Uses and Health Risks Associated with Chlorine
Chlorine is the single material on which the production of other chemicals mostly depends. It is used in 60% of all Commercial Chemistry, 85% of all Pharmaceutical Chemistry and 95% of all yield-enhancing or agrochemical chemistry. Chlorine is one of approximately 100 natural chemical elements, and natural chlorine compounds are found everywhere on earth. Because of its chemical reactivity, chlorine is rarely present by itself as natural chlorine, and it exists bonded to other elements in the form of chemical compounds like sodium chloride, etc. Chlorine can be used as follows: For bleaching wood pulp For extracting gold from platinum For sterilizing drinking water For manufacturing dyes, drugs, and other organic compounds For the production of insecticides Major Health Hazards: harmful if inhaled, respiratory tract burns, skin burns, eye burns Physical Hazards: Containers may rupture or explode if exposed to heat. May ignite combustibles. Potential Health Effe...