2016 Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning

Mass methanol poisoning in Irkutsk, in Siberia

2016 Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning

Irkutsk, the location of the poisonings, overlaid on a map of Siberia and nearby countries

Date| December 2016
Location| Irkutsk, Russia
Cause| Consumption of fraudulent surrogate alcohol
Deaths| 74
External image

An example of hawthorn-scented bath oil

In December 2016, over 70 people died[A] and another 49 were hospitalized in a mass methanol poisoning in the Russian city of Irkutsk. Precipitated by the consumption of fraudulent surrogate alcohol, the incident was the deadliest methanol poisoning in Russia's post-Soviet history.

Russian consumption of surrogate alcohol rose rapidly in the early 2010s amid worsening economic conditions. Surrogates cost less than government-regulated vodka, and they were commonly available from supermarkets, strategically placed vending machines, and other shops.

In the Irkutsk incident, the victims drank hawthorn-scented bath oil. While the product was typically made with and labeled as containing drinkable ethanol, at least one batch was made instead with methanol. When even a small amount is ingested by humans, methanol acts as a nerve toxin. If untreated, it severely damages the optic nerve, causes paralysis, and eventually leads to unconsciousness.

A government investigation found that the methanol was sourced from an employee of a local windshield washer fluid production facility. In response to the poisoning, in mid-2017 the Russian government increased the legal punishments for illegally producing and selling alcohol and made it more difficult to acquire surrogate alcohols by banning the surrogate-containing vending machines.

## Background

[edit]

See also: Alcohol consumption in Russia

Average alcohol consumption per person in 2015 per World Health Organization data

In the 2010s, Russia's economy suffered from a financial crisis, depressed oil prices, and international sanctions put into place during the Ukrainian crisis even while prices for food were increasing.[2][5] In the Irkutsk region, where the poisoning took place, salaries remained low. Paychecks totaling around 15,000 rubles (about US$246 in 2016) were common,[6] by early 2017 the number of people living below the poverty line of 10,000 rubles per month (about $170) had increased by three percent since the beginning of the crisis.[2]

At the same time, Russia remained as one of the highest consumers per capita in the world with an average yearly consumption of 11.7 liters (3.1 U.S. gal) as of 2016, according to the World Health Organization.[7][B] To continue those drinking habits even amidst the declining economic situation, many Russians turned to less-regulated surrogate alcohols as their cost was half that of the cheapest vodka, whose price was regulated by the government.[2][6][8]

Experts estimated that surrogate alcohols made up twenty percent of the total alcohol consumed in Russia.[2][9] Other experts estimated that greater than ten million Russians routinely purchased such alcohol,[10] and that its consumption had increased by as much as 65 percent since the introduction of an alcohol excise tax in 2009.[11] Such a widespread use of surrogate alcohols led to increasing amounts of alcohol poisonings,[12] a problem that was already high in Russia as of the early 21st century.[13]

The Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning was caused by a fraudulently produced batch of hawthorn-scented bath oil. It was named boyaryshnik or Боярышник, the Russian word for hawthorn,[2][14] and was also described as a lotion.[6][15] The product shared its name with a popular hawthorn-flavored tincture, and vodka historian Alexander Nikishin told the magazine Vice that was a deliberate choice to obfuscate its intended purpose:

> You can buy boyaryshnik in a pharmacy, a medicinal tincture. And then there is the boyaryshnik spirit, which they call medicinal, but really it's just alcohol with the taste of boyaryshnik. It's bootlegging, pure and simple.[14]

The boyaryshnik bottles carried clear warnings that they were not intended for consumption.[16] However, many Russians knew that the product was meant to be a cheap vodka substitute and government authorities condoned its sale.[2] The oil bottles were typically half the size of vodka, but the alcohol content was so high that individuals could dilute them to a similar alcohol by volume.[2][C]

These sorts of surrogate alcohols were widely available in Russian supermarkets, shops, and vending machines. They were also not subject to any legal age requirement, the alcohol excise tax (levied as part of an anti-alcohol effort in 2009), or other restrictions introduced in recent years to curb alcohol consumption in the country.[1][2][16] The vending machines were particularly problematic: they were often deliberately placed near impoverished areas of Russian cities to appeal to those seeking a cheap alternative to legal alcohol at any hour of the day or night.[19] They were also highly profitable.[6]

## Incident

[edit]

A vial of methanol, the substance that caused the mass poisoning, next to a vial of ethanol, the substance found in alcoholic beverages

