Chapter 21, Problem 21.64SP

A chemist was called to an abandoned aspirin factory to determine the contents of a badly corroded vat. Knowing that two salvage workers had become ill from breathing the fumes, she put on her breathing apparatus as soon as she noticed an overpowering odor like that of vinegar but much more pungent. She entered the building and took a sample of the contents of the vat. The mass spectrum showed a molecular weight of 102, and the NMR spectrum showed only a singlet at δ2.15. The IR spectrum, which appears here, left no doubt about the identity of the compound. Identify the compound, and suggest a method for its safe disposal.