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Chlorinated Hydrocarbons |
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A designation used for Organic Compounds which contain one or more Chlorine atoms. Chlorinated hydrocarbons are of very considerable importance industrially as the raw materials for plastics (e.g. vinyl chloride used in the manufacture of PVC), as synthetic Solvents (e.g. trichlorethane, trichlorethylene, chloroform), as Insecticides (e.g. chlordane, lindane, DDT) and many other, even mor desirable products. Certain chlorinated hydrocarbons are included in in the highly dangereous Environmental Poisons. Their danger can be expressed in terms of both their considerable chemical stability, which obstructs their rapid Decomposition into harmless substances, their high liposolubility, which favours good reception and accumulation in living organisms, and their high Toxicity. Moreover, a considerable proportion of the chlorinated hydrocarbons also have Cancer-producing characteristics. |