Trihalomethane
Trihalomethanes (THMs) are chemical compounds in which three of the four hydrogen atoms of methane (CH4) are replaced by halogen atoms. Many trihalomethanes find uses in industry as solvents or refrigerants. THMs are also environmental pollutants, and many are considered carcinogenic. Trihalomethanes with all the same halogen atoms are called haloforms. Several of these are easy to prepare through the haloform reaction.
Trihalomethanes were the first new drinking water regulation EPA issued after passage of the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act. The agency had the responsibility to produce all of the supporting information, and in quite considerable detail, and use that information, be it toxicology, analytical chemistry, occurrence, treatment technology, costs, economic impact, to craft its regulation.
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Trifluoromethane and chlorodifluoromethane are both used as refrigerants in some applications. Trihalomethanes released to the environment break down faster than chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), thereby doing much less damage to the ozone layer . Chlorodifluoromethane is a refrigerant HCFC, or hydrochlorofluorocarbon, while fluoroform is an HFC, or hydrofluorocarbon. Fluoroform is not ozone depleting.
Unfortunately, the breakdown of trihalomethane HCFCs does still result in the creation of some free chlorine radicals in the upper atmosphere and subsequent ozone destruction. Ideally, HCFCs will be phased out entirely in favour of entirely nonchlorinated refrigerants.
Chloroform is a very common solvent used in organic chemistry. It is a significantly less polar solvent than water, well-suited to dissolving many organic compounds.
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