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Dangers of chemical suicide
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Chemical suicide is a growing problem all around the world. This form of suicide was created in Japan, but now it is growing rapidly across the United States in recent years. People committing this type of suicide are looking to kill themselves, and also may want to harm or kill first responders in the process as well. This puts a large amount of people in danger in the immediate area where the chemicals are located. These situations might not be clear to first responders upon arrival and could cause injury or death if they are not wearing proper personal protective equipment.
Chemical suicides became prevalent in the United States around 2008. Since then, the number of suicides has been rising faster as the years go by. These forms of suicides started in Japan. There were thousands of cases that were reported involving these chemical suicides. It became a known problem around 2007 and has been steadily rising since then. This form of suicide from Japan became known in the United States through people’s use of the internet. “In 2008 in the United States, first responders responded to three incidents; in 2009, there were nine incidents; in 2010, there were more than 30 incidents.” (Oreshan III/Stevens, 2011). The numbers from 2010 to present day have risen as well. These numbers are only the recorded chemical suicides. There are still a large number of unreported chemical suicides in the United States and the number keeps growing.
“Chemical suicide, sometimes called detergent suicide, involves mixing common household chemicals to create deadly hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas, which can quickly reach lethal concentrations in confined spaces.” (Oreshan III/Stevens, 2011). This gas is colorless and also has a very foul smell of sulfur. ...
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...e started very soon after the person is exposed, it will be more effective.
To summarize, chemical suicide is a rapidly growing problem in the united states since 2008. When first responders respond to a call for a possible chemical suicide, they all have to approach with extreme caution and notice their surroundings. Size up and isolation and protection of the fire scene is very important to think about. Looking around the scene for opened containers and buckets that could possibly be inside the car or building is very important. There will be many different agencies on scene and that will just add to the number of people that could possibly get hurt or have to be decontaminated. Being cautious, knowing the signs of chemical suicides, and being ready to handle the situation at any given time are very big factors that first responders have to think about everyday.
One that is common is the requirement for training with teachers, counselors, healthcare officials, and law enforcement officials. This allows for these individuals to possibly notice the signs early and detect suicidal thoughts before an individual can act on them. Along with the training for individuals that work with people, there is also a national suicide hotline. This is a program where individuals can anonymously call and talk to someone about what they are feeling and thinking about doing. The hope with this program is that by talking to someone, an individual with suicidal thoughts will feel like there is someone that cares and rethink their actions.
takes place over a long period of time. Such is not the case in jail suicides.
Suicide of Vietnam Veterans The deaths that were experienced in Vietnam due to Agent Orange and other jungle diseases have become well known by the general public. However, it is suicide that has resulted in the deaths of over 150,000 Vietnam soldiers during and after the war. An enormous amount of suicides resulted from what most people call “protecting our country”.
Barbiturates are the most common substances used for assisted suicide in Oregon and in the Netherlands. Overdoses of barbiturates are known to cause distress:
results. Accordingly, as the chemistry of suicide comes to light, there seems to be a
Among American civilians, whites have historically and significantly led the way in the rates of suicides. Although leveling off after the 1990’s, the rate of white suicides has still been almost twice as much as minority groups. It has also been shown that males commit suicide significantly more than females.
Overall chemical suicides are a threat that is unfortunately expected to continue rising throughout the United States. It is essential to keep training as well as communicating to first responders about the dangers that they impose. Every first responder needs to be made aware of how these suicides are being performed, as well as the warning signs, proper safety procedures, and what treatments to use if encountered. The more that this information is being circulated, the better chance there is at limiting the injuries and deaths associated with this type of second hand chemical exposure.
Modern philosophy stipulates that the will to preserve one’s life as long as possible is a fundamental aspect of basic logic and reason. The will to survive as long as possible is described as an innate and natural instinct of being human. Based on this philosophical reasoning, it is inherently illogical and irrational to willingly put an end to one’s life. Sociologists, psychologists and psychiatrists have also condemned suicide by stating that it is associated with mental, social and physical ill-being and that those who commit suicide are not in a rational state of mind. These scientific and philosophical approaches to suicide have contributed to formally documenting suicide as a wrong, irrational and immoral act. The problem is that these approaches see suicide in a generalized manner and do not take into account sub-types and different kinds of suicide such as euthanasia for example, which is physician-assisted and intentional suicide in the case of a terminally ill patient with no possibility of recovering from his or her medical condition. Technological developments in medicin...
A mother finds her 17 year old teenage son hanging from the rafters of their basement. To hear of this occurrence is not rare in society today. Every 90 minutes a teenager in this country commits suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15-24 year olds. The National suicide rate has increased 78% between 1952 and 1992. The rate for 15-19 year olds rose from two per 100,000 to 12.9, more than 600 percent. (Special report, Killing the Pain, Rae Coulli)
Suicide is the eleventh most common cause of death in the United States. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, a person takes their own life once every fourteen minutes in the United States (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention [AFSP], 2011). Still, with suicide rates so high, suicide is a taboo topic in our society. Though suicide is intended to end one person’s pain, it causes an immeasurable amount of pain and suffering to loved ones close to the deceased.
allowing a patient to take his or her own life, range from untreated depression, to the deadly mix
It is obvious to the TV viewer that under the banners of compassion and autonomy, some are calling for legal recognition of a "right to suicide" and societal acceptance of "physician-assisted suicide." Suicide proponents evoke the image of someone facing unendurable suffering who calmly and rationally decides death is better than life in such a state. They argue that society should respect and defer to the freedom of choice such people exercise in asking to be killed. This essay intends to debunk this point of view on the basis of mental illness among those patients involved.
Suicide, it's not pretty. For those of you who don't know what it is, it's the
“Suicide is not chosen; it happens when pain exceeds resources for coping with pain” (I-10). Ending a life is a big step in the wrong direction for most. Suicide is the killing of oneself. Suicide happens every day, and everyday a family’s life is changed. Something needs to be done to raise awareness of that startling fact. Suicide is a much bigger problem than society will admit; the causes, methods, and prevention need to be discussed more openly.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, scientific evidence has shown that almost all people who take their own lives have a diagnosable mental or substance abuse disorder, and the majority have more than one disorder. In other words, the feelings that often lead to suicide are highly treatable. That’s why it is imperative that we better understand the symptoms of the disorders and the behaviors that often accompany thoughts of suicide. With more knowledge, we can often prevent the devastation of losing a loved one.