Antifreeze and what YOU can do to prevent animals/children from drinking it

[Janeyk]

  Blimey!

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

my goodness 

[CoolCyberCats]

The weather here in May can still be rather unstable (cold/hot).

Here is a shot from my car in the driveway on June 10th 2002.


Here is a shot off our property about a week later.

[Mark]

We have some lovely scenery here in Kent - not exactly stunning  but at least the weather is mild most of the time  - only Just over an hour from London but some lovely ancient villages etc so the best of both worlds I think. I would never move back to London and ideally would prefer to move more into the country.

David - We have a cafe in Canterbury called the Mayflower - self explanatory really 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I left England for its outpost in SW Wales five years ago end of January   

I cant wait to get back home and be nearer to London albeit still out in the country,,,,,,,,we have a lot of pine everywhere too but also other types of trees too.

The hills and mountains are lovely from a distance here but are very bleak and windy, unlike in the Lake District.

Talking to you about distance and mountains is rather stupid of me cos compared to where you are everything is small 

[CoolCyberCats]

No the views are not always worth it. Still, lovely while I am here. And rain! We get little of it. Dry as a bone here (except some snow and a little rain). We have cactus on our property and the humidity is nonexistant. We also miss deciduous trees, all we have is pine.

You are not in England? Whee are you?

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

LOL so stunning scenery isnt all its made out to be   

Have to say I have nice scenery here too but it rains nonstop and nothing will grow in the big garden cos its waterlogged all the time.  I have been here 5 yrs in Jan and havent had a summer ever and I am retired and looking to go home to England where its dryer and warmer!

[CoolCyberCats]

Believe me, the longer I am in Montana the longer the south or moderate mid-atlantic looks good to me! When we retire we will move where it is moderate or warm and then have our new home built.

I have imagined a home with an open area in the center with no roof, where the cats can play in some grass and a small tree. THough I guess it owuld be cheaper to just make a walled garden, huh?

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

My goodness thats cold and we dont have temps that cold here. Also dont have any high temps where I live......think that 25 is a shock grrrrrrrrrr

My car lives out on the road cos have no garage

[CoolCyberCats]

Flushing it out really depends on where you live. I assume people in the south here do not do it as often, or if the temps are more mild. Since we moved here in Motana we have had temps as low as -52c (-60.5f) (winter of 2004, 2 straight weeks of that low at night) and as high as 41.1c (106) daytime highs in high summer. The cars here (most) have heating blocks in the engine and plugs cords in the front grill to plug it in at night. If you do not have a heated garage and the temps are -52c, it can be impossible to start the car in the moring since the oil may have frozen into thick sludge. So I have my antifreeze set for summer or winter temps each season and shift oil weights as well.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

its interesting cos the manual for my car says that the anti freeze is in where ever it is,,,,,,,,,,,,,,i cant remember where .....and it lasts for the life of the car.

so although going below -10 last year i dont use anti freeze.....i drive a ford by the way lol.

have also checked the contents on my low temp windscreen wash but it doesnt say, except that it contain something like ETA but sure there were 4 letters.

Will be adding this wash to whats in there in next few days to stop that system freezing

[Mark]

It is sold as Bitrex in this country and there are a lot of products with it added - usually cleaning products. it costs pennies to add it to products. I also read there is another type of anti-freeze available in America which is much safer. This was on a thread a few weeks ago.

http://petcare.suite101.com/article.cfm/propylene_glycol_antifreeze_safer_for_pets

Propylene Glycol is much safer than Ethylene Glycol and also has the benefit of not being sweet tasting and so less attractive to pets. There are brands available in America and they are allowed to market it as Non-toxic antifreeze.

[CoolCyberCats]

Hi all. With all the chat going on about antifreeze I decided to post a small article, a link and a copy of an email, all related to how you can help prevent YOUR antifreeze from being ingested.

First part is an artical written in July 2008 about the dangers and what can and is NOT being done. This artical is based on USA numbers mind you (as far as I know).

-------Article Start-------
Every year, about 10,000 dogs, cats and children are victims of accidental poisoning by automobile antifreeze. In 2003 nearly 1,400 children ended up in emergency rooms because of antifreeze poisoning, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The American Association of Poison Control Centers reported 2,372 accidental poisonings related to Ethylene Glycol (EG) antifreeze in 1987. 765 of these were children under six years of age. The Humane society of the United States names EG as one of the most dangerous Household hazards to children and pets, not to mention wildlife. Further, they estimate that the actual deaths of companion animals and wildlife due to EG poisoning runs into the tens of thousands every year.

A child or a pet doesn’t have to drink a lot of antifreeze to be poisoned. A few ounces, 3 or 4 tablespoons, can be lethal for a child. Even a few licks of this sweet-tasting liquid can be fatal to a cat or dog. For a medium sized dog, ingestion of about 2 ounces is toxic. For cats, as little as ¼ of an ounce can be lethal. Children may take in large amounts since the substance tastes good. Alcoholics may also drink it as a substitute for alcohol.

And the tragedy is that every instance of antifreeze poisoning can be easily and inexpensively prevented.

On May 24, 2005 U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman and Senator George Allen introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, respectively, requiring antifreeze to contain a bittering agent to render the substance unpalatable to pets and children, helping to assure they would no longer drink the poisonous chemical. The bittering agent they are considering is denatonium benzoate, the world’s most bitter substance.

Denatonium benzoate is a harmless compound that, even in extremely small quantities, makes ingestion impossible. It is harmless to people, animals, plants and the environment. And the addition of 30 parts per million will make antifreeze unpalatable. How much are we talking about? One (1) teaspoon for 50 gallons of antifreeze at a literal cost of pennies per gallon. That’s right – about 3 or 4 cents per gallon.

So why are legislators and manufacturers dragging their feet? One would think this is a no-brainer.

Many states, and even some cities, are considering legislation requiring the addition of the bitterent denatonium benzoate to antifreeze, making it virtually impossible for a child or animal to be poisoned by this sweet-tasting liquid.

Aversion Technologies offers denatonium benzoate in powder form, both technical and pharmaceutical grade), and in a granular form (technical grade only).
-------Article End-------

I decided to visit the Aversion Technologies (makers of the bittering agent) website next. If you have interest it is: http://aversiontech.com/
I then emailed them about purchasing some denatonium benzoate myself. Their response was:
-------Email Response Start-------
We can offer you a small quantity of denatonium benzoate sufficient for your purposes. We do not sell denatonium saccharide in small quantities, and denatonium benzoate is the preferred material for automobile antifreeze.

100 grams is $40 and should be sufficient for 2-4 cars, perhaps more.
-------Email Response End-------

At current exchange rates 40USD converts to about 24.43GBP.

I plan to take them up on the offer and will have it put into the antifreeze in our car and jeep.

This is a great option and a wonderful start. Perhaps you can get it shipped to the UK or Aversion Tech can tell you where to get it in the UK. In small quantities it is a bit expensive, but in larger quantities (according to the article above) it is not. Perhaps we can all talk to our local auto shop and try to convince them to buy a quantity of the denatonium benzoate to mix into all the antifreeze they have or as they put it in the cars. Assuming it does save just one animal or human, how can you put a price on that?

David