During August 2000 at Lake Powell in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area on the Arizona-Utah border, two brothers died of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning as they swam near the stern of a houseboat while the onboard gasoline-powered generator was operating. As a result of these deaths, an investigation was initiated by the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) with assistance from the U.S. Depart...

Improper use of pesticides on food plants can result in significant toxicity. In spite of regulations, enforcement, and prior episodes of poisonings, poisonings from misapplication of pesticides continues to occur. The objective of this study was to present a case series of toxicity resulting from ingestion of watermelon inappropriately treated with the carbamate insecticide aldicarb. A restros...

OBJECTIVE To assess whether disgust, the emotion depicted on poison control "Mr. Yuk" stickers, conveys an age-appropriate message to young children. METHODS Two preliminary studies (both N = 48) were conducted with adults to assess what facial expressions of emotion they associated with child and adult violations of precautionary rules. Subsequently, 20 3-year-olds and 35 4-year-olds were te...

The pesticide poisoning deaths of 24 children in an isolated Peruvian village make a compelling case that corporate accountability for pesticide poisonings in the developing south should be examined from a human rights perspective. Highly toxic pesticides cannot be used safely under prevailing socioeconomic conditions. The industry asserts that the deaths of these children were accidental, blam...

Diethylene glycol (DEG), an extremely toxic chemical, has been implicated as the etiologic agent in at least 12 medication-associated mass poisonings over the last 70 years. Why DEG mass poisonings occur remains unclear. Most reports do not contain detailed reports of trace-back investigations into the etiology. The authors, therefore, conducted a systematic literature review on potential etiol...

BACKGROUND There are few Spanish studies on acute poisoning in the elderly despite the associated risk factors of this group of patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS Retrospective descriptive study of acute poisonings treated in the Emergency Service of the University Hospital of Zaragoza from 1995 to 2009 on patients 65 years old or older. RESULTS A total of 762 patients were selected in the stud...

Ingestion of corrosive substances may cause severe to serious injuries of the upper gastrointestinal tract and the poisoning can even result in death. Acute corrosive intoxications pose a major problem in clinical toxicology since the most commonly affected population are the young with psychic disorders, suicidal intent and alcohol addiction. The golden standard for determination of the grade ...