In the predominant application, chloroform is required for the production of tetrafluoroethylene (TFE), precursor to teflon.
Trihalomethanes released to the environment break down faster than chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), thereby doing much less damage to the ozone layer.
The total global flux of chloroform through the environment is approximately 660000 tonnes per year,[2] and about 90% of emissions are natural in origin.
Chloroform is produced by heating mixtures of methane or methyl chloride with chlorine.
[5] The EPA limits the total concentration of the four chief constituents (chloroform, bromoform, bromodichloromethane, and dibromochloromethane), referred to as total trihalomethanes (TTHM), to 80 parts per billion in treated water.