like phosgene which is a health hazard. For the purpose of avoiding the oxidation of chloroform it is kept in an airtight dark color container which is filled completely to eliminate the presence of air. 
• According to a survey if 900 ppm chloroform dissolves in the breeding air it will cause fatigue, headache and other health related issues.
• Its anesthetic property led to a social problem as the criminals started using it to knock down their victims. 

Effects in the Environment

Chloroform is a toxic substance if we are exposed to it for a long time it will cause some serious health issues like breathing problems, damage of organs and even cancer. Not only to humans, it is also harmful for our environment. Let’s discuss how it is going to adversely affect our mother earth: 

Sunrays consist of many substances and chloroform is one of them. Ultraviolet radiation from the sun forms chloroform which enters the environment. It gets dissolved in the air where oxygen is present and it slowly reacts with chloroform. The reaction of oxygen and chloroform forms a toxic gas called phosgene. This gas is indeed more toxic and harmful than chloroform itself. It adversely affects our environment by harming its properties.

Chloroform also has the feature of getting dissolved in water quickly. If the dissolvement of chloroform in various forms of water such as drinking water, water bodies etc. are more than a reasonable ratio it will cause harm to the aquatic animals and others.

Sources of Emission

Almost 90% of the emission of the total chloroform in the environment is from different natural sources. The biggest source of emission of chloroform in the environment is offshore sea. Soil ranks second in the emission of chloroform. In the sea, many seaweeds produce chloroform and in soil fungi is said to be responsible for the production of chloroform. When chloroform goes through degradation in the presence of air there are many other compounds formed such as phosgens, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, fomy chloride, hydrogen chloride etc. 

Conclusion

Thus, we can say that chloroform is a man-made by-product. It is formed when chlorine is used to disinfect water. It has many uses in industries. It is naturally found in water bodies. It has the speciality of dissolving in the water soon. So, it is found in the sea water, lakes, underground water etc. It is a very good solvent which helps other substances to dissolve easily. Until the mid of 1900 it was popularly used 

for medical purposes as an anesthetic while operating surgeries. However with the passage of time it was discovered with some serious side effects which were a health hazard for humans so, nowadays chloroform is not in use as anesthesia instead it has been replaced by some other substance.

Breathing : when we are breathing and the air which we inhale is Chloroform rich, in a very short time we will have fatigue, headache, dizziness. Not only this if we inhale chloroform rich air for a long time period there are chances of our organ damages and even cancer. 

Eating : If we intake a chloroform rich diet we will damage our liver, kidney etc. 

Drinking : Liquids and beverages having high levels of chloroform are harmful to our health. 

Although there are health dangers when we are exposed to chloroform for a long time, our medical science has developed to cure such issues. As soon as we see any one’s inability to breathe well we must first of all remove him from the source of the exposure and immediately consult doctors and obey his instruction.