Chemical contained in liquid resin can be toxic

Lee Chi-chuan (李啟全), the doctor in charge of the emergency room at Tian-Sheng Memorial Hospital, said that liquid resin, commonly used to dilute paint or whitewash, contains the irritant toluene, a volatile liquid that can be toxic when inhaled or ingested in large amounts.

In the absence of medication to directly treat the effects of such intoxication, supportive treatment is the only way to help someone who has inhaled or ingested too much resin.

Lee made the comments in the wake of an incident in which three members of a family of four in Tungkang (東港) township in Pingtung County were sent to the hospital on Friday after inhaling toxic fumes while whitewashing a badly ventilated indoor pool used for breeding fish and shrimp.

The family, along with a firefighter who lost consciousness during the rescue, were saved by hospital staff.

Chen Chuan-cheng (陳全成), the 55-year-old head of the family, had rented a fish and shrimp breeding farm with eight indoor breeding pools and had spent several days whitewashing the pools.

Chen's daughter Chen Su-ching (陳素卿) said that after her father had finished whitewashing one pool, he told her brother and his wife to get out of the pool they had been working on and that he would finish it on his own.

Soon after he entered the pool, Chen lost consciousness and fell to the ground. As his son and daughter-in-law tried to rescue him, they too lost consciousness.

Chen's daughter then called for help, and three hours after being admitted to the hospital, the three had recovered but remained in hospital for observation.

Lee said that approximately 40 cases of toluene poisoning occur in Taiwan each year, mostly involving workers inhaling fumes while painting or whitewashing.

Most patients recover on their own, but getting to a hospital too late or inhaling too much toluene fumes can be fatal.

Lee said that anyone who is working with toluene or other chemical substances should wear protective glasses, gloves, face masks, rubber boots and protective clothing to avoid coming into physical contact with the substance.