Carbon tetrachloride in fire extinguisher not used in a closed room because
Answers
The use of carbon tetrachloride as a fire extinguisher is not very safe. Why?
CCl4, Carbon Tetrachloride, tetracholormethane, or Halon-104 is a dangerous chemical that is seeing a decline in use in firefighting applications because of its poisonous nature. Because it is a non-conductive liquid, it may still be found in areas that have electronics or other equipment that may be sensitive to water.
The use of water in areas with a large amount of electrical and electronic equipment may do more damage than a fire itself given the ability of the water to make conductive pathways in sensitive parts of electronics. This may be detrimental to the electronics as it will cause electrical pathways to short out rendering the electronic equipment useless and cost a lot of money.
Carbon Tetrachloride has other uses in dry cleaning, pesticides, and as a refrigerant precursor. CCl4 has also been found useful in stamp collecting to better visualize watermarks of old stamps, and im lava lamps. It's a very handy chemical but it's nothing to swim in.
Carbon Tetrachloride is being slowly phased out for safer versions of Halon for firefighting and will likely be replaced by those better versions by 2030 since there is no longer any in production.
The use of Carbon Tet continues to decline due to its detrimental effects on health and environment. In addition to being very dangerous to the liver and kidneys, it's also a CNS depressant and exposure can lead to coma and death. It's also considered a greenhouse gas and encourages the depletion of Ozone. It can hang out in the atmosphere for 80+ years.
It did its job but it's time to be responsible and replace it with more effective human and environment friendly chemicals.
The use of water in areas with a large amount of electrical and electronic equipment may do more damage than a fire itself given the ability of the water to make conductive pathways in sensitive parts of electronics. This may be detrimental to the electronics as it will cause electrical pathways to short out rendering the electronic equipment useless and cost a lot of money.
Carbon Tetrachloride has other uses in dry cleaning, pesticides, and as a refrigerant precursor. CCl4 has also been found useful in stamp collecting to better visualize watermarks of old stamps, and im lava lamps. It's a very handy chemical but it's nothing to swim in.