Sunday, August 2, 2009

From the Stoopid File

Okay, boys and girls, today's lesson is: What happens when you combine ammonia and chlorine bleach?

Answer: You get a chlorine gas cloud, a trip to the hospital, and a visit from your friendly local HAZMAT team:

ST. PETERSBURG — The quest for a gleaming toilet and a lack of knowledge of chemistry led a 44-year-old man to accidentally create a deadly bathroom cleaner early Thursday morning.

The result: a hazardous materials team was called to clear Michael Newton's house before he was taken to Bayfront Medical Center complaining of shortness of breath and irritation to his lungs and eyes from the chlorine gas cloud he created.

Exposure to the gas — which has been used as a weapon of mass destruction — can cause severe illness or death.

Newton, of 4301 Tuna Drive SE, combined bleach and an ammonia-based product to "make a stronger bathroom cleaner," St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue spokesman Lt. Joel Granata said.

He was overcome moments after spraying the solution and called 911. He was waiting outside when numerous fire and hazardous materials crews arrived around 6 a.m.

Firefighters ventilated the house and scrubbed his walls to alleviate the strong stench of cleaning solutions, according to St. Petersburg Fire Rescue.

This St. Petersburg Times story originally appeared here.

Why do I get the feeling this guy voted for Obama last November?

2 comments:

DCG said...

Good grief...what was in his toilet that a can of "scrubbing bubbles" couldn't take care of??!!

Dave said...

DCG,

LOL-Yeah, I was wondering the same thing.

Bet he was one of those "once a year" bathroom cleaners.

-Dave

When liberty is taken away by force it can be restored by force. When it is relinquished voluntarily by default it can never be recovered. -Dorothy Thompson