Mystery illness strikes after meteorite hits Peruvian villa

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news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070918/sc … lthoffbeat

[quote]Around midday Saturday, villagers were startled by an explosion and a fireball that many were convinced was an airplane crashing near their remote village, located in the high Andes department of Puno in the Desaguadero region, near the border with Bolivia.

Residents complained of headaches and vomiting brought on by a “strange odor,” local health department official Jorge Lopez told Peruvian radio RPP.[/quote]

This is the stuff of comic books, science fiction, or conspiracies:

  1. Alien lands in Peru starts killing people (predator)

  2. Alien sends WMDs (lots of 50s invasion sci-fi)

  3. Secret government black project gone bad (a la MIB)

  4. Alien leftover lifeforms (a la Superman, but more like Mr. Toxic)

  5. Just a meteorite with radioactive/toxic … stuff… that also happens to smell bad.

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H2S.

3

The invasion of the body snatchers has begun.

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[quote=“Fox”]H2S.

[/quote]

Nice!

[quote]What is hydrogen sulfide (H2S)?
Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) is a colorless gas that smells like rotten eggs (from the sulphur). Often referred to as “sewer gas,” (known by other names that include “sulfane”, “sulfur hydride”, d"ihydrogen monosulfide", “sulfurated hydrogen”, “sewer gas” and “stink damp”), hydrogen sulfide is highly poisonous. Usually, the poisoning caused by hydrogen sulfide is though inhalation and has a toxicity similar to cyanide. It is found in petroleum and natural gas and is sometimes present in ground water. Natural gas can contain up to 28% hydrogen sulfide gas and may be considered an air pollutant when found near a natural gas production area or refinery.

Low Levels of H2S
The odor or hydrogen sulfide gas can be perceived at levels as low as 10 ppb (parts per billion). At levels of 50-100 ppm (parts per million), it may cause the human sense of smell to fail. Low levels can cause eye irritation, dizziness, coughing, and headache.

High levels of H2S
At high exposures (usually greater than 300 ppm), H2S has the amazing effect of causing the nose to stop perceiving its smell after a few inhalations, which may lead to the inhalation of a toxic or fatal dose (which can occur at 600 ppm). At high levels, hydrogen sulfide gas may paralyze the lungs, meaning that the victim may then be unable to escape from the toxic gas without assistance.

Deaths are not uncommon when people enter poorly ventilated spaces such as deep wells, underground tanks or sewer systems. Since H2S gas is heavier than air, its concentration is highest near the bottom of enclosed spaces.[/quote]

but one could easily imagine how these stories could have easily been spun into myths and wild stories in the past.

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H2S is lethal and causes deaths in Taiwan at enclosed mountain onsens.

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It’s also a component of farts. So farts certainly can be deadly!

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Well…its been decided that it was a meteorite.

[quote]Experts confirm meteorite crash in Peru
By MONTE HAYES, Associated Press Writer Wed Sep 19, 8:30 PM ET

LIMA, Peru - A fiery meteorite crashed into southern Peru over the weekend, experts confirmed on Wednesday. But they were still puzzling over claims that it gave off fumes that sickened 200 people.

Local residents told reporters that a fiery ball fell from the sky and smashed into the desolate Andean plain near the Bolivian border Saturday morning.

Jose Mechare, a scientist with Peru’s Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Institute, said a geologist had confirmed that it was a “rocky meteorite,” based on the fragments analyzed.

He said water in the meteorite’s muddy crater boiled for maybe 10 minutes from the heat and could have given off a vapor that sickened people, and scientists were taking water samples.

“We are not completely certain that there was no contamination,” Mechare said.

Jorge Lopez, director of the health department in the state where the meteorite crashed, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that 200 people suffered headaches, nausea and respiratory problems caused by “toxic” fumes emanating from the crater, which is some 65 feet wide and 15 feet deep.

But a team of doctors who reached the isolated site said Wednesday they found no evidence the meteorite had sickened people.

Doctors told an Associated Press Television News cameraman at the site that they had found no sign of radioactive contamination among families living nearby. But they said they had taken samples of blood, urine and hair to analyze.

Peasants living near the crater said they had smelled a sulfurous odor for at least an hour after the meteorite struck and that it had provoked upset stomachs and headaches.

But Jose Isisuka, a geologist for the institute who was studying the crater, said he doubted the reports of a sulfurous smell.(more at link)
Yahoo News[/quote]

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Uh Oh. Andromeda Strain