http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050920/NEWS01/509200381/1001/NEWS
September 20, 2005
Des Moines Register (Iowa)
Chances are slim that the toxin, possibly
stolen inadvertently, will be found.
By TOM ALEX and PERRY BEEMAN
REGISTER STAFF WRITERS
A 1-ounce can of coyote poison believed to have been inside a
stolen safe might have made its way to the Des Moines metro area's
primary garbage dump, officials said Monday.
A spokeswoman at the Metro Park East landfill in Mitchellville
said chances were slim that the small, metal container could be
found among the 1,700 tons of trash that arrive daily.
Federal officials warn that the banned poison, sodium fluoroacetate,
can cause a range of health problems to anyone who breathes or
otherwise ingests it.
Police said they were told the chemical was in a can inside a
safe that was stolen last week from the home of Richard Mugan
at 2722 Payne Road in Des Moines.
The contents of the safe, sans the potent toxin, were found in
a bag on the south side of the city over the weekend. Papers were
recovered, but the safe was tossed in a garbage bin near Southeast
Eighth and Raccoon streets.
Police Lt. Ray Rexroat said Anthony Bordenaro, 28, has been charged
in the break-in. Police have been unable to confirm that the poison
was in the safe. They don't know what time the safe was dumped,
either, but it probably occurred before authorities learned about
the poison.
"Maybe if they called us right away, and we knew which truck
picked it up, we could narrow it down to an acre or two,"
Metropolitan Waste Authority spokeswoman Sarah Rasmussen said.
If the poison was released in the landfill, it would be diluted
by rain and collected underground, then sent to a sewage-treatment
plant or a wetland that filters out contaminants, both of which
would limit exposure and toxicity.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports from other incidents
that a woman who swallowed the compound suffered nausea and abdominal
pain and later had neurological problems. A man who breathed the
compound experienced speech loss and convulsions and lapsed into
a coma, the agency reported.
The compound has been used to kill rodents and coyotes. It was
banned for most uses in 1990, according to the U.S. Department
of Agriculture. Some countries prohibit any use of the chemical.
Mugan, owner of Midwest Pest Management, said he had planned
to dispose of the poison.
If the container landed in the dump, it immediately mixed with
about 3.4 million pounds of fresh garbage. Landfill employees
looked for the 1-ounce can, Rasmussen said. But with no information
on what day it was picked up or which truck dumped it, the search
was fruitless.
Such searches are not always hopeless. Last year, workers found
an engagement ring that had been lost.
Compound
facts
NAME: Sodium fluoroacetate, or Compound 1080.
DESCRIPTION: A natural organic fluorine extracted from a West
African plant. The missing can was made of tin, with a yellow
label that featured a skull and crossbones.
USES: Compound 1080 was registered for coyote and rodent control,
particularly in areas where human contact was unlikely. Since
1990, it has been used only in livestock collars to kill predatory
coyotes.
AMOUNT: Yearly usage of Compound 1080 is less than 1.5 ounces.
SYMPTOMS: Convulsions, labored breathing, loss of consciousness. |
Emergency
numbers
•
If you see the missing chemical, call (515) 283-4811.
•
If you have any poison emergency, call (800) 222-1222.
•
If a victim has collapsed or is unconscious, call 911. Landfill
searched for coyote poison |
Copyright © 2004, The Des Moines Register.
Note: See Sept 17, 2005:
Warning issued over stolen poison