Monthly Archives: March 2015

Society By Jonathan Constante, Tue, February 24, 2015

A Canadian mom was trying to kill bed bugs by fumigating her apartment with a chemical she brought from Pakistan. Instead, she killed her 8-month-old baby and left her other four children in critical condition, the NY Daily News reports.

The mother was using anagricultural pesticideto get rid of the bed bug infestation in the familys Fort McMurray, Alberta, apartment.

The substance, which is strictly controlled in Canada and requires special training to use, releases phosphine gas when exposed to air. The gas is not only colorless and odorless but also extremely toxic, the Daily Mail reports.

After just a few hours of fumigation, all five children in the home showed signs of serious illness.

According to the firefighters, a reading of 1 part per million can be hazardous, and it only takes 15 minutes to reach that level. The reading in the bedroom was at a staggering 4 parts per million. The substance becomes immediately lethal at 5.

There was significant exposure, one emergency worker said.

All five children were vomiting, but they were not taken to the hospital until the next morning.

The mothers 8-month-old baby died at the hospital on Sunday. The other four, aged between 2 and 7 years, remain in critical condition.

Wood Buffalo RCMP Cpl. George Cameron said that the incident appears to be an accidental poisoning. The mothers sister, Shazia Yarkhan, also stated that it was an accident.

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Mother Accidentally Kills Her Baby Using Pesticide To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs

Health Minister Rona Ambrose in the House of Commons on Jan. 28, 2013, in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

The federal government is warning Canadians of what it calls the extreme danger of using unregistered products to fight bedbugs.

The Health Canada warning comes after two children from northern Alberta died from a toxic insecticide thought to be aluminum phosphide brought back by the family from Pakistan.

Health Minister Rona Ambrose expressed her condolences to the family, who was attending the funeral of son Zia, 2 on Friday. His eight-month-old sister died Sunday.

Its a really tragic situation and this is a product that in terms of how its regulated, is not supposed to be used in homes ever, Ambrose said in Calgary.

Its a very dangerous pesticide and it needs to be used by people who are trained to use it.

Health Canada said aluminum phosphide is highly toxic to people and animals.

The department said it can only be sold to people with special training and is not approved for use on bedbugs.

It is not clear how the family managed to bring the pesticide into Canada.

Health Canada says people can legally import small amounts of chemical pest control products not registered in Canada for their personal use, but the rules are aimed at products such as insect repellent.

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Health Canada warns about bedbug products after 2 Alberta children die