Gas from McDonald's soda fountain caused Ga. death

[RamboLiberal]

Source: SFGate.com


Police say leaking carbon dioxide gas is to blame for the death of an 80-year-woman who passed out in a restroom at a McDonald's restaurant in southeast Georgia.

Pooler Police Chief Mark Revenew said Wednesday that investigators found carbon dioxide used to inject carbonation into the restaurant's soda fountain had been leaking between the walls and into the restroom, where two women were found unconscious Sept. 7.

The gas is normally harmless. But authorities say enough had escaped that it displaced air the women needed to breathe.

Several people at the restaurant needed medical treatment. One of them, Anne Felton of Ponte Vedra, Fla., later died at a hospital.





Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/09/14/national/a124230D08.DTL#ixzz1XxZGC928

[theophilus]

1. "The gas is normally harmless." I think that could/should have been worded differently.

It's gonna get a lot worse before it gets better, imo.

[dtexdem]

5. Lack of sufficient oxygen is not normally harmless.

High concentrations of carbon dioxide are normally harmful, and often fatal.

There is a reason for carbon-dioxide scrubbers on enclosed spaces, such as space capsules and space stations, and so on.

[hlthe2b]

2. Heavens.. That must have been one heck of a lot of CO2

I guess we can point to this when all those climate change deniers go on their CO2 is natural, harmless, and hasn't ever hurt anyone.

[One_Life_To_Give]

6. Couple point drop in O2 concentration is deadly

Don't have my old firefighting training manuals handy. But IIRC at about 17-19% O2 (21% is normal) unconsciousness sets in. and I think anything under 15% is fatal.

on edit from EPA

At concentrations greater than 17 percent, such as those encountered during carbon dioxide fire suppressant use, loss of controlled and purposeful activity, unconsciousness, convulsions, coma, and death occur within 1 minute of initial inhalation of carbon dioxide (OSHA 1989, CCOHS 1990, Dalgaard et al. 1972, CATAMA 1953, Lambertsen 1971). At exposures between 10 and 15 percent, carbon dioxide has been shown to cause unconsciousness, drowsiness, severe muscle twitching, and dizziness within several minutes (Wong 1992, CATAMA 1953, Sechzer et al. 1960).

http://www.epa.gov/ozone/snap/fire/co2/co2report.html

[Ian David]

3. Carbon is LIFE! n/t

[Enrique]

4. this must be anti-CO2 propaganda by the liberal media

I bet Al Gore made up this story. :tinfoilhat:

[pinboy3niner]

11. The anti-dioxxers strike again!1!!

:rofl:

[jmowreader]

7. Carbon dioxide is a "simple asphyxiant"

In other words, if it displaces enough oxygen, you'll die if you breathe it.

This is a big problem with bulk CO2 systems--you will NEVER know you're in an atmosphere with too much CO2 in it because it's a normal component of air, so you feel no distress until it renders you unconscious.

[Maine_Nurse]

12. Not quite true in all cases...

You can have plenty of oxygen (and even be in an oxygen-rich environment) and still become extremely ill or die from excess carbon dioxide intake since inhaling excess amounts may lead to acidosis.

[MADem]

8. Jesus--what a freak accident. Someone wasn't checking their equipment, perhaps? NT

[RamboLiberal]

10. I would've thought the sodas would've been somewhat flat

I know I've gotten some where you could tell something wrong with equipment.

[valerief]

9. But Bachmann says carbon dioxide is natural!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAaDVOd2sRQ

[friendly_iconoclast]

13. Yeah, about that "natural" carbon dioxide:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Nyos

[valerief]

17. Ee-yoo! Creepy. nt

[bongbong]

14. The Free Market works great!

Who needs regulations on things like CO2 canisters? That woman will never buy another hamburger at that restaurant. They lost her business by having a bad product. The Free Market works!

[guitar man]

15. Wow

Somebody died at McDonalds and it wasn't from the food.... whod've thunk it? :crazy:

[usrname]

16. But, but

Michelle Bachmann told me that carbon dioxide is natural and perfectly safe.

/It's the quantity, dammit, not the quality

[GETPLANING]

18. Pure CO2 is heavier than air

It forms a layer on the floor kind of like water filling a swimming pool. Once a person becomes disoriented and sits down or falls to the floor, it's over. Tragic.

[Odin2005]

21. That happened in a burst of CO2 from a volcanic lake in Africa, IIRC.

Every living thing, including several thousand people, died. the only survivors were the ones that were on hills high enough to avoid the CO2.

[daleo]

23. It makes you wonder about CO2 sequestration plans

It's hard to predict these things.

[Evasporque]

19. McPhyxia - I'm dyin' for it....nt

[eppur_se_muova]

20. But but but "CO2 is Nature's colorless, odorless, tasteless gas essential for all life on Earth ..."

"CO2 is Nature's colorless, odorless, tasteless gas essential for all life on Earth. It's not toxic." (according to GW denialists)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=115&topic_id=307830&mesg_id=307830

[Manifestor_of_Light]

22. Joe Barton sez it's safe cuz it's in our Coca-cola.

I'd like to put him in a bell jar full of CO2 and see how long he lasts.

Of course he apologied for asking questions of British Petroleum.

What a whore.