Chemical Substances : Chemical Agent With Corrosive Properties And A Potential Weapon Of Mass Destruction

The chemicals that Clorox bleach contains are water, sodium hypochlorite, sodium chloride, coco-betaine, fragrance, sodium carbonate, sodium chlorate, sodium hydroxide, sodium [olyacrylate, and sodium xylene sulfonate. Sodium hypochlorite has several short term potential health risks such as causing irritation and burns when in contact with skin, causing eye damage and irritation when in contact with eyes, irritating the nose, throat, and lungs upon inhalation, which can cause shortness of breath and pulmonary edema at higher exposures, and can also cause headache, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. Chronic health effects include bronchitis after repeated exposure to inhalation. Fragrance can cause skin irritation, allergy, and has been linked to organ system toxicity. Sodium carbonate can be corrosive to the gastro intestinal tract if ingested. It can also cause blistering when in contact with skin and can be corrosive to eyes and cause conjuctival edema and corneal destruction. Sodium chlorate can irritate and burn skin and eyes, and can cause nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, as well as damage the kidneys and affect the liver. High levels of sodium chlorate can reduce the body’s ability to transport oxygen and at very high levels, exposure can lead to death. Sodium hydroxide is corrosive to skin and

This study will try to prove the hypothesis that using hot tubs, results in elevated exposures to chloroform due to various factors that enhance

The use of chlorine revolutionized pool sanitation and cleanliness in the early 1900s. While there have been large improvements in the construction of pools since the mid-twentieth century, the products available for sanitation and the policies regarding them remain mostly the same today. Chlorine is excellent at keeping bacteria levels down in pools, but there are still improvements to be made and caution must be used during pool maintenance. Chlorine can cause deterioration of the cornea and respiratory issues, including an increase in asthma among individuals who frequent indoor pools. Additionally, chlorinated water runoff from pools and hot tubs into waterways can be detrimental to wildlife, even at rates as low as 0.011 ppm (Olsen,

Chlorine is on its own a chemical element of the periodic table as part of the halogen series salts and appears in a green-yellowish gas (Lenntech, 2018). Therefore, chlorine is naturally occurring when extracted from salt. Additionally, chlorine can have many adverse effects on people and the environment. According to NOAA’s CAMEO (2018), chlorine is highly toxic if inhaled, an oxidizing agent (may accelerate combustibles), and is water reactive. Therefore, if exposed in high concentrations, the result could be fatal or cause severe respiratory conditions. Moreover, the Emergency Response Guidebook (2016) recommends response personnel to be equipped with a self-contained breathing apparatus and chemical protective clothing when responding to chlorine incidents. Essentially, the protective equipment should prevent physical exposure to the chlorine as well as supply response crews with clean air to allow for a proper response to the incident. Lastly, there are many variations of commercial detection equipment available to response crews for chlorine. According to DHS (2007), both the Draeger CDS kit and ChomAir Badge offer a commercial means to detect Chlorine gas is the 0.2 – 0.4 parts per million range. Fundamentally, both chemical detection pieces of equipment identified allow for a

Adverse effects can occur if there is too much residual chlorine in water. The use of chlorine can possibly cause carcinogenic compounds such as chloroform. There is still an ongoing debate if chlorine is the best way to disinfect a

Such blistering is not generally lethal. Militarily, blister agents produce casualties and reduce the combat effectiveness of opposing troops by requiring them to wear bulky protective equipment.13 The most common blister agents are called mustard agents, due to their odor. Mustard agents are oily liquids that range in color from very pale yellow to dark brown, depending on the type and purity, and have a faint odor of mustard, onion, or garlic.14 These liquids evaporate quickly, and their vapors are also injurious. Blister agents are not naturally occurring compounds. Mustard agents, for example, were first developed in the late 1800s. During World War I, both sides in the conflict used these weapons against their enemies. Mustard-type blister agents produced the greatest number of chemical casualties during World War I, though fewer than 5% of these casualties died. Countries have stockpiled blister agents in their chemical weapon inventories.15 Mustard agent was also used by both sides in the Iran-Iraq war.16 As a signatory to the CWC, the United States is in the process of destroying its stockpile of blister

The city of Stockton’s water cleaning company uses “chloramines which are not as chemically active as chlorine” to filter their tap water system (recordnet.com). However, due to the drought and lack of water many of the chloramines compounded together and became toxic. Moving on, Chloramine is a compound made up of very low concentration of chlorine and ammonia. However, large quantity of chloramine can be harmful since the chlorine can compound onto each other, which develops trichloramine (recordnet.com). Trichloramine can cause redness in the eye, irritation of the skin, and if ingested in large quantity, the respiratory system can be damaged. Moving on, the water contamination in Stockton effects all the residents in North Stockton only. Despite that the water contamination is only in North Stockton, the residents are taking precaution to using their tap water due to the unsure effects of ingesting the contaminated

Long term chronic exposure is that the mortality rate from human contact to extraordinary absorptions of these toxins have been documented since the 1900s (ACGIH, 2005). And there has been an accumulative attention on the impacts of hazardous toxins at ever lower levels of exposure. Epidemiological studies have shown correlations between workplace exposure to hazardous substances and the onset of disease, and at the same time there has been a greater than before understanding of the mechanisms by which contaminants exert its poisonous effects.

Solutions greater than 27% will cause skin irritation and serious eye damage. A 67.9% solution is considered harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects. With the downstream mixture being 0.00107% we can conclude that the population downstream is not at risk for any negative health outcomes (Ferric Chloride, n.d.).

Due to the inability of the lungs to exchange gases and air, those suffering from emphysema experience a chronic cough, difficulty breathing, and an increased risk of lung infections.

5ppm of chlorine produces eye irritation, headaches; throat irritation can occur at 5-15ppm, 30ppm produces immediate chest pain, nausea, vomiting, dyspnea and cough. 40-60ppm produces toxic pneumonitis and pulmonary edema. 430ppm always causes death within 30minutes and 1,000ppm is fatal within minutes. However the factors which are affecting the amount of organ exposure are structural barriers which show that only certain organs chlorine affects and not the whole system. As we look at genetics chlorine does not seem to affect the human reproductive system but in rats it killed them after 20 days and the foetuses were examined however having improper orientation of the heart tissues and other systems.

with liquefied substance that is composed of chlorinated hydrocarbon which is used mainly as a solvent

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) strictly regulates the levels of health-risking contaminants that are allowed in drinking water, to try and ensure that tap water, used for drinking, meets certain standards. Chlorine is used by most water treatment facilities in the United States, to clean the water drinking supplies. The EPA has determined that chlorine levels of four parts per million, or less, are safe for human consumption. While, the chlorination of drinking water has been credited with increasing life expectancy, and being one of our nation’s major public health achievements, there have been studies, that link chlorination to higher occurrences of some types of cancer, and other health problems, including eczema, heart disease, asthma, and higher miscarriage rates. When chlorine interacts with various organic compounds in the fresh water, trihalomethanes (THMs) are produced, which are environmental pollutants, and carcinogenic. When THMS are ingested, they foster the growth of free radicals, which are known to harm or destroy vital body

Chlorine is heavier than air, and therefore it will remain near the ground in areas with little air movement. 2

Chlorine is a toxic compound to many life forms, and is known to be an effective substance against life of plants, animals and humans by irritating the mucous membranes of the nose, mouth and lungs. However this compound has also been used to preserve human life, as it is more harmful to microbes, and has been used as a disinfectant as early as 1801, consequently was being used effectively to use against the chlorella outbreak in 1831. (Science Clarified, 2016)