POISONOUS FUMES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1737, 1 May 1906, Page 2

POISONOUS FUMES.

(For Press Association.) Dunedin, last night. Mr Anderson, the second victim ol the cement works drainage poisoning, died at the hospital at one this afternoon.

Tho N.Z. Herald’s special correspondent wired from Dunedin on Friday :

Archibald McKay died early this morning. He .was one of the two men employed at the cemenc works at Pelichet Bay, who were taken seriously ill on Tuesday, after doing work in which they were using a solution of hydrochloric acid and water for the purpose of removing the galvanising from galvanised wire netting. It was intended yesterday afternoon to take the deceased's dying depositions, but Dr. Evans negatived this, owing to the fact that the man’s condition was such that it would be impossible for him to make any statement. He did not subsequently recover sufficiently to enable him to make a statement, and during the 6veniDg he became unconscious, and died early this morning. Ihe other victim, John Gillman Anderson, lies at the hospital, still in the same critical state. His depositions have been taken.

The body of McKay was removed to the morgue this morning, and Mr Graham, 8.M., opened an inquest there this afternoon. The evidence showed that McKay had been an employee of the Milburn Lime and Cement Company for between seven and eight years, and was 38 years of age. Prior to the accident he was in perfectly good health. The inquest was adjourned until nest Friday, in order to allow of Professor Black making an analysis of some of the organs. Dr. Evans was making a post mortem examination this afternoon. Anderson is a brother of Mr J. T. Noble Anderson, engineer to the Dunedin 1 drainage Board. There is some suspicion that the men were poisoned by a gas which is known as arseniureted hydrogen. It is known that most ores —zinc amongst them—contain arsenic as an impurity, and that a combination of arsenic and hydrogen, which is a component of hydrochloric acid, forms the rare and extremely poisonous gas mentioned.