Uses

Carbon tetrachloride does not occur naturally but has been produced in large quantities to make refrigeration fluid and propellants for aerosol cans. Since many refrigerants and aerosol propellants have been found to affect the earth's ozone layer, the production of these chemicals is being phased out. In the past, carbon tetrachloride was widely used as a cleaning fluid, in industry and dry cleaning establishments as a degreasing agent, and in households as a spot remover for clothing, furniture, and carpeting. Carbon tetrachloride was also used in fire extinguishers and as a fumigant to kill insects in grain. Most of these uses were discontinued in the mid-1960s.