Last session, thanks to Chairman Speliotis, Representative Martin Walsh, Representative Scibak, Senator Welch, Senator Jehlen, and Senator Brewer, H. 4285, was signed into law by Governor Patrick, ensuring that retail containers of antifreeze would have a bittering agent added to deter ingestion. Download a copy of the new law.
This session, Senator Brewer filed S. 88, An Act Relative to Anti-freeze and Engine Coolant, which would require the addition of a bittering agent to wholesale containers of engine coolant or anti-freeze, which were exempted in the law that passed during the last legislative session. Read a recent article about this legislation.
Update: On March 20, 2012, S.88 received an "ought to pass" report from the Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure. The bill is now in the Senate Committee on Ethics and Rules.
The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) supports legislation to require the addition of a bittering agent to antifreeze because we believe that it will save lives and reduce suffering.
Most automotive antifreeze contains ethylene glycol, which is highly toxic to animals and humans and can produce life-threatening kidney damage, even in small amounts. The sweet smell and taste of antifreeze is appealing to animals who can be poisoned by even the relatively small amounts that leak out of cars and trucks. For example, just one tablespoon of 50-50 diluted antifreeze can be lethal to a 10-pound cat, and as little as 4 ounces could be fatal to a 20-pound dog. Leaks on driveways, in parking lots, on farms, and in natural areas like parks and campgrounds can easily contain enough ethylene glycol to kill both domestic and wild animals who ingest the sweet fluid.
The Humane Society of the United States estimates that at least 90,000 companion animals die from antifreeze poisoning annually; the number of wild animals poisoned is not known, but is thought to be quite significant. Thousands of people, mostly children, are affected each year as well; between 2008 and 2010, there were 282 human exposures in Massachusetts, according to the Regional Center for Poison Control and Prevention. This bill would require the addition of an aversive, extremely bitter substance known as denatonium benzoate to make antifreeze unpalatable to animals and children. Denatonium benzoate is already used in other household products, would not significantly increase the cost of antifreeze, and does not have any known long-term negative environmental or health effects.
Several years ago, the MSPCA mailed surveys to 1,262 veterinarians licensed to practice veterinary medicine within Massachusetts. The survey response rate was 18.3% (231 surveys were returned) and the findings of the survey revealed the following:
• 67.9% of responding veterinarians (157) reported treating animals for antifreeze ingestion
• Of the animals treated, there were: 136 dogs, 81 cats, and 2 horses
• Only four veterinarians reported cases of intentional poisoning (humane law enforcement officers suspect that there are more cases of intentional poisoning – of pets and wildlife- but do not know how many because testing to prove the causative agent can be cost-prohibitive and would still not prove intent to harm)
• Numerous respondents cited the client’s lack of understanding regarding the dangers of antifreeze
• Respondents reported a high mortality rate and the speed at which antifreeze poisoning causes irreparable damage to the animals’ internal organs
Based on the survey responses, the MSPCA concluded that prevention is the most effective way of avoiding the suffering caused to animals and their human caretakers/guardians by antifreeze ingestion. One component of prevention is the addition of a deterrent agent such as denatonium benzoate. Of course, it will remain important for animal welfare and public health officials to warn people about the dangers of antifreeze ingestion, but this legislation would add an important safeguard.
With Governor Patrick's signature last year, Massachusetts became the thirteenth state to have passed legislation that requires the addition of a bittering agent. Now, Massachusetts could enhance this legislation by removing the exemption for wholesale containers so that all antifreeze sold in the state would require a bittering agent. Ask your legislators to support S.88.
