As might be expected from its use as
an anaesthetic, inhaling chloroform vapours depresses the central
nervous system Breathing about 900 parts of chloroform per million
parts of air (900 parts per million) for a short time can cause dizziness,
fatigue, and headache Chronic chloroform exposure may cause damage
to the liver (where chloroform is metabolised to phosgene) and to the
kidneys, and some people develop sores when the skin is immersed in
chloroform Chloroform is slowly oxidised by air in the presence of
light to an extremely poisonous gas, carbonyl chloride, also known as
phosgene