Posted on 10/25/2009 1:37:17 PM PDT by jazusamo
BOSTON — Six Harvard University medical researchers were poisoned in August after drinking coffee that was laced with a chemical preservative, according to university officials.
In an internal memo first reported in the Boston Herald's Sunday editions, the school said the coffee came from a machine near their lab that later tested positive for sodium azide, a common preservative used in labs.
The six reported symptoms after drinking the coffee Aug. 26, ranging from dizziness to ringing in the ears, and one passed out. They were treated at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and later released.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
Possible ALF?
Makes you wonder if there is an ALF sympathizer in that building, doesn’t it?
It sure does and I’d bet the FBI is into this investigation up to their ears.
Maybe THAT’S what makes all Harvard students brainless libs!
When they say “machine”, I assume they’re not talking about a commercial vending machine but a communal coffeemaker. Sounds more like it’s an accident or a disgruntled employee.
From a sodium azide MSDS:
Potential Health Effects
Eye: Causes eye irritation.
Skin: Causes skin irritation. May be fatal if absorbed through the skin. Substance is readily absorbed through the skin.
Ingestion: May be fatal if swallowed. May cause irritation of the digestive tract. May cause low blood pressure, rapid
heartbeat, skin discoloration, and possible coma.
Inhalation: May be fatal if inhaled. May cause severe irritation of the respiratory tract with sore throat, coughing, shortness of breath and delayed lung edema.
Chronic:
May cause liver and kidney damage. Repeated exposure may cause damage to the spleen. Laboratory experiments have resulted in mutagenic effects. Chronic exposure may cause blood effects. Animal studies have reported the development of tumors.
Section 4 - First Aid Measures
Eyes: Immediately flush eyes with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes, occasionally lifting the upper and lower
eyelids. Get medical aid immediately.
Skin: Get medical aid immediately. Immediately flush skin with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes while removing
contaminated clothing and shoes. SPEEDY ACTION IS CRITICAL!
Ingestion: POISON material. If swallowed, get medical aid immediately. Only induce vomiting if directed to do so by
medical personnel. Never give anything by mouth to an unconscious person.
Inhalation: Remove from exposure and move to fresh air immediately. If breathing is difficult, give oxygen. SPEED IS ESSENTIAL, OBTAIN MEDICAL AID IMMEDIATELY. Do not use mouth-to-mouth resuscitation if victim ingested or inhaled the substance; induce artificial respiration with the aid of a pocket mask equipped with a one-way valve or other proper respiratory medical device.
Notes to Physician: Treat symptomatically and supportively.
I think it unlikely it was an accident for sodium azide to wind up in coffee.
It could have been a disgruntled employee but the ALF are rabid radicals when it comes to using any animal for research. Their spokesman Jerry Vlasak, a medical doctor in the Los Angeles has advocated physical violence to stop the use of animals in experiments. Try to figure that one out.
sodium azide - airbag propellant.
Thanks for your post. Sounds like some fairly bad stuff, it would seem only a small amount was used.
Possibly. It seems unlikely that this was an accident.
The MSDS explains the fainting with the lowered blood pressure and rapid heartbeat.
This is very serious, attempted murder serious.
It’s also sometimes used as a preservative in things like the warm water baths associated with rotary evaporators, to keep algae and bacteria from growing in them. (For people too lazy to change the water and clean them out every once in a while.)
These medical researchers hadn’t previously written anything against Obama’s “Health Insurance Reform” had they?
Jerry Vlasak is expanding operations ?
From the sound of this article and the others I checked that have less info than this one it’s pretty evident they’re trying to downplay this incident.
They kept it under wraps for over a month and the article doesn’t say a thing about FBI involvement in the investigation.
We know they have to be involved because an event like this at a medical testing lab is huge when human lives are involved.
Wonder if it might be a sympathetic wannabe Vlasak fan, these people are nutty enough for it to be something like that.
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