Bromine is used as a flame retardant in clothes, cables, and computers, and as a disinfectant or purifier in water. It is also used in the photographic and agricultural industries, but its use in medicine has largely been discontinued due to toxicity.
The uses of bromine are versatile, although this element is harmful if touched or ingested and can affect the respiratory tract. In clothes, cables, and computers, bromine is used as a flame retardant to keep things from catching fire. The uses of bromine in water are as a disinfectant or purifier, depending on the water source and other chemicals combined with the bromine. This is also used by the photographic industry for creating photosensitive emulsions and developing photos. In the agricultural industry, uses for bromine include pesticides and fumigants.
Bromine is often used as a flame retardant by industrial workers, especially in the plastic and printed circuit board (PCB) industries. In small amounts, so it doesn’t affect public health, bromine is also used as a flame retardant for clothing. It is also used in products such as carpets, paints and kitchen appliances to inhibit combustion.
The uses of bromine in water are many, both as a disinfectant and purifier. For swimming pools, cooling towers, and other water sources that aren’t typically found around food, bromine serves as a disinfectant. This is because bromine is able to kill bacteria and algae present in non-sterilized water. For this same reason, bromine is used to purify drinking water. When used as a purifier, bromine needs to be carefully controlled, as too much can prove fatal to anyone who drinks the water.
In the film industry, bromine’s uses extend to light sensitivity in photographic emulsions and as a photographic developer. Light is needed to burn an image into film, and bromine is commonly used to ensure the film receives enough light. Without bromine, the image would be dull or distorted. When it comes to developing film into larger images, bromine is capable of transferring film images to photographic paper.
A significant number of crops depend on bromine’s uses as a pesticide and fumigant. Bromine compounds are routinely sprayed on most agriculture to keep pests away so crops can grow. It is also sprinkled on the ground to reduce the chance of any pests attacking the crop. This is mostly used with fruits and grains, but is also used with vegetables.
Bromine’s uses extended into medicine, but America and many other countries stopped using it in health care in 1975. In the past, it was used to create sedatives and pain relievers. This has largely been discontinued, because many patients have fallen ill from bromine toxicity.
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