Seek medical attention. Not intended to be copied and sold for commercial purposes. It is used as a fire extinguisher, a solvent, a starting material to make many organic compounds, as an insecticide, and for cleaning clothes. Carbon tetrachloride may enter the environment from industrial effluents, municipal treatment plant discharges, or spills. Acute effects are seen two to four days after animals or plants come in contact with a toxic chemical substance.
Carbon tetrachloride has high acute toxicity to aquatic life.
No data are available on the short-term effects of carbon tetrachloride on plants, birds, or land animals. Carbon tetrachloride has high chronic toxicity to aquatic life. No data are available on the long-term effects of carbon tetrachloride on plants, birds, or land animals. Concentrations of between 1 to 1,000 milligrams will mix with a liter of water. Some substances increase in concentration, or bioaccumulate, in living oranisms as they breathe contaminated air, drink contaminated water, or eat contaminated food.