We were forwarded this informaiton by the family of a police officer and wanted to share it with everyone. First, I'm going to tell you a little about me and my family. My name is Jeff. I am a Police Officer for a city which is known nationwide for it's crime rate. We have a lot of gangs and drugs. At one point we were # 2 in the nation in homicides per capita. I also have a police K-9 named Thor. He was certified in drugs and general duty. He retired at 3 years old because he was shot in the line of duty. He lives with us now and I still train with him because he likes it. I always liked the fact that there was no way to bring drugs into my house. Thor wouldn't allow it.. He would tell on you. The reason I say this is so you understand that I know about drugs. I have taught in schools about drugs. My wife asks all our kids at least once a week if they used any drugs. Makes them promise they won't. I like building computers occasionally and started building a new one in February 2005. I also was working on some of my older computers. They were full of dust so on one of my trips to the computer store I bought a 3 pack of DUST OFF. Dust Off is a can of compressed air to blow dust off a computer. A few weeks later when I went to use one of them they were all used. I talked to my kids and my two sons both said they had used them on their computer and messing around with them. I yelled at them for wasting the 10 dollars I paid for them. On February 28 I went back to the computer store. They didn't have the 3 pack which I had bought on sale so I bought a single jumbo can of Dust Off. I went home and set it down beside my computer. On March 1st, I left for work at 10 PM. Just before midnight my wife went down and kissed Kyle goodnight. At 5:30 am the next morning Kathy went downstairs to wake Kyle up for school, before she left for work.. He was propped up in bed with his legs crossed and his head leaning over. She called to him a few times to get up. He didn't move. He would sometimes tease her like this and pretend he fell back asleep. He was never easy to get up.. She went in and shook his arm. He fell over. He was pale white and had the straw from the Dust Off can coming out of his mouth. He had the new can of Dust Off in his hands. Kyle was dead. I am a police officer and I had never heard of this. My wife is a nurse and she had never heard of this. We later found out from the coroner, after the autopsy, that only the propellant from the can of Dust off was in his system.. No other drugs. Kyle had died between midnight and 1 AM. I found out that using Dust Off is being done mostly by kids ages 9 through 15. They even have a name for it. It's called dusting. A take off from the Dust Off name. It gives them a slight high for about 10 seconds. It makes them dizzy. A boy who lives down the street from us showed Kyle how to do this about a month before. Kyle showed his best friend. Told him it was cool and it couldn't hurt you. It's just compressed air. It can't hurt you. His best friend said no. Kyle was wrong. It's not just compressed air. It also contains a propellant called R2. It's a refrigerant like what is used in your refrigerator. It is a heavy gas. Heavier than air. When you inhale it, it fills your lungs and keeps the good air, with oxygen, out That's why you feel dizzy, buzzed. It decreases the oxygen to your brain, to your heart. Kyle was right. It can't hurt you. IT KILLS YOU. The horrible part about this is there is no warning. There is no level that kills you. It's not cumulative or an overdose; it can just go randomly, terribly wrong. Roll the dice and if your number comes up you die. ITS NOT AN OVERDOSE. It's Russian Roulette. You don't die later. Or not feel good and say I've had too much. You usually die as you're breathing it in. If not you die within 2 seconds of finishing "the hit." That's why the straw was still in Kyle's mouth when he died. Why his eyes were still open. The experts want to call this huffing. The kids don't believe its huffing. As adults we tend to lump many things together. But it doesn't fit here. And that's why its more accepted. There is no chemical reaction, no strong odor. It doesn't follow the huffing signals. Kyle complained a few days before he died of his tongue hurting. It probably did. The pro pellant causes frostbite. If I had only known. It's easy to say hey, it's my life and I'll do what I want. But it isn't. Others are always affected. This has forever changed our family's life. I have a hole in my heart and soul that can never be fixed. The pain is so immense I can't describe it. There's nowhere to run from it. I cry all the time and I don't ever cry. I do what I'm supposed to do but I don't really care. My kids are messed up. One won't talk about it. The other will only sleep in our room at night. And my wife, I can't even describe how bad she is taking this. I thought we were safe because of Thor. I thought we were safe because we knew about drugs and talked to our kids about them. After Kyle died another story came out. A probation Officer went to the school system next to ours to speak with a student. While there he found a student using Dust Off in the bathroom. This student told him about another student who also had some in his locker. This is a rather affluent school system. They will tell you they don't have a drug problem there. They don't even have a dare or plus program there. So rather than tell everyone about this "new" way of getting high they found, they hid it. The probation officer told the media after Kyle's death and they, the school, then admitted to it. I know that if they would have told the media and I had heard, it wouldn't have been in my house. We need to get this out of our homes and school computer labs. Using Dust Off isn't new and some "professionals" do know about. It just isn't talked about much, except by the kids. They all seem to know about it. April 2nd was 1 month since Kyle died. April 5th would have been his 15th birthday.. And every weekday I catch myself sitting on the living room couch at 2:30 in the afternoon and waiting to see him get off the bus. I know Kyle is in heaven but I cant help but wonder If I died and went to Hell. This Officer is asking for everyone who receives this email to forward it to everyone in their address book, even Law Enforcement Officers.
