Chloroform
Chloroform (CHCl3) Chloroform (trichloromethane) was one of our first anes-thetics (1847) and was widely used until about 1920. It is used in industry as a sol-vent for oils, waxes, and so on. It is nonflammable.
Chloroform has been found pre-sent in microgram per liter to milligram per liter concentrations in drinking water supplies as a result of chlorination for disinfection. It is formed through reaction of chlorine with organics of biological origin commonly present in natural waters. Be-cause it is a potential carcinogen, an MCL in drinking water has been established for the sum total of chloroform and other trihalomethanes (THMs) of 80 _g/L.