Deadly Liquid Taken From Students at Moyer’s Landing Park

Ten vials of a lethal liquid were missing from a group of students from the University of Waterloo. The alleged theft happened around 9 a.m. on Saturday May 23, 2009 at Moyer's Landing Park in Cambridge, Ontario.

The vials contain sodium azide. They had been in a cooler at the research site. The Waterloo University students had been using the vials for water testing of the Grand River. The clear liquid in the vials is very dangerous. It can enter humans though skin contact, inhalation, ingestion and intravenous injection. A odor can be present when the liquid reacts to metals or other liquids. By the time a person smells the odor though it is to late. The liquid produces the following symptoms: low blood pressure, diarrhea, vomiting, central nervous system depression causing sleepiness or even comas, chest pain, heart rhythm problems, shortness of breath, seizures and acute heart attacks. The Edmonton Sun reports:

"It's really dangerous stuff," he said. "But if it's a concentrated solution, it could be deadly at 10 millilitres. That's a small sip, what a child takes for cough medicine."

If the liquid is poured down a sink it can explode. Contact with the liquid can be fatal if a person does not have prompt medical treatment. Anyone with any information concerning this incident should contact 911 or Waterloo Regional Police Division 2 at 519-653-7700 extension 2299.