"Olefiant gas" is the etymological origin of the modern term "olefins", the family of hydrocarbons of which ethylene is the first member.

Nearly 20 million tons of 1,2-dichloroethane are produced annually in the United States, Western Europe, and Japan.

As a useful 'building block' reagent, it is used as an intermediate in the production of diverse organic compounds such as ethylenediamine and higher ethyleneamines.

Its high solubility and 50-year half-life in anoxic aquifers make it a perennial pollutant and health risk that is very expensive to treat conventionally, requiring a method of bioremediation.

[12] While the chemical is not used in consumer products manufactured in the U.S., a case was reported in 2009 of molded plastic consumer products (toys and holiday decorations) from China that released 1,2-dichloroethane into homes at levels high enough to produce cancer risk.