Bromodichloromethane

Bromodichloromethane is a trihalomethane with formula CHBrCl2.

Bromodichloromethane has formerly been used as a flame retardant, and a solvent for fats and waxes and because of its high density for mineral separation. Now it is only used as a reagent or intermediate in organic chemistry.

Bromodichloromethane can also occur in municipally-treated drinking water as a by-product of the chlorine disinfection process.

According to the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit organization that strives to educate consumers about potential chemical and environmental health risks, bromodichloromethane can increase the risk of cancer, harm to reproduction and child development, and may cause changes to fetal growth and development in when present in quantities higher than 0.06 parts per billion (ppb). This data largely comes from studies reviewed or conducted by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. No standards regulating the presence of bromodichloromethane in drinking water currently exist in the United States.