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Mounting Poisonings, Blindness, Deaths as Toxic Hand Sanitizers Flood Market

posted by martyb on Thursday July 30 2020, @03:25AM   Printer-friendly
from the race-to-the-bottom dept.

Freeman writes:

Mounting poisonings, blindness, deaths as toxic hand sanitizers flood market

The Food and Drug Administration is renewing warnings this week of dangerous hand sanitizers as it continues to find products that contain toxic methanol—a poisonous alcohol that can cause systemic effects, blindness, and death.

The agency's growing "do-not-use list" of dangerous sanitizers now includes 87 products. And with the mounting tally, the FDA also says there are rising reports from state health departments and poison control centers of injuries and deaths.

"We remain extremely concerned about the potential serious risks of alcohol-based hand sanitizers containing methanol," said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn in a statement.

Previously:
Toxic Hand Sanitizers Have Blinded and Killed Adults and Children, FDA Warns
Toxic Methanol that Causes Blindness Found in Hand Sanitizers, FDA Warns

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Thursday July 30 2020, @09:20AM (1 child)

    by MostCynical (2589) on Thursday July 30 2020, @09:20AM (#1028535) Journal

    why is it only the US has this problem?

    No other western countries have people willfully poisoning their own countrymen* with dodgy products.

    Snake oil [wikipedia.org] salesmen didn't originate in the US, but may have been perfected there.

    *note, I said western countries

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  • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday July 30 2020, @02:52PM

    by Freeman (732) on Thursday July 30 2020, @02:52PM (#1028655) Journal

    Consumers are advised to dispose of the product immediately in hazardous waste containers, rather than flushing or pouring the product down the drain.

            Health Canada recalls some hand sanitizers over industrial-grade ethanol content

    There have been no reported illnesses connected to the products in B.C. but the province's Drug and Poison Information Centre has received four calls from people reporting they had products from the recall list.

    If you think someone has swallowed any amount of hand sanitizer, BCCDC advises you to call your local poison control centre or the B.C. Drug and Poison Information Centre at 1-800-567-8911.

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-health-authority-warns-of-potentially-toxic-ingredient-in-hand-sanitizers-from-mexican-company-1.5630179 [www.cbc.ca]

    Perhaps, because the products from Mexico aren't being shipped to them or at least as much. Mexico is right next to the USA. Assuming the toxic hand sanitizers had been produced in Mongolia, we'd likely not be having this problem. As they'd likely be shipping to their neighbors more so, than the USA.

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