Polyhalogen Compounds

Carbon compounds that carry more than one halogen atom are grouped together as polyhalogen compounds. A large number of these find everyday use in industry and agriculture — as solvents, refrigerants, propellants, and even as insecticides — even though several of them also carry serious health or environmental costs. The sections that follow look at six such compounds one at a time: dichloromethane, trichloromethane (chloroform), triiodomet …