Some of you may be aware that I tend to be somewhat skeptical, so I usually check out stuff like this. Snopes give the status as true. In fact, they say it checks out in every respect. http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/dustoff.asp Serious business, folks.
Thank you for posting this.... I just read it & then had my children come in & read it to them. I have never heard of this either. Scary what these kids come up with. Thank you again..you just saved someones life
http://www.blowoff.com/msds/gun_duster.htm SECTION 2 - HAZARDOUS INGREDIENTS 1,1-Difluoroethane Cas # 75-37-6 SECTION 3 - PHYSICAL DATA Boiling Point: -25°C (-13°F) Specific Gravity: (H2O=1) Vapor Pressure (MM Hg): 87 psia at 25°C (77°F Percent Volatile by Vol.: 100 WT % Vapor Density (Air=1): 2.4 at 25° C (77°F) Density: 0.90 g/cc at 25° C (77° F) Solubility in water: 0.28 WT% at 25° C (77° F) Evap Rate (Ether=1): Appearance: Slight ethereal, clear, colorless Form: Gas SECTION 5 - HEALTH HAZARD DATA Potential Health Effects: Inhalation of high concentrations of vapor is harmful and may cause heart irregularities, unconsciousness, or death. Intentional misuse or deliberate inhalation may cause death without warning. Vapor reduces oxygen available for breathing and is heavier than air. Liquid contact can cause frostbite. Human Health Effects: Contact with the liquid may cause frostbite. Overexposure by inhalation may include nonspecific discomfort, such as nausea, headache, or weakness; or temporary nervous system depression with anesthetic effects such as dizziness, headache, confusion, incoordination and loss of consciousness. Higher exposures (>20%) may cause temporary lung irritation effects with cough, discomfort, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath; or temporary alteration of the heart's electrical activity with irregular pulse, palpitations, or inadequate circulation, abnormal kidney function as detected by laboratory tests. Gross overexposure may be fatal. Individuals with preexisting diseases of the central nervous or cardiovascular system may have increased susceptibly to the toxicity of excessive exposures. First Aid Eyes: Immediately flush eyes with large amounts of water for at least 15 minutes while holding the eyelids open. Get prompt medical attention. Skin: Immediately remove contaminated clothing; wash skin with large amounts of water for at least 15 minutes. Treat for frostbite with gentle warming affected area if necessary. Get prompt medical attention. Inhalation: Move victim to fresh air and restore breathing if necessary. Stay with victim until arrival of emergency medical personnel. Ingestion: Ingestion is not considered a potential route of exposure.
Why yes, yes I am ... :lol: Right after that mess in Apex is cleared up and my blasted phone stops ringing about it. This stuff is used by a lot of GC/MS operators to detect leaks in their instruments ..... a potential head-ache for a safety officer or manager :wink:
as a mom of teens that particular letter has been going round for a long time -- i first was aware of it through an email chain kinda thing & like kd's grandma did a little research and found that "huffing" is popular with the preteen crowd -- its any aerosol under the sink -- they typically spray it into a paper bag and then inhale to get high
NCFOP88, I am so sorry for your loss. It has to be tough to lose a child, I cannot even imagine what that is like. I have two beautiful boys 8 and 6, and two precious step children 11 and 14. I will be sure to drill this into them often. Thank you so much for this posting, and I will be sure to send this to everyone I know. I know a few police officers myself. They will get it too, even if they already know about it. My prayers are with you and your family.
Hey Frame, that was very sweet but i believe he received the email, did not personally suffer the loss. Your sentiments were wonderful though.
