SAN DIEGO, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- A California research team says it has seen a rising number of deaths caused by the inhaling of compressed air from cans used to clean dust from computers.
The researchers from the San Diego County Medical Examiner and Sheriff's offices said 17 country residents had died in the past five years who had levels of a gas contained in the familiar air dusters.
The gas, known as 1,1-diflouroethane, was listed as the cause of death in 13 cases, and cans of the air duster were found near 14 of the bodies.
"There are dangers out there, and when we find something of significance we try to alert not just the community, but the scientific community as well," Dr. Iain McIntyre, chief toxicologist for the medical examiner's office, told San Diego County's North County Times.
McIntyre noted that the number of victims testing positive for 1,1-diflouroethane had crept up in each year of the study, suggesting the abuse of air dusters was on the rise.
The chemical is considered harmless if inhaled during normal use; however concentrated exposure can cause death by replacing oxygen in the user's lungs and causing either suffocation or heart arrhythmia.
The paper authored by McIntyre and his two colleagues, will be published later this year in an unspecified scientific journal, he told the Times.
