Mother trying to kill bed bugs poisoned her children, officials say

A mother trying to kill bed bugs in her Fort McMurray apartment used an imported pesticide that fatally poisoned her infant and left her other children critically ill.

The substance used in the apartment was a pellet form of phosphine, an agricultural pesticide that is strictly controlled in Canada and requires special training to use.

When exposed to the air, the pellets react with moisture and release phosphine gas, said James Kehrer, a toxicologist at the University of Alberta. As a gas, its often used to fumigate large batches of grain.

It will kill the bed bugs, but its nasty stuff, said Kehrer. Children are more susceptible to these things ... It should only be used by a professional.

The pellets were mainly spread around one bedroom, but fire crews detected the substance throughout the unit, said Brad Grainger, deputy chief of operations for the Fort McMurray fire department.

Its airborne, but its low to the ground, he said. You can imagine children crawling on the ground.

Crews found readings of 4.0 parts per million in the bedroom. Its immediately lethal at 50 parts per million, but can be harmful at 1.0 parts per million after just 15 minutes, he said: There was significant exposure.

The family brought the bottle of phosphine pellets to the hospital when the children fell ill. Authorities were able to contact the womans family in Pakistan to check what the substance was, and then test further to confirm the contents.

The mother used a pesticide to fumigate her apartment last Tuesday that she brought back from Pakistan during a recent trip, said her sister, Shazia Yarkhan.

The womans five children started showing signs of illness Saturday night. They all vomited and one of them had diarrhea, Yarkhan said.

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Mother trying to kill bed bugs poisoned her children, officials say