Acute intoxication of a hydrazine-like gas by 19 workers in a garbage dump

Nineteen workers (18 males, 1 female) of a garbage dump (mean age 39.9 years, range 19-58 years) were admitted to our hospital because of inhalation of a hydrazine-like gas of unknown origin. They complained of an ammoniacal odor with sweet taste followed by burning of the eyes, rawness in the throat and dyspnea, dizziness and nausea. Ten patients (group A) arrived about 2 h after they had experienced their first symptoms. The nine other patients (group B) were admitted about 70 h later. On the second day the white cell counts were significantly elevated compared to those of the days before and after (P < 0.02-0.005). The lung function showed in two patients a moderate obstruction. The PO2 was significantly reduced within 1 to 12 h after admission (P < 0.02-0.005) compared to the measurement before (P < 0.005) and after 25 (P < 0.02) and 50 (P < 0.01) h. A significantly reduced PCO2 was found after 25 h compared to the time of admission (P < 0.03). These investigations show that workers of a garbage dump had an alarming decrease of oxygen after inhalation of nitrogenous gases released by the trash.