A massive chlorine release as a result of a tank leak in a car carrying chlorine took place in Norway. A total of 85 people, from 6 months to 82 years of age were hospitalized, and out of those 3 died. It is a greenish-yellow gas with a pungent odour. Chlorine is heavier than air and the cloud formed tends to spread along the ground. It can fill cellars or flow into subway tunnels as it did in an accident in New York leading to the hospitalization of 208 persons.
Chlorine is chemically very active.
Dry chlorine at ambient temperatures reacts directly with many materials including metals. Dry chlorine does not attack steel and it is supplied commercially in steel containers in liquid form under pressure. Traces of moisture in chlorine lead to rapid corrosion of steel, copper and nickel. Chlorine react vigorously with organic compounds including mineral oils and greases. Mixtures of chlorine and hydrogen gases are explosive.