Search
Many chemicals and substances - both legal and illegal - can be purchased from an online retailer. A recent study searched Amazon.com to see if any of the "extremely hazardaous substances" identified by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were available for purchase.
Amazon.com was searched over 10-month period.
Result:
- 79 of 340 substances listed as "extremely hazardous by the EPA were available for purchse.
- 1/3 of the products/substances possess sufficient dose to be considered toxic in single unit purchase
- Only 4 substances required a bussiness account to be purchase.
Bottom line:
Toxic substances are readily available from many online retailers that can potentially cause serious toxicity. Online retailers should consult with experts and governmental agencies to limit the availability of such products.
References
Learnoad JB et al. Prime eligible poisons: identification of extremely hazardous substances available on Amazon.com. 2019 Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2019 Apr 30:1-4. doi: 10.1080/15563650.2019.1594870. [Epub ahead of print]