Abstract
Automatic fire suppression systems (FSSs) use hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) to chemically extinguish fires. At high temperatures, HFC can release hydrogen fluoride (HF), a toxic and potentially lethal gas. We report the deaths of three U.S. military personnel at Bagram Air Base from acute respiratory failure after the FSS in their vehicle received a direct hit from a rocket-propelled grenade. Despite presenting with little to no additional signs of trauma, these individuals all died within 24 hours from HF-induced respiratory failure. When two patients later presented with similar symptoms after damage to their vehicle’s FSS, they were aggressively treated with nebulized calcium and positive pressure ventilation. Both survived. The presence of HFC-containing FSSs in military vehicles may lead to future cases of HF inhalation injury, and further research must be done to help rapidly diagnose and effectively treat this injury.
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Respiratory symptoms and lung-function changes with exposure to five substances in aluminium smelters
OBJECTIVES: To determine whether exposure to five different occupational substances contributes to respiratory symptoms in aluminium smelter workers. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 1,615 male employees of two Australian aluminium smelters was conducted in 1995. Subjects underwent spirometry and were asked about respiratory symptoms and the relationship of those symptoms to
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Acute symptoms after a community hydrogen fluoride spill
OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to describe the demographic characteristics, and clinical signs and symptoms of patients who visited a general hospital because of the release of chemically hazardous hydrogen fluoride that occurred on September 27, 2012 in Gumi City, Korea. METHODS: The medical records at 1 general hospital 9 km
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On the Physiological and Medicinal Action of Hydrofluoric Acid and the Fluorides.
EXCERPTS: General Summary. 1. On account of the corrosive action of these substances on glass vessels their use in ordinary therapeutics seems beset by many difficulties. But by attending to a few precautions these obstacles can be so minimized as to be practically overcome. 2. The topical action of strong hydrofluoric acid differs
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Respiratory impairment among children living in the vicinity of a fertilizer plant
The study included 162 second-grade children (85 boys and 77 girls) aged 8-9 years, attending two schools in an area with a fertilizer production plant, and 59 second-graders of the same age (32 boys and 27 girls) from a small neighbouring town located 20 km west of the plant, without
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Nonmalignant mortality among workers in six Norwegian aluminum plants
OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the associations between exposure to fluorides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and mortality from nonmalignant diseases among workers in the Norwegian primary aluminum industry. METHODS: Mortality among 10,857 men, employed for more than 3 years in 1 of 6 aluminum plants, was investigated from 1962 to 1996,
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Respiratory Risks from Occupational Fluoride Exposure
Starting in the 1930s, scientists have observed that workers exposed to airborne fluorides suffer from an elevated rate of respiratory disorders. For over 50 years, however, US government and industry scientists made repeated assurances that the allowable level of fluoride dusts and gases in industrial workplaces would not cause any
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Fluoride Enhances Toxicity of Beryllium
Occupational exposure to beryllium is well-documented to put workers' health at risk. The two principal targets of beryllium poisoning are the respiratory system and the skin. Of all beryllium compounds, beryllium fluoride complexes (including beryllium fluoride and beryllium oxyfluoride) appear to be the most toxic. As shown below, studies dating back
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