Time to Strike Antifreeze Off Your List of Usable Poisons

Correction: 1:43 The left side of the graph should be labeled as Celsius, and the right side should be labeled as Fahrenheit.

Ethylene glycol is the most common ingredient in automotive antifreeze. But for years it was used in homicidal poisonings. What made this household chemical so dangerous? And why is it no longer a viable poison?
#chemistry #poison #antifreeze

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Matthew Radcliff

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William Porter, Ph.D.
Michelle Boucher, Ph.D.
Leila Duman, Ph.D.

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Sources:
Intentional Ethylene Glycol Poisoning Increase after Media Coverage of Antifreeze Murders

Woman pleads guilty to killing husband with antifreeze

Homicidal Ethylene Glycol Intoxication

Ethylene glycol poisoning: Quintessential clinical toxicology; analytical conundrum

Ethylene Glycol Toxicity

Alcohol Dehydrogenases

Why Is Antifreeze So Delicious?

Bitter and sweet components of ethanol taste in humans

Alcohol Metabolism: An Update

Biochemistry, Lactate Dehydrogenase

Signal transduction and information processing in mammalian taste buds

What Are the Toxicological Effects of Ethylene Glycol Poisoning?

Antifreeze and Engine Coolant Being Bittered Nationwide

The impact of bittering agents on pediatric ingestions of antifreeze

The impact of bittering agents on suicidal ingestions of antifreeze

Toxicology of E-Cigarette Constituents

Food additive could serve as a safer, more environmentally friendly antifreeze

[ACSReactions]

Propylene glycol is listed as “generally regarded as safe” by the FDA, which makes it a much safer alternative to ethylene glycol for antifreeze. But that rating only covers its use as a food additive. While the chemical is pretty much ubiquitous in vape juice, the health impacts of propylene glycol inhalation are still not fully understood. One study found that it caused alterations to the genetic biological clock in lungs, liver, kidneys, skeletal muscle, and brain.

[muxpux]

My ex drank antifreeze to try and unalive herself. I figured out what was going on and called 911 and she got taken care of, but what saved her was she was drinking vodka as a chaser, to “work up the courage”. She didn’t realize she was drinking the cure with the poison.

She later told me she had done some research and figured she’d get drunk, drink a glass, go to sleep and not wake up. But… she also said she didn’t read far enough to know that the regular alcohol would actually save her.

[foogod]

To be honest, I always kinda wondered what took people so long to add a bittering agent to antifreeze in the first place. I mean it's been standard practice for things like denatured alcohol for literally over a century...

[mr.bennett]

I always pronounced it uh-see-tul-dee-hide forEVER because I was thinking "Acetyl group" and "Dehydrogenase" as the root words to combine. But I soon learned that it's based of "Aldehyde" and "Acetate" so its Acet+aldehyde not acetyl+dehyde

[davham]

Even with the bitter flavor it is still sweet. I've been a mechanic for many years and when you take it directly it has a bitter flavor but if it's on your lips it sweet but with a slight drying feeling on your tongue.

[Amanda---]

So that's why you add water to the antifreeze tank. To drop the freezing point.

[skybluskyblueify]

If an animal accidentally drinks some antifreeze if veterinarians cannot get them to throw it up but it has not started damaging the body one antidote was titrated IV vodka [or any strong alcohol]. Now there is a pharmaceutical product they can use, but boy it was interesting to keep an animal drunk for days. I'm sure the Reactions staff can explain how it works.

[polloman]

Another application for ethylene glycol is as a hydraulic fluid for fire hazard locations, as it serves as a fire retardant, I used to work in a waste-to-energy recycling facility and the refractory doors that closed the combustion chamber were opened and closed with a hydraulic system using this as fluid. It was pretty nasty

[BludgeonedDEATH]

I used to have problems with Acetaldehyde too. I learned to emphasize the Tal because not doing so would make my mouth do all weird things to connect Ace to Dehyde but emphasizing the Tal helps to bridge the two awkward parts of Acetaldehyde and leads to smoother and easier pronunciation!

[Embassy_of_Jupiter]

Oxalic acid definiantly gets a precipitation award

[jonathanedelson]

Propylene glycol is already sold as antifreeze for potable water systems.

Ethylene glycol has a similar LD50 to table salt; tiny quantities will not kill someone. But someone could easily drink a lethal quantity of it. I think it would be virtually impossible to eat a lethal quantity of salt.

Thanks for the presentation!

[Bigfoot_With_Internet_Access]

y-you guys have a list of usable poisons?

[casanovafunkenstein]

The whole thing about this stuff lowering the freezing point of water beyond its own freezing point outside of a solution is pretty intuitive once you compare it to salt, which is solid at ambient temperature ranges but also lowers the freezing point of water enough to grit roads and clear pavements

[FeedMeSalt]

Ontario Canada, tiny town called Cobalt.
A man killed the town dog, he was everyone's friend for 10+ years, he had multiple homes.
Dog catcher ingored him, he spent half his time sleeping in the post office so he could say hi too all the old people.

Well, a man killed him by filling the bowl infront of the post office with antifreeze. He was caught on camera.

He's been missing since 2008 I believe.
He won't ever be found, many of the lakes in that area were caused by mine shafts hitting springs.
I won't say anything for sure, but he's definitely down there.

Sometimes evil gets what's coming.

[pedroarjona]

The, very perturbed, brother of a dear friend of mine killed himself with antifreeze.
He had an habit of faking attempting suicide for time to time, and informing his family for attention.
The family after several attempts in as many years, didn't recognize the dangers, and didn't called an ambulance until it was to late.
Very sad, the family took years to overcome it.

[nickvorobey]

Very interesting, thank you! 1:43 looks like confused C and F

[LanceMcCarthy]

Good stuff. I'm liking the style, pace and energy of these videos.

[Sembazuru]

I remember one time I was helping a friend work on a classic car. We were both leaning over the engine when he was cracking open the radiator. Unfortunately it was still hot enough to be slightly pressurized, but not hot enough to burn. We both got anti-freeze sprayed onto our faces an into our mouths. After both of us spitting onto the ground to flush the antifreeze out, we both looked up and remarked about how sweet the taste was.

[Ballacha]

1:41 this is a very common phenomenon. old school metalic fuse for example, is designed to melt at 183C to stop short circuit. but the fuse is an alloy of 2 metals (62% lead and 38% tin) that both have melting points much higher than 183C.

[vivianm]

fun fact they put antifreeze in wine in Austria for one year in 1985. (diethylene glycol though)