TOWER VICTIMS ‘POISONED BY CYANIDE’
Survivors treated after insulation ‘gave off lethal gas’
TOXIC cyanide gas released by burning insulation may have contributed to deaths at Grenfell Tower.
At least three inferno survivors are being given an antidote in hospital. As hundreds marched for victims, fire expert Prof Richard Hull said: “It’s been an accident waiting to happen.”
INSULATION fitted at Grenfell Tower could have produced enough cyanide gas when it caught fire to kill everyone inside, fire toxicity experts have claimed.
The thermal lining was put between the new cladding facade and the building’s existing 1970s brickwork, as part of the refurbishment process.
Three people injured in the blaze are known to have been treated in hospital with an antidote for hydrogen cyanide poisoning, but it is thought the number of victims affected may be higher.
Yet knowing what role the gas played in their deaths may never be known because of the condition of their bodies.
The insulation was made of polyisocyanurate (PIR); rigid plastic foam sandwiched between two sheets of aluminium foil to create 15cm-thick boards.
Richard Hull, professor of chemistry and fire science at the University of