The bath oil involved in the December 2016 mass poisoning was fraudulently made with methanol,[D] which is poisonous: symptoms of methanol toxicity also include central nervous system depression.[2] It was then placed into bottles that had the bath oil's typical labels, which stated that they contained the usual ethanol,[E] the alcohol found in vodka and other alcoholic drinks.[16] A later government investigation showed that the methanol was acquired from an employee of a local windshield washer fluid firm, who stole and sold the substance without the knowledge of the company's head.[21][F]

Methanol is cheaper than ethanol,[22] and the two are difficult to tell apart: both are colorless, and both give off a similar odor.[20] Amounts as small as 30–240 milliliters (1.0–8.1 U.S. fl oz) can be fatal.[23][24][G] The human body breaks down methanol into formaldehyde and formic acid, both of which act as nerve toxins and damage the optic nerve.[2][6] Irkutsk victims found themselves going blind before being unable to move and finally lapsing into a coma. For some, the latter two happened before they were able to call for emergency assistance.[6]

The Irkutsk methanol poisoning's first hospitalizations began on 17 December,[1][4] and local press reports emerged late on 18 December with the news that eight people had died and another nine were hospitalized.[25][26] By the end of the 19th, a total of 57 people were hospitalized and 49 were dead.[22][27] Irkutsk authorities resorted to checking individual city residents and properties, in addition to common gathering points for homeless individuals, and found numerous victims who had been unable to call for help.[2][27] They delivered the bodies straight to a morgue.[4]

Over the next several days, the death toll continued to increase. On the 20th, the Irkutsk health ministry reported that the death toll had risen to 52 with another 29 hospitalized.[28] Those numbers rose to 62 dead plus 40 hospitalized on the 21st;[29] 74 plus 30 on the 23rd;[30] 77 plus 16 on the 27th,[31] and finally 78 dead on 9 January.[3]

A medical investigation dropped the death toll to 74 people, as four previously attributed to methanol were actually caused by drinking too much non-fraudulent ethanol-based bath oil.[1] Scientific and media articles have also pegged the number of deaths at 76 or 78 people.[2][3][4][A]

Regardless, the incident was the deadliest mass methanol poisoning in Russia's post-Soviet history.[4] "Poisonings caused by cheap surrogate alcohol are a regular occurrence," a reporter for the Associated Press news agency wrote, "but the Irkutsk case was unprecedented in its scale."[27] Including the deaths, a total of 123 people were hospitalized.[1][4]

Most of the victims were residents of the Novo-Lenino [ru] neighborhood in Irkutsk. They included teachers, nurses, and drivers; The New York Times described the majority as holding "steady if low-paying jobs".[2] The Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda profiled one victim, a 34-year-old mother who bought the bath oil to share over dinner with her husband. She consumed two shots, which was enough to kill her.[6][32] According to state-owned media, the Russian government gave 13,325 rubles to families of the dead to pay for funerals (about US$199 in 2016).[33]

Treating the victims was made more difficult because fomepizole, a methanol antidote, is not certified for use in Russia and is not available in the country's hospitals. However, some victims survived because they had been drinking other ethanol-based alcohol at the same time as the methanol-laced product, which counteracted the latter.[2]

## Aftermath

[edit]

Irkutsk's mayor Dmitry Berdnikov declared a state of emergency on 19 December.[8][34] By the next day, the Russian government said that it had seized about 2,000 liters (530 U.S. gal) of illegal alcohol, uncovered an underground facility where the bath oil had been produced, and 500 liters (130 U.S. gal) of remaining fraudulent bath oil from around 100 retailers in the Irkutsk area.[27][35] On the 23rd, the state-owned TASS news agency reported that Russian police had seized over 10,000 small bath oil bottles.[36]

Twenty-three people involved in the production of the oil were quickly detained by Russian authorities, including local vendors who sold the product, police officers, and a senior regional government official for the greater Siberian region.[31][37] A further five people were arrested in January 2017 and charged with selling and publicizing surrogate alcohol.[38] In February 2020, the last of 19 individuals jailed or fined for distributing the fraudulent alcohol was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.[39]

After the incident, a spokesperson for Russian president Vladimir Putin called it a "terrible tragedy".[27] They blamed it on a failing of "supervisory bodies".[2] Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev called for a ban on non-traditional alcoholic liquids like bath oils, saying "it's an outrage, and we need to put an end to this".[27] Chairman of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko publicly supported additional regulations on alcohol-containing liquids,[35] and Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Khloponin proposed accomplishing something similar by requiring pharmaceutical prescriptions.[40] Alexei Navalny, an opposition politician, opined that "boyaryshnik is killing more people than terrorist acts did in the whole history of Russia" each year.[8]

