Spray sealant kills family pets

[Catherine]

A spray sealant that is available on the shelves of any UK store is responsible for the deaths of three family pets. Another pet still has breathing problems. The company claims it wasn't used properly, but the animals were not in the room where the spray was used. They were on the other side of the house. The birds died right away. The dog died later at the vet. The people also had breathing problems as does another dog. 

http://metro.co.uk/2017/09/16/three-fami...y-6932783/

This may be a good product, but I think its safety warnings are inadequate. If everyone in the house suffered a reaction, some of them fatal, then the house needs to be empty and special breathing gear worn when the product is used. It doesn't specify that on the bottle.

Too many supposedly safe household products hold dangers for our pets and ourselves. I try never to use aerosol products because it is too easy to inhale some of the chemicals. Some of them might be safe, but I wouldn't want to find out the hard way which ones are deadly. I feel for Glenn's loss. All he wanted to do was look after his house and protect his bathroom from water.
He will regret his actions for the rest of his life even though he followed instructions and did nothing wrong. African Grey Parrots live a long time. His parrot was young so it could have lived 50-60  years. His parrot lost a potential 50 years of life.
His little dog had many possible years ahead of it.  

I wonder who okays products and checks out the safety warnings.

[Tobi]

What a terrible thing to happen. It just shows us how seriously toxic many home improvement and cleaning chemicals can be.
I am so sorry this family has lost so many pets because of this. If the bathroom shower had an extractor fan, I suppose he thought it would be sure to take any fumes away. I don't feel this is his fault.
It is possible heat inversion caused this: when down-draughts occur because of a cooler temperature lower down than higher up, and so the extractor fan didn't work correctly....such as on a warm day when the house is cooler than the outside. Or perhaps owing to wind direction outside? Not every person is expected to understand anomalous weather conditions before using a household spray.

It is typical of the manufacturer to try to wriggle out of it by placing the blame on them for 'mis-use' and not reading the label. They should not be producing items which are this toxic! If such a thing is unavoidable, then the danger warnings should be printed in BOLD TEXT in bright red, not in small-print on the back of the can!

[LPC]

A terrible tragedy. I feel for the humans and animals involved.

This product is nano technology - relatively new and potentially very dangerous. You can see some videos of how this product protects clothing and shoes, totally artificially:
https://twitter(dot)com/nowetuk

(Please note: you need to change (dot) to . in order to view the page. I have changed the website address to avoid the company getting a commercial link).

Yes, the product can have amazing results (articles fully waterproofed), but the side effects can be very dangerous indeed. A full-face P3 mask should be obligatory and the home should be empty for at least 24 hours after, in my opinion. But better still - don't use such products at all! Better some dampness in a shower (which can be dried manually) than the death of innocent pets.

Nobody really knows what the full and long term effects of these nano sprays are - especially if these nano particles enter the lungs. Even the humans and one pet who survived may be at long term health risk. I am shocked that these products can be so easily bought off a shop shelf.

[Tobi]

I didn't realise that spray contained nano particles !

Such things should never have been manufactured and should not be sold to the public. In fact my opnion is they shouldn't even be used by anyone.

For any readers who don't know, "nano particles" are so very small they can cross the blood/brain barrier.

[Catherine]

I had not realized that nano technology had reached a point of being commercially available. 
I wouldn't think it is suitable for home use. Most homes would lack the right ventilation and protective gear.


I think we need to think very carefully before we unleash this technology.  

Quote:For any readers who don't know, "nano particles" are so very small they can cross the blood/brain barrier.

For this reason alone we need to think very carefully about using nano particles. What will be the consequences of using nano particles. Can we use them safely.


I am a little disturbed that a serious new technology is being unleashed on the world as a waterproofing product. It prevents water from reaching a surface. What if the product gets into the environment and prevents water from reaching things other than the intended item. How about a tree whose roots are now water proof. We do need to look at this technology very carefully.