Watch the video above: Phosphine being blamed for accidental child poisoning
TORONTO – On Sunday, five children were rushed to hospital in Fort McMurray, Alberta, suspected of being poisoned by a pesticide. One child later died.
Officials now believe that insecticide pellets left around the home were to blame, when a toxic gas called phosphine was released.
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Phosphine is a highly poisonous gas that is released from aluminum phosphide, a chemical compound used as a pesticide and insecticide.
READ MORE: One child dead, four others hospitalized; phosphine detected in Fort McMurray apartment
Aluminum phosphide comes in pellet form and is used often by grain farmers to combat pests such as rats.
The key to the toxicity is moisture. When aluminum phosphide is exposed to any moisture — and that includes that which exists in the air — it begins to release the phosphine gas. In an open, well-ventilated area, the toxicity is reduced. But if the pellets are exposed to moisture in an enclosed area, the phosphine gas is released, gradually accumulating. Anyone in the area would be slowly poisoned as they inhaled the toxin.
“The gas is extremely flammable, can self-ignite, and has a very strong odour and very high toxicity,” said Sandro Gambarotta, a chemistry professor at the University of Ottawa.
Bonded with a metal, however, the gas releases much more slowly and stabilizes, yet retains its toxicity.
Symptoms of phosphine poisoning include airway irritation, breathlessness, dizziness, vomiting and diarrhea among other things. Prolonged exposure can lead to gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and eventually kidney failure.
“Clearly, it’s something dangerous,” Gambarotta said.
Recent studies have found that unintentional poisoning due to pesticides is of global concern, with some 300,000 deaths occurring worldwide due to pesticides.
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In 2012, two sisters from Quebec were killed in Thailand after being exposed to phosphine gas in their hotel, which used aluminum phosphide as an insecticide.
In 2010, two children — aged 4 and 15 months — died in Utah after what was believed to be exposure to phosphine gas. The gas was released after a lawn company used the pellets to combat voles on their property. It’s believed that the gas somehow made its way into the house from underground.
For free, confidential advice on poisons and chemicals, you can call the Poison and Drug Information Service in Alberta and the Northwest Territories at 1-800-332-1414 or the Saskatchewan service at 1-866-454-1212. You can visit the website here.
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