(File Photo: Regional Emergency Services parked outside the apartment where five children were exposed to phosphine. Feb. 23, 2015. Bradley Karp/Afternoon Reporter).
Health Canada is warning Canadians not to use unregistered bed bug control products.
Last week it heard about Fort McMurray’s Habib Family. Five children and a mother were accidentally poisoned by phosphine.
“This pesticide, which is highly toxic to humans and animals, was imported for personal use from abroad and was being used in the residence for the control of bedbugs. In Canada, phosphine pesticides can only be sold to individuals holding an appropriate pesticide applicator certificate or licence and are not approved for use on bedbugs. Health effects from exposure to phosphine can include severe injury or death,” it states in the warning.
The Habib family held funerals for two children last week. Regional Emergency Service says a mother placed around their apartment on Fraser Ave. to get rid of bedbugs.
