GeorgeWendtCFI
07-03-2008, 07:59 AM
I read this story and couldn't believe it.
Tiki-torch oil kills woman and sickens five others in New Jersey
by Angela Stewart/The Star-Ledger
Wednesday July 02, 2008, 12:05 AM
An 84-year-old Burlington County woman died and five other New Jersey residents were sickened in separate incidents after drinking small amounts of torch oil they mistook for apple juice, New Jersey poison control officials said yesterday.
One of those injured was an 8-year-old Bergen County girl whose lungs sustained permanent damage after she drank from a glass on the kitchen counter filled with what she thought was apple juice.
State health officials last night said they were working on sending out an electronic alert to local health officials about the incidents.
The Burlington County woman, who was not identified, died in a hospital Monday night from "complications of lung damage," said Steve Marcus, executive director of the New Jersey Poison Information & Education System. Marcus said the Burlington County Medical Examiner's Officer is investigating.
"Somebody poured the drink for her thinking it was apple juice," he said of the "kerosene-like" substance, which is used to light patio torches.
The other victims were from Hillsborough, Elizabeth, Paterson and Burlington County, with four of them, including the Bergen County girl, requiring hospitalization.
Marcus said the poisonings were unrelated and that a total of 13 calls have been placed to poison control officials about the oil, which comes in a clear plastic bottle that says "Tiki Torch Fuel."
All of the cases have occurred since May 25, he said.
One person mistook the oil for bottled water and tried to make coffee, but didn't get sick, Marcus said.
"I can understand easily why someone would mistake it for food. If it was on a shelf or on a table, you would have to look pretty hard," he said, although he noted the bottle has a warning label, written in both English and Spanish.
Marcus said he has alerted state health officials as well as the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the manufacturer about what he called the "look-alike" oil.
"We're trying to send out a nationwide alert," he said, urging residents to keep the oil in a locked cabinet and away from food.
According to the company's website, the oil is sold in stores including Home Depot, Kmart, Target, Lowe's and Wal-Mart.
Attempts last night to reach the Wisconsin-based manufacturer -- Lamplight Farms Inc. -- were unsuccessful.
Marcus said he has never encountered anything quite like this in years with the poison center.
"During my 40 years in medicine, you get an occasional kid who ingests kerosene, but I have never seen this kind of cluster," he said.
Don't you think that you have a responsibility to know what you are putting in your mouth? Don't you have a responsibility to keep things like Tiki Torch Oil somewhere away from food? How could a person with the IQ of a carrot mistake lamp oil for water or apple juice? I am sure that the lawsuits are soon to follow.
Tiki-torch oil kills woman and sickens five others in New Jersey
by Angela Stewart/The Star-Ledger
Wednesday July 02, 2008, 12:05 AM
An 84-year-old Burlington County woman died and five other New Jersey residents were sickened in separate incidents after drinking small amounts of torch oil they mistook for apple juice, New Jersey poison control officials said yesterday.
One of those injured was an 8-year-old Bergen County girl whose lungs sustained permanent damage after she drank from a glass on the kitchen counter filled with what she thought was apple juice.
State health officials last night said they were working on sending out an electronic alert to local health officials about the incidents.
The Burlington County woman, who was not identified, died in a hospital Monday night from "complications of lung damage," said Steve Marcus, executive director of the New Jersey Poison Information & Education System. Marcus said the Burlington County Medical Examiner's Officer is investigating.
"Somebody poured the drink for her thinking it was apple juice," he said of the "kerosene-like" substance, which is used to light patio torches.
The other victims were from Hillsborough, Elizabeth, Paterson and Burlington County, with four of them, including the Bergen County girl, requiring hospitalization.
Marcus said the poisonings were unrelated and that a total of 13 calls have been placed to poison control officials about the oil, which comes in a clear plastic bottle that says "Tiki Torch Fuel."
All of the cases have occurred since May 25, he said.
One person mistook the oil for bottled water and tried to make coffee, but didn't get sick, Marcus said.
"I can understand easily why someone would mistake it for food. If it was on a shelf or on a table, you would have to look pretty hard," he said, although he noted the bottle has a warning label, written in both English and Spanish.
Marcus said he has alerted state health officials as well as the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the manufacturer about what he called the "look-alike" oil.
"We're trying to send out a nationwide alert," he said, urging residents to keep the oil in a locked cabinet and away from food.
According to the company's website, the oil is sold in stores including Home Depot, Kmart, Target, Lowe's and Wal-Mart.
Attempts last night to reach the Wisconsin-based manufacturer -- Lamplight Farms Inc. -- were unsuccessful.
Marcus said he has never encountered anything quite like this in years with the poison center.
"During my 40 years in medicine, you get an occasional kid who ingests kerosene, but I have never seen this kind of cluster," he said.
Don't you think that you have a responsibility to know what you are putting in your mouth? Don't you have a responsibility to keep things like Tiki Torch Oil somewhere away from food? How could a person with the IQ of a carrot mistake lamp oil for water or apple juice? I am sure that the lawsuits are soon to follow.