ABSTRACT
Chloropicrin may be released to the atmosphere resulting from its use as a fumigant, fungicide, insecticide, and tear/war gas. Chloropicrin is a contaminant in drinking water of several US cities which may result from direct contamination of the water supply or from chlorination of other contaminants. Treatment of drinking water with chlorine results in the formation of chloropicrin. Chloropicrin is used as a soil fumigant and in winter readily penetrates sandy soil and diffuses horizontally along the soil surface. Vegetables and fruit collected from a farmstore and area surrounding a greenhouse which was accidentally fumigated with high levels of chloropicrin, qualitatively indicated strong contamination 24 hr after the incident. Exposure to chloropicrin would be primarily occupational. It is possible that people residing nearby would also be exposed to this dense gas. Exposure to chloropicrin would be primarily occupational, especially in workers connected with its use as a fumigant, fungicide, and insecticide.
