Methyl bromide under fire.

Fatal methyl bromide poisoning.

Methyl bromide was commonly used in fire extinguishers in aircraft engines and in submarines during the second world war. Now it is widely used as a fumigant insecticide in grain stores.' 2 Mortality after intoxication by methyl bromide vapour may be high,' and is often associated with convulsions, usually resistant to standard anticonvulsant chemotherapy.' s We wish to draw attention to the co...

The Role of Hydrofluorocarbons in Global Fire Protection: an Update

HISTORIC[1] Halogenated compounds have been employed as fire extinguishing agents since the early 1900s, when handheld extinguishers containing carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) were first introduced. In the late 1920s, methyl bromide (CH3Br) was found to be more effective than carbon tetrachloride, and was widely used as a fire extinguishing agent by the British in the late 1930s for aircraft protec...

[Acute poisoning with methyl bromide in a military camp; fire extinguisher disease].

Methyl bromide poisoning.

Methyl bromide is a highly volatile liquid which disperses rapidly and readily. As a fumigant it ranks amongst the most efficient because of its extremely effective penetrating power and absence of fire or explosion hazard. It is, unfortunately, highly toxic and poisoning occurs readily in circumstances of careless or inadvertent exposure. Before 1940, only 42 cases of methyl bromide poisoning ...

How unclogging a sink can be lethal: case report of an accidental methyl bromide poisoning leading to a multiple organ failure

Methyl bromide (CH3Br) is a colorless and odorless volatile gas, used as an insecticide, fire extinguisher, fumigant, and refrigerant. Although forbidden since 1987 for domestic use, it is still used in industry, for example, to fumigate agricultural fields which are for importation in the United States. Here is the case of a 74-year-old man who was accidentally exposed to methyl bromide after ...