Non-sniffable Opal fuel can kill
Monday, May 12th, 2008The boy, the first known fatality from Opal fuel, died hours after a youth disco at the remote community of Hermannsburg, 120km west of Alice Springs, on April 13 last year.
He had gone with his cousin to a small hill where he inhaled a bottle containing Opal, drained from a broken down car, and suffocated.
Manufactured by BP and promoted as a “non-sniffable” fuel, Opal has been credited with dramatically reducing petrol sniffing in Aboriginal communities since first being introduced in 2005.
It contains lower levels than standard petrol of the aromatics which provide sniffers with a “high”.
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