An eight-month-old child died on Monday after firefighters found traces of the insecticide phosphine in their Fort McMurray apartment.
Four other children have been hospitalized and are currently in critical condition. Names and genders of the children have not been released at request of the family.
A hazardous materials team has found about 4.0 parts per million phosphine in the apartment unit. “We’re not sure how long the family was exposed,” said deputy fire chief Brad Grainger, adding that the family brought the chemical back home from a recent trip to Pakistan.
Phosphine is fumigant that is known to be extremely toxic among pest control professionals and is only applied through commercial spraying with health and safety precautions mandatory.
The RCMP is continuing to investigate.
