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Methyl tert ‐Butyl Ether ( MTBE ) Detected in Abnormally High Concentrations in Postmortem Blood and Urine from Two Persons Found Dead Inside a Car Containing a Gasoline Spill
Author(s) -
Karinen Ritva,
Vindenes Vigdis,
Morild Inge,
Johnsen Lene,
Nygaard Ilah,
Christophersen Asbjørg S.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.12208
Subject(s) - gasoline , urine , chemistry , chromatography , carboxyhemoglobin , oxygenate , methyl tert butyl ether , ether , environmental chemistry , poison control , toxicology , emergency medicine , organic chemistry , medicine , biology , biochemistry , carbon monoxide , catalysis
Two deep frozen persons, a female and a male, were found dead in a car. There had been an explosive fire inside the car which had extinguished itself. On the floor inside the car were large pools of liquid which smelled of gasoline. The autopsy findings and routine toxicological analyses could not explain the cause of death. Carboxyhemoglobin levels in the blood samples were <10%. Analysis with a headspace gas chromatography revealed methyl tert ‐butyl ether ( MTBE ) concentrations of 185 mg/L (female victim) and 115 mg/L (male victim) in peripheral blood. The urine MTBE concentrations were 150 mg/L and 256 mg/L, respectively. MTBE is a synthetic chemical which is added to gasoline as a fuel oxygenate. Gasoline poisoning is likely to be the cause of the death in these two cases, and MTBE can be a suitable marker of gasoline exposure, when other volatile components have vaporized.