Halogenated solvents

Halogenated refers to a chemical compound or mixture that contains halogen atoms, i.e. fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or iodine. Bonding to carbon the halogens form a class of compounds called covalent halides, i.e. they are not electroylytic in nature. Some other terms for these compounds are halocarbons (halogenated hydrocarbons), chlorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's, a class of molecules containing chlorine, fluorine, and carbon).

Chlorinated solvents include the following: chloroform, chlorobenzene , trichloroethylene, carbon tetrachloride, chlorinated fluorocarbons, methylene chloride (dichloromethane), tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene), 1,1,1-trichloroethane (methyl chloroform, chlorothene). There are many industrial and commercial uses for the halogenated solvents due to their excellent ability to dissolve oils, their fast evaporation rates and their chemical stability. Major uses in cleaning are e.g. as dry cleaning fluids, degreasing solvents, electrical cleaning solvents, inks and paint strippers. Solvent wastes are often segregated into halogenated and non-halogenated waste because it costs more to dispose of halogenated materials and because halogenated wastes are sometimes incompatible with other wastes.
Chlorinated organic compounds are often health hazards and some are even known human carcinogens.

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