Citation

Kobayashi K, Fukushima H. Chudoku Kenkyu 2008; 21(2): 183-188.

Affiliation

Department of Legal Medicine, Shinshu University School of Medicine.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Yakugyo Jihosha)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

18516944

Abstract

A 21-year-old man was found dead in a car. There were 9 empty bottles of 610HAP (a 440 g bottle of a liquid bath essence containing 160-195 g/kg sulfur) and 10 of Sunpole (a 500 mL bottle of a toilet bowl cleaner containing 9.5% HCl) in the car. The car doors were sealed with tape, and there was a strong smell of sulfur in and around the car. GC/MS analysis showed 0.66 microg/mL sulfide and 0.14 micromol/mL thiosulfate in the blood sample. The concentration of thiosulfate in the urine sample was normal. Police investigation concluded that the man killed himself by aspirating hydrogen sulfide that had been produced by mixing 610 HAP and Sunpole. To examine the amount of hydrogen sulfide produced, small portions of these liquids were mixed in a 560-mL volume flask. The results showed that 0.1 mL of each liquid produced 4,950 ppm of hydrogen sulfide, and 0.2 mL of each produced 10,800 ppm. According to these results, if the cabin volume is assumed to be 3,300 L, mixing 120 mL of each liquid produces a lethal level of hydrogen sulfide, i.e., 1,000 ppm. This was a rare suicide case, and it revealed the hazards of mixing of liquid bath essences containing sulfur and toilet bowl cleaners containing hydrochloric acid.

Language: ja