“We suspected at that time the child had been surreptitiously given” [GHB] by a family member or friend of the family, he said by phone from Sydney on Wednesday.
A follow-up test two days later showed that the GHB had disappeared from the boy’s body, which confirmed that the chemical had been ingested and was not occurring because of a genetic disorder. It was then that Dr. Carpenter learned that the boy had vomited beads before and after going into a shallow coma.
Dr. Carpenter obtained more of the boy’s beads and tested them in a mass spectrometer, a device that helps identify chemical compounds. “I saw a large peak of a substance I didn’t recognize,” he said.
The “peak” was an obscure industrial chemical used to prevent water-soluble glues from becoming sticky before they are needed. But when ingested, the chemical quickly breaks down to become GHB. The United States tightly restricts the chemical’s sale and places GHB in the same category as heroin.
This is a fascinating read on finding dangerous chemicals in toys. It took a little over a month from the first Australian child becoming ill to pull the toys from global store shelves.
Until Bush gets off his hiney and puts in some government oversight, my nieces and nephew are getting video games and clothes.
