Antifreeze (sold in Maine) must now contain bitter-tasting agent

[jpak]

http://www.pressherald.com/news/Antifreeze-now-contains-bitter-tasting-agent.html

AUGUSTA — Starting today, all antifreeze and engine coolant sold in Maine must contain a bitter-tasting agent to deter children, pets and wildlife from ingesting the normally sweet, toxic liquid.

The Legislature passed a bill in 2007 that required the addition of the bitter-tasting agent, according to the Humane Society of the United States, which has more than 73,000 supporters in Maine.

The Maine law delayed implementation until three other Northeastern states passed similar legislation. Since then, New Jersey, Vermont and, one year ago, Massachusetts adopted similar laws.

“Now that the Maine law has finally gone into effect, it will help reduce the number of child poisonings and save the lives of thousands of animals each year,” said Katie Lisnik, Maine state director of the humane society.

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:thumbsup:

[blueclown]

1. This should be federal law.

Anti-freeze is relatively easy to mix into a drink, and as such, it is one of the weapons of choice for murderers.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. I completely agree

[AsahinaKimi]

2. Maybe they should make it smelly too

Often Children won't drink something if it smells bad. May I suggest.. Durian fruit?

[TheMadMonk]

6. Obviously it won't work for animals, but education is a bloody wonderful...

...thing. I knew what S ratings were BEFORE I went to school.

Now it's still the manufacturer's responsibility (and liability) when YOU (generic) decant it into an easy to open softdrink bottle.

[TalkingDog]

10. Capsicum: As sensitive as critter's noses are, it wouldn't take much

But then... I've heard some grizzlies like pepper spray.

[flvegan]

4. Good.

[Gold Metal Flake]

5. This gearhead sez GOOD!

Damn. About time.

[InvisibleTouch]

7. Why isn't this done everywhere? n/t

[The Hitman]

8. But if people stop getting brain damage from drinking antifreeze...

who will keep buying Palin's books?

[jtuck004]

9. Propylene glycol is a lower toxicity replacement, often

sold under the label of "pet-friendly". Ethylene glycol is what you would normally find in a vehicle, and, frankly, it ought to be Federal law that it be infused with the bitter agent.

You may want to investigate propylene glycol for use in your vehicles. It usually costs more, though I suspect that is just a premium charged to people who care about such things rather than a cost of manufacturing. It is still toxic, though the amount required is much more, and when used in a radiator is typically diluted with water by half. You really have to hunt for it in smaller towns, and I have noticed that NAPA has started charging much more of a premium than they used to.

It is so much less toxic that for those of you who have not reached 50ish, and the requisite round of colonoscopies you may be the proud recipient of, (I hope - it really does provide early signals of problems), you may get a taste of it. Drinking a mixture (half-gallon or so of water added to dried ingredients) partly comprised of propylene glycol is part of the one-to-two day prep commonly prescribed by some doctors.

Woo-hoo, what the future holds for you... :)

[PoliticAverse]

11. Propylene Glycol is actually found in some supermarket food items as an additive.

And a lot of other places where it comes in contact with humans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propylene_glycol

[stevedeshazer]

12. Wow, we did this like 20 years ago.

They add Bitrex to antifreeze to keep kitties and other critters from slurping up poison (ethylene glycol.)

http://www.marketactives.com/about.html

[pam4water]

13. Sounds like a good idea.

[Kaleva]

14. Where I live, people (supposedly) put out anti-freeze for the wolves.

Re-introduction of the wolves into Upper Michigan has been a subject of great controversy and there are those who supposedly take matters into their own hands.

[krispos42]

15. Does it really smell/taste pleasant?

I've never thought it did, despite all the warnings about animals and children liking it.


I figured it was just sort of an overblown saying, like waiting 45 minutes after eating before swimming.

[jmowreader]

16. It is

They had a big scandal in Europe in the 1980s, when some of the wine producers were adding antifreeze to their cheap wine to make people think it was pricier than it was. It injured and/or killed a lot of people.

[krispos42]

18. Gross!

I must not have the taste buds for it. :shrug:


Ewww... that's pretty gross, though.

[muriel_volestrangler]

23. Austrian wine - still what I immediately thought of when I saw 'drinking antifreeze'

even though it was over 25 years ago. The Wikipedia article for Austrian wine mentions it in the opening paragraph. According to the article (via a dead link), it was only discovered when a producer tried to claim the expense of the chemical on his tax returns. :dunce: It pretty much destroyed the market for Austrian wine for several years (the article claims it's all high quality stuff now, but seems a little biased).

[krispos42]

25. My boss was probably devastated.

She likes the "water of life" rather a lot. ;-)

[ej510]

17. Yeah people can be poisoned by Anti-freeze without knowing what the fuck it is.

[Forkboy]

19. Meaning it will still taste better than Coke Zero.

[Maru Kitteh]

20. K & R.

[mainegreen]

21. Good.

A fine idea.

[intheflow]

22. This law would have saved my dear Ziggy-dog.

Some asshole neighbor of mine put out hamburger laced with antifreeze and killed four wonderfully sweet dogs in our neighborhood in 1996. We owners are pretty sure we know who it was but had no proof so that dog-killer is free to kill beloved pets again. :cry:

[Liberal_in_LA]

24. good law