Seamy Side of Tet

Carbon tetrachloride (CC14) is one of the simplest of chemicals and one of the most potent. It is a great fire extinguisher, a powerful pesticide, will dry off dew-shorted spark plugs, and is such a versatile solvent that it will vaporize the grease stains out of a dress or tar from the rug in no time at all.

No wonder that it is used in so many successful commercial products. But carbon tet has its seamy side. Inhaled or soaked up through the skin, it can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, dizziness, stupor, heart irregularities, lung congestion, liver and kidney damage--possibly even death. It is especially dangerous for people who have just had a few drinks.

Last month the U.S. Food and Drug Administration acknowledged that there are many solvents and cleaning agents just as effective as carbon tet but less likely to cause serious illness. It began a series of legal moves to forbid the interstate shipment of carbon tet for retail trade. If the FDA's drive succeeds, it will be up to the individual states to stop intrastate sales of a useful but dangerous chemical. One straw in the wind: the U.S. Coast Guard recently withdrew approval of carbon tet fire extinguishers on boats.

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