NCJ Number
131274
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 36 Issue: 4 Dated: (July 1991) Pages: 1240-1245
Date Published
1991
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Three cases of death from petroleum hydrocarbon poisoning by aspiration are described.
Abstract
Two of the victims were brothers doing repair work in a petrol tanker without protective equipment; the third victim was a dockyard worker who died cleaning a gas oil tanker in a ship. In the first case, because the sample of blood arrived spilt and the lung sample had been previously fixed in formaldehyde solution, the results were negative for hydrocarbons. The blood sample on the second case was negative for petroleum hydrocarbons, while the gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) analysis of lung tissue was positive. In the third case, the blood analysis by GC/MS was positive with findings of dichloromethane and components of gas oil. Pulmonary aspiration consisting of yellow brown particles in the alveoli was demonstrated in the three cases by optical microscope. This together with the fact that positive identification of the hydrocarbons that constitute petroleum was made in lung tissue and in blood from the lung indicated petroleum hydrocarbon poisoning. Furthermore, the results showed that the hydrocarbons were inhaled rather than absorbed from the blood producing a chemical pneumonitis which led to anoxemia and death. 3 figures and 10 references (Author abstract modified)