What harm does chlorine do to the human body

Chlorine is a gas that is harmful to the human body. We don’t usually come into contact with it often, but there are times when we come into contact with it, especially due to work or other reasons. When you come into contact with chlorine, you must take protective measures to avoid injury. This is especially important when working or in contact. What are the hazards of chlorine to the human body? Let’s learn more about it through the following introduction.

Chlorine gas is seriously harmful to the human body. It can irritate the eyes, nose, throat and upper respiratory tract. When the mass concentration is 1-6 mg/m3, it causes significant irritation to humans; 12 mg/m3 is unbearable; 40-60 mg/m3 can cause severe poisoning in 30-60 minutes; 120-170 mg/m3 is extremely dangerous, causing acute pulmonary edema and pneumonia; 3000 mg/m3 can immediately paralyze the respiratory center and cause "flash death". Long-term inhalation of low concentrations of chlorine can cause chronic poisoning, the main symptoms of which are rhinitis, chronic bronchitis, emphysema and cirrhosis. People who are sensitive to chlorine will be more susceptible to chlorine poisoning when exposed to higher concentrations of chlorine. Dermatitis or eczema may occur. It is harmful to plants and corrosive to metal products and buildings.

Chlorine is a strong irritant gas. It mainly acts on the bronchi and bronchioles, and can also act on the alveoli, causing bronchospasm, bronchitis and peribronchitis. Inhalation of large amounts can cause toxic pulmonary edema.

When chlorine is inhaled into the respiratory tract and comes into contact with the mucous membrane, in addition to the element, it also forms hypochlorous acid, hydrogen chloride, etc. In the past, it was believed that the damaging effects of chlorine were caused by hydrogen chloride and nascent oxygen. Recent studies have pointed out that under the conditions of pH 7.4 and 37°C, no new ecological oxygen is generated. The most likely reason is the action of hydrogen chloride and hypochlorous acid, especially the latter which has more obvious biological activity. It can penetrate the capillary membrane, destroy its integrity and permeability, and thus cause tissue inflammatory edema, congestion, and even necrosis. Due to the increased permeability of alveolar wall capillaries, the air-blood and air-fluid barriers of the alveolar wall are destroyed, and a large amount of serous fluid infiltrates into the pulmonary interstitium and alveoli, forming pulmonary edema.

Through the above introduction, we know the harm of chlorine to the human body. This is also a gas that is seriously harmful to the human body. It is also something we need to pay special attention to in our daily life or work. In particular, we must pay high attention to it and then take effective protection. Stop immediately if there is any abnormal situation.