Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Carbon tetrachloride

Sublette, City of

Carbon tetrachloride, a volatile carcinogenic solvent, has been used in industrial chemical production and as a dry cleaning ingredient. Read More.

Carbon tetrachloride is no longer permitted in products intended for home use in the U.S. In the past, it was widely used as a dry cleaning ingredient, fire extinguishing chemical, pesticide and chemical intermediate for manufacturing refrigerants. Carbon tetrachloride does not break down easily and can remain in groundwater for years. In addition to increasing cancer risk, carbon tetrachloride harms the liver and causes central nervous system depression, irregular heart rate, and kidney damage. Maternal exposure to carbon tetrachloride in drinking water has been associated with a risk of birth defects.

Click here to read more about carcinogenic VOCs.

 

19

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

8

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND40ND
2019ND10ND
2020N/A00N/A
20210.243 ppb62ND - 0.780 ppb
20220.965 ppb440.920 ppb - 1.000 ppb
20230.458 ppb42ND - 0.920 ppb

ppb = parts per billion

State, National, and Health Guidelines for Drinking Water

EWG Health Guideline: 0.1 ppb

The EWG Health Guideline of 0.1 ppb for carbon tetrachloride was defined by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment as a public health goal, the level of a drinking water contaminant that does not pose a significant health risk. This health guideline protects against cancer.

EPA Maximum Contaminant
Level (MCL): 5 ppb

The legal limit for carbon tetrachloride, established in 1987, was based on analytical detection limits at the time that the standard was set. This limit does not fully protect against the risk of cancer due to carbon tetrachloride exposure.

ppb = parts per billion

All test results

Date Lab ID Result
2018-12-181093052ND
2018-12-181093055ND
2018-12-181093056ND
2018-12-181093057ND
2019-07-081200018ND
2021-06-281864890ND
2021-06-281864889ND
2021-06-2818648880.680 ppb
2021-06-2818648870.780 ppb
2021-08-241930858ND
2021-08-241930857ND
2022-07-1122996210.980 ppb
2022-08-0223208291.000 ppb
2022-10-0323699110.960 ppb
2022-10-3123882590.920 ppb
2023-01-0924290960.910 ppb
2023-04-0324743080.920 ppb
2023-07-172537737ND
2023-10-032586302ND