Deaths of Quebec women in Thailand may have been caused by pesticide {aluminum phosphide}(BBC)
A highly toxic pesticide used to control bedbugs in some holiday hotels in Asia may have caused the mysterious deaths of two Quebec sisters travelling in Thailand as well as several other tourists, according to new evidence from a joint investigation by CBC’s the fifth estate and Radio-Canada’s Enquete.
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In Canada, the use of this pesticide is strictly regulated, and fumigators must get six months of training before they can handle it. Denis Bureau, a fumigation specialist in Quebec who is licensed to use it, told the fifth estate’s Mark Kelley that it could kill a human in less than two hours if the concentration is high enough.
“If you’re asleep in the room next to it or in the room where it’s been under fumigation, you’ll be dead in a few hours,” he said.
Bureau said aluminum phosphide is commonly used to kill insects in large spaces such as grain silos or ship cargo holds. In Canada, it is not permitted to be used in spaces like homes or hotels. It is typically found in the form of pellets that, once exposed to air and moisture, release a poisonous gas called phosphine.
In Thailand, authorities told the CBC/Radio-Canada investigation that the use of aluminum phosphide in hotels is strictly forbidden.
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more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/deaths-of-quebec-women-in-thailand-may-have-been-caused-by-pesticide-1.2569434
HOLY SHIT -- something else to worry about when traveling abroad. Not bad enough the drinking water may be pathogen-ridden, your own hotel room may kill you.
