Carbon tetrachloride, also called tetrachloromethane, a colourless, dense, highly toxic, volatile, nonflammable liquid possessing a characteristic odour and belonging to the family of organic halogen compounds, used principally in the manufacture of dichlorodifluoromethane. Carbon tetrachloride is commonly used as a chemical intermediate, solvent, and dry-cleaning fluid. It was widely used as a cleaning fluid. Carbon tetrachloride was also used in fire extinguishers and as a fumigant to kill insects in grain. Human exposure to carbon tetrachloride from occupational or environmental sources is low and unlikely to produce acute kidney toxicity. Carbon tetrachloride is a manufactured chemical and does not occur naturally in the environment.

Trichloroacetic acid (TCA; TCAA) is a chemical used in skin peel formulations. It is more frequently used for lighter skin and is less used on darker skin because of the higher risks of scarring, as well as post-peel dyschromias. Low concentrations, 10-35% is preferred for skin peel formulations so that it only reaches the upper papillary dermis. Topical TCA is an efficacious treatment of internal anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL). Advantages of TCA for this recurrent disease process include low cost, no requirement for special equipment beyond that for high-resolution anoscopy, and painless application procedure.

Uramustine (INN) or uracil mustard is a chemotherapy drug which belongs to the class of alkylating agents. It is used in lymphatic malignancies such as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Uracil Mustard selectively inhibits the synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The guanine and cytosine content correlates with the degree of Uracil Mustard-induced cross-linking. At high concentrations of the drug, cellular RNA and protein synthesis are also suppressed. After activation, it binds preferentially to the guanine and cytosine moieties of DNA, leading to cross-linking of DNA, thus inhibiting DNA synthesis and function. The DNA damage leads to apoptosis of the affected cells. Chemically it is a derivative of nitrogen mustard and uracil.

Propiolactone (or beta-propiolactone) is a disinfectant used in vapor form to sterilize vaccines, grafts, blood plasma, surgical instruments. It has been used against bacteria, fungi, and virus. Propiolactone was first commercially available in the United States in 1958 but then was withdrawn because it was discovered that compound was a human carcinogen. The results have shown the generation of tumors in several tissues and from different administration routes. Propiolactone is a direct-acting alkylating agent that reacts with polynucleotides and DNA, mainly at N7 of guanine and N1 of adenine, to form carboxyethyl derivatives.

Cacodylic acid also known as dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) has been used as a herbicide. As a part of agent blue it used to destroy broadleaf plants and trees, especially rice paddies during the Vietnam War. DMA is the major metabolite formed after exposure to tri- (arsenite) or pentavalent (arsenate) inorganic arsenic (iAs) via ingestion or inhalation in both humans and rodents. DMA induces an organ-specific lesion--single strand breaks in DNA. Mechanistic studies have suggested that this damage is due mainly to the peroxyl radical of DMA and production of active oxygen species by pulmonary tissues. Multi-organ initiation-promotion studies have demonstrated that DMA acts as a promotor of urinary bladder, kidney, liver and thyroid gland cancers in rats and as a promotor of lung tumors in mice. Thus it was shown, that DMA played a role in the carcinogenesis of inorganic arsenic.