Deadly Chemical Concoction Kills Man In Atkinson County
Local Hazmat Team Works Scene
Published: Wednesday, August 19, 2015 11:09 AM EDT Luke Roberts
Enterprise Staff Writer
The Region 8 Hazmat team was forced into action on Monday morning, August 17, after Atkinson County law enforcement officials discovered a deceased man in a pickup truck containing a deadly cocktail of chemicals.
Hazmat team members from the Douglas Fire Department responded to a two-lane dirt path off of Stokesville Church Road in Atkinson County where they discovered the body of a 26-year old deceased white male in a pickup truck.
When Hazmat and law enforcement officials approached the vehicle, they noticed two notes, one on the driver’s side window and the other on the passenger window, that stated, “Warning: Carbon Monoxide.”
After safely securing the scene, Hazmat officials worked to remove the man’s body from the vehicle and later determined he had combined two chemicals, Sulfuric acid and Formic acid, a deadly combination that reacted and turned into carbon monoxide and resulted in his death.
Officials believe the man had been inside the vehicle since Friday, August 14.
Suicide by way of deadly chemical cocktails is on the rise across the United States, especially over the last four to five years.
The “trend” is believed to have started in Japan around 2008 when individuals began combining bath sulfur with a toilet bowl cleaning product, causing a reaction that forms deadly hydrogen sulfide gas.
The Enterprise sends prayers and condolences to the victim’s family and friends.