Steel, copper, and nickel are not consumed because a passivation layer of insoluble metal fluoride will form which prevents further corrosion, but molybdenum, tungsten, and titanium are unsuitable as the fluorides that they form are volatile. Any equipment that comes into contact with ClF3 must be meticulously cleaned and then passivated, because any contamination left may burn through the unfluorinated material faster than it can re-form. ClF3 will quickly corrode even noble metals like iridium, platinum, or gold, oxidizing them to chlorides and fluorides. This oxidizing power, surpassing that of oxygen, causes ClF3 to react vigorously with many other materials often thought of as incombustible and refractory. It is known to ignite sand, asbestos, glass, and even ashes of substances that have already burned in oxygen. In one particular industrial accident, a spill of 900 kg of ClF3 burned through 30 cm of concrete and 90 cm of gravel beneath. There is exactly one known fire control/suppression method capable of dealing with ClF3 – the use of nitrogen and noble gases: the surrounding area must be flooded with nitrogen or argon. Barring that, the area must simply be kept cool until the reaction ceases. The compound reacts with water-based suppressors and CO2, rendering them ineffective. Exposure to larger amounts of ClF3, as a liquid or as a gas, ignites living tissue, resulting in severe chemical and thermal burns. ClF3 reacts violently with water and exposure to the reaction also results in burns. The products of hydrolysis are mainly hydrofluoric acid and hydrochloric acid, which are usually released as steam or vapor due to the highly exothermic nature of the reaction. See also Dioxygen difluoride Chlorine fluoride List of stoffs Notes Using data from Economic History Services and The Inflation Calculator, we can calculate that 100 Reichsmark in 1941 is approximately equivalent to $4,652.50 USD in 2021. Reichsmark exchange rate values from 1942 to 1944 are fragmentary. References Further reading External links National Pollutant Inventory – Fluoride and compounds fact sheet NIST Standard Reference Database CDC – NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards – Chlorine Trifluoride WebElements Sand Won't Save You This Time, blog post by Derek Lowe on the hazards of handling ClF3 Fluorides Interhalogen compounds Inorganic chlorine compounds Incendiary weapons Rocket oxidizers Fluorinating agents Oxidizing agents Chlorine(III) compounds Substances discovered in the 1930s