Oxidizer. Reacts with a wide variety of materials including organics, brass, zinc, cotton, sodium, pyridine, toluene, aluminium, finely powdered metals. Heat, friction and shock sensitive. May decompose or react with other chemicals violently.
Very toxic. May cause serious liver damage. Experimental carcinogen. Harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin.
(from the MSDS on tetranitromethane.)
http://ptcl.chem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/TE/tetranitromethane.html (http://ptcl.chem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/TE/tetranitromethane.html)
Also an information sheet boiling points, storage, etc.
http://www.osha-slc.gov/SLTC/healthguidelines/tetranitromethane/recognition.html#storage (http://www.osha-slc.gov/SLTC/healthguidelines/tetranitromethane/recognition.html#storage)
From http://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/writings/psychoactives_writings8.shtml (http://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/writings/psychoactives_writings8.shtml)
:
Sasha pointed to one bottle filled with a mass of needle-like white
crystals suspended in clear liquid. "What's that?" he quizzed me. I
peered at the label... C(NO2)4. "Surely that's some kind of explosive?"
I answered. He looked pleased. "Tetra-nitro-methane. As a liquid it's
not too bad -- the tri-nitro- is worse -- but once it gets cool enough
to crystallize, I try not to touch the bottle again until spring."
Sounds more like a quote from Alice in Wonderland.
No current estimates of the amount of tetranitromethane intentionally produced have been found in the literature. In Germany during World War II, attempts were made to synthesize large amounts for use as a substitute for nitric acid in rocket fuel. This method, involving the nitration of acetic anhydride with nitric acid, allowed a production rate of up to 10 tons within a few weeks, but was costly. However, by the end of the war, a less-costly method was devised using acetylene and nitric acid, with a reported capacity of 10 kg/day
http://ntp-server.niehs.nih.gov/htdocs/8_RoC/RAC/Tetranitromethane.html (http://ntp-server.niehs.nih.gov/htdocs/8_RoC/RAC/Tetranitromethane.html)
Tetranitromethane has been reported to be an atmospheric pollutant emitted as a byproduct of explosives produced in factories owned by the U.S. Government. The estimated "worst case" pollutant level of tetranitrotoluene in the vicinity of the factories was 20 mg/m3 (about 2.5 ppm). The current time-weighted average/threshold limit value is 1 ppm (8 mg/m3), and OSHA's permissible exposure limit is also 1 ppm (8 mg/m3). No quantitative information concerning an odor threshold is available, but the chemical at concentrations in excess of 1 ppm causes lacrimation and upper respiratory irritation and at 0.4 ppm may cause mild irritation. The National Occupational Exposure Survey, conducted by NIOSH from 1980 to 1983, indicated that 1,445 workers, including 230 women, were potentially exposed to tetranitromethane in 1980.