Chloropicrin

Description

A colorless, oily liquid that causes eyes to water. Chloropicrin is a highly toxic irritant used in tear gas, dyes, disinfectants, and insecticides. It has also been used as a wood preservative. Trace amounts of chloropicrin are added to odorless fumigants (Methyl bromide, Sulfuryl fluoride) to act as a warning agent. However, unless the air is dry, chloropicrin may corrode metals.

Synonyms and Related Terms

chlorpicrin; nitrochloroform; nitrotrichloromethane; trichloronitromethane; acquinite; klop; Larvacide; Picfume; TimberFume®

Risks

• Highly toxic by inhalation, ingestion, and skin absorption.
• Lachrymator, strongly irritating to eyes and tissues. Corrosive to metals.
• Fisher Scientific: MSDS

Physical and Chemical Properties

Soluble in ethanol, benzene, ether, carbon disulfide. Insoluble in water and acids.

Composition	CCl3NO2
CAS	76-06-2
Melting Point	-69.2 C
Density	1.692 g/ml
Molecular Weight	mol. wt. = 164.37
Boiling Point	112 C

Resources and Citations

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983 Comment: entry 2208

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 622

• Lynda A. Zycherman, J.Richard Schrock, A Guide to Museum Pest Control, FAIC and Association of Systematics Collections, Washington DC, 1988

• Matt Roberts, Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1982