Sir Humphrey Davy, a British chemist, discovers chlorine dioxide (ClO₂), a result of potassium chlorate reacting with sulfuric acid. ClO₂ will prove to be a chemical powerhouse.

Use of ClO₂ begins to grow. A major benefit of ClO₂ is that, as a true gas, it expands uniformly to fill the space. However, due to concerns about the logistics of safely transporting the gas, industries wishing to use it decide to simply make it themselves in large quantities and activate it on site.

To mitigate taste and odor problems, ClO₂ is introduced into a water treatment plant at Niagara Falls, N.Y. Other municipalities soon do the same. The water not only tastes better and has no unpleasant odor - it's also safer to drink.

Brussels, Belgium, changes from chlorine to ClO₂ for drinking water in 1956. The 1950s see widespread use of ClO₂ in water treatment plants and swimming pools in the U.S.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registers an aqueous form of ClO₂ for use as a sanitizer and disinfectant.

The EPA begins recommending using ClO₂ instead of chlorine bleach to treat water because ClO₂ does not produce any harmful byproducts such as THMs (trihalomethanes). THMs have been linked to cancer.

The EPA registers ClO₂ as a sterilizer.

ClO₂ is heavily used in the anthrax outbreaks.

ClO₂ is deployed in homes damaged by the flood waters from Hurricane Katrina.

ProKure revolutionizes the way ClO₂ is deployed. For the first time, because of ProKure's patented pouch technology, ClO₂ can be created at any time, and anywhere there's water. With ProKure, ClO₂ can now be safely transported in dry pouches and made in liquid or gas forms on site.

ClO₂ meets the Center for Disease Control’s criteria for use against the Ebola virus.