| Abstract: |
A second mass poisoning caused by illicit alcohol has hit India in the space of two weeks, with the latest incident already claiming around 150 lives as the death toll mounts. The culprit once again is bootleg spirits contaminated with methanol, with local police suggesting that in this case ethanol may have been added deliberately, according to local news reports. Methanol can be a by-product of the fermentation and distillation process to make alcohol but is usually only present in small quantities. It can become concentrated if the temperature of distillation is too high, or be created when additional ingredients are added, but in some cases is deliberately introduced as a cheaper substitute to ethanol or to sweeten the end product. If ingested in large quantities, methanol can cause blindness, respiratory distress, liver damage and death. |
