Meet phosphine, a gas commonly used for industrial fumigation that can damage your lungs, heart and liver
- Written by Aliasger K. Salem, Associate Vice President for Research and Bighley Chair and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Iowa
Grain transported in cargo ships usually undergoes fumigation to kill pests − a process that often uses toxic phosphine gas. bfk92/E+ via Getty ImagesIn 1980, two children and 29 crew members aboard a grain freighter became ill. They had been exposed to phosphine – a chemical used in fumigation to kill pests in and on grain – for...