Urbandale, Iowa police officers are working with state and federal terrorism authorities to find the person who stole a 50-pound canister of methyl bromide, a deadly chemical used to kill rats or harmful crop insects. Methyl bromide is a odorless gas that can be lethal if inhaled. The cylinder is similar in appearance to a propane cylinder. The cylinder holds enough gas to saturate a 25,000 cubic foot space.
Police learned that the canister was missing from a machine shed Monday night. The odorless pesticide belongs to Presto-X-Co., an extermination and fumigation business that keeps a storage trailer in Urbandale, police said. Sgt. Dave Disney, Urbandale police spokesman, said someone broke into the shed and carried off the pressurized can, a container the size of a gas grill. “It’s very hazardous,” Disney said. “We are investigating it as a theft,” Disney said.
Dan McBride, a retired federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent who has investigated terrorist groups, said the substance can have deadly effects. Donald Lewis, an insect expert at Iowa State University, said methyl bromide is one of the most harmful pesticides and is an ozone thinner, which is why the EPA has recently made it more difficult to obtain. “It passes very quickly through the lungs and can cause symptoms from headache and dizziness from organ damage to death,” Lewis said.
Use extreme caution if you find this cylinder. Call the Urbandale Police Department immediately at 515-278-3911. Do not attempt to move or open the cylinder.
Source: Urbandale, Iowa PD