Putin announced on 22 December that he supported increasing regulations on products with more than 25 percent alcohol, increasing punishments for anyone who broke alcohol manufacturing and distribution laws,[41] and expanding the alcohol excise tax to alcohol-containing products in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics business sectors.[42][H] "In practice we see what such indulgences lead to: dozens of people dying like flies," Putin said.[14]

On 26 December 2016, Rospotrebnadzor, Russia's government agency devoted to consumer protection, banned all sales of most non-food items with more than 25 percent alcohol (with exceptions for window cleaning liquids and perfume).[1][45][46] Their order was scheduled to run for one month, but they extended it multiple times so that it was in effect nearly every day through 2018.[47] Nevertheless, the exceptions and exclusions in the measure were utilized to keep drinkable medicinal tinctures, antiseptics, and Eau de Cologne on retail shelves, even while bath oils, some kinds of perfume, and other similar products were gone.[48]

In May 2017, the Russian government pegged the minimum legal price of vodka to 205 rubles per half liter (equivalent to about one pint, and US$3.06 in 2016). That was lower than a previously announced price increase to 219,[1] but it was still about 2.4 times the minimum price of vodka in 2011 and 15 rubles more than the price of vodka at the time of the Irkutsk poisoning.[49] Two months later, they strengthened legal punishments for illegally producing and selling alcohol, banned the kind of alcoholic vending machines through which the Irkutsk bath oil was sold, and prohibited online advertisements of alcoholic retailers.[1]

In December 2018, the government passed a new law that ended the ability of retailers to sell non-food items with an ethanol content of 28% or above at a price below that of the legal minimum for vodka and other liquors. The intended effect was to put an end to the ability of cheap surrogate alcohol to economically compete with their regulated alternatives.[50]

## See also

[edit]

* List of methanol poisoning incidents

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b Secondary sources have specified the number of deaths as being 74,[1] 76,[2] and 78.[3] Supporting the 74 figure, scientists Maria Neufeld and Jürgen Rehm noted in January 2018 that a "forensic medical investigation revealed that out of the 78 deceased, 74 died because of methanol poisoning and the rest died because of consumption of large amounts of ethanol."[1] At least one source, an article in the Siberian Medical Journal, gave both 76 and 78.[4]
2. ^ The World Health Organization said that their estimated consumption total covers "recorded and unrecorded alcohol per capital consumption" in individuals aged 15 or higher.[7]
3. ^ Media articles published at the time of the poisoning placed the alcohol content at 93%,[17] or 97%.[18]
4. ^ Methanol is also known as methyl alcohol or wood alcohol, and it has the chemical formula CH3OH.[20]
5. ^ Ethanol is also known as ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol, and it has the chemical formula CH3CH2OH.[20]
6. ^ However, the company head had themselves acquired the methanol illegally and made the windshield fluid with it in place of the legally required isopropanol.[1][21]
7. ^ According to Human Toxicology, the variation in lethal amounts is likely because "the contamination of the consumed liquid with ethanol or later ethanol consumption, as ethanol has a protective effect. Other explanations include notoriously poor histories reported in some of these cases and the differing folate status of patients."[24]
8. ^ Some media articles referred to this as a proposal to decrease alcohol taxes.[43][44]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Neufeld, Maria; Rehm, Jürgen (January 2018). "Effectiveness of policy changes to reduce harm from unrecorded alcohol in Russia between 2005 and now". International Journal of Drug Policy. 51: 1–9. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2017.09.006. PMID 29031132.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p MacFarquhar, Neil (18 February 2017). "Where the Booze Can Kill, and Putin Is Deemed a 'Good Czar'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
3. ^ a b c "В Иркутске число жертв отравления "Боярышником" увеличилось до 78 человек". RIA Novosti (in Russian). 9 January 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
4. ^ a b c d e f Zobnin, Yu.V.; Vygovsky, E.L.; Degtyareva, M.A.; Lyubimov, B.M.; Malykh, A.F.; Teterina, I.P.; Tretyakov, A.B.; Lelyukh, T.D.; Ostapenko, Yu.N. (2017). "Массовое отравление метиловым спиртом в Иркутске в декабре 2016 года" [Mass poisoning with methanol in Irkutsk in December 2016]. Siberian Medical Journal (Irkutsk) (in Russian) (3): 27–36.
5. ^ Movchan, Andrey (2 February 2017). "Decline, Not Collapse: The Bleak Prospects for Russia's Economy". Carnegie Moscow Center. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
6. ^ a b c d e f g Connolly, Nick (25 December 2016). "A city in shock". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
7. ^ a b Poznyak, Vladimir; Rekve, Dag (2018). "Appendix I". Global status report on alcohol and health 2018 (PDF). Geneva: World Health Organization. p. 345\. ISBN 978-92-4-156563-9.
8. ^ a b c Walker, Shaun (19 December 2016). "Siberian city declares emergency as dozens die from drinking alcoholic bath tincture". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
9. ^ Пузырев, Денис; Кравцов, Антон (24 November 2016). "Расследование РБК: как «аптечный алкоголизм» покоряет Россию". RBK Group (in Russian). Archived from the original on 25 November 2016.
10. ^ Walker, Shaun (2018). The Long Hangover: Putin's New Russia and the Ghosts of the Past. Oxford University Press. p. 248\. ISBN 978-0-19-065924-0.
11. ^ Ellyatt, Holly (4 February 2015). "Russia cuts vodka prices on moonshine fears". CNBC. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
12. ^ Andreev, Evgeny; Bogoyavlensky, Dmitri; Stickley, Andrew (11 January 2013). "Comparing Alcohol Mortality in Tsarist and Contemporary Russia: Is the Current Situation Historically Unique?". Alcohol and Alcoholism. 48 (2): 215–221. doi:10.1093/alcalc/ags132. ISSN 0735-0414.
13. ^ Stickley, A.; Leinsalu, M.; Andreev, E.; Razvodovsky, Y.; Vagero, D.; McKee, M. (1 October 2007). "Alcohol poisoning in Russia and the countries in the European part of the former Soviet Union, 1970 2002". The European Journal of Public Health. 17 (5): 444–449. doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckl275. ISSN 1101-1262.
14. ^ a b c Luhn, Alec (22 December 2016). "72 Russians have died this week from drinking bath oil because they couldn't afford real alcohol". Vice. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
15. ^ "Russia bath lotion poisoning: Number of dead rises to 58". BBC News. 21 December 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
16. ^ a b c Filipov, David; Schmidt, Samantha (25 October 2021). "Nearly 50 people dead from alcohol poisoning after drinking bath oil in Siberian city". Washington Post. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
17. ^ Nechepurenko, Ivan (22 December 2016). "After 72 Die, Putin Tightens Limits on Consumer Products High in Alcohol". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
18. ^ Липчинская, Ольга (23 December 2016). "Экспертиза "КП": чем отличается настойка боярышника от других средств с таким же названием". Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian). Retrieved 19 August 2024.
19. ^ Kupfer, Matthew (25 November 2016). "Reports Show Russia's Illegal 'Pharmacy-Alcohol' Industry Is Booming". The Moscow Times. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
20. ^ a b c Wade, Leroy G. "Physical properties of alcohols". Britannica. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
21. ^ a b "Суд ограничился штрафом поставщику метанола для погубившего 76 иркутян "Боярышника"" (in Russian). Interfax. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
22. ^ a b Nechepurenko, Ivan (19 December 2016). "In Russia, Dozens Die After Drinking Alcohol Substitute". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 19 December 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
23. ^ Ashurst, John V.; Nappe, Thomas M. (12 June 2023). Methanol Toxicity. StatPearls. PMID 29489213. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
24. ^ a b Jacobsen, D.; McMartin, K.E. (1996). "Alcohols and glycols". Human Toxicology. Elsevier. pp. 623–648. doi:10.1016/b978-044481557-6/50026-5. ISBN 978-0-444-81557-6. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
25. ^ "Отравление «Боярышником»: хронология". Irk.ru/Irkutsk Online (in Russian). 19 December 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
26. ^ "Отравление метанолом в Иркутске: главное за неделю". Irk.ru/Irkutsk Online (in Russian). 24 December 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
27. ^ a b c d e f Isachenkov, Vladimir (19 December 2016). "Alcohol poisoning death toll in Russian city rises to 49". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
28. ^ "Death toll in Siberian mass alcohol poisoning case rises to 52". Reuters. 20 December 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
29. ^ Reevell, Patrick (21 December 2016). "62 Die in Siberia After Drinking Counterfeit Bath Oil". ABC News. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
30. ^ "Death Toll From Alcohol Poisoning Rises To 74 In Irkutsk". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
31. ^ a b Hobson, Peter (27 December 2016). Roche, Andrew (ed.). "Russia opens criminal case into official after 77 die of alcohol poisoning". Reuters. Archived from the original on 19 July 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
32. ^ Синьков, Андрей (22 December 2016). "Отец погибшей от суррогата иркутянки: «Моя дочь не была алкоголичкой, она стала жертвой преступников»". Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian).
33. ^ "Семьи погибших от «Боярышника» получат компенсации от иркутских властей". Argumenty i Fakty (in Russian). 23 December 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
34. ^ "Dozens Dead In Siberia After Drinking Body Lotion; Seven Arrested". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 19 December 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
35. ^ a b "Продавцы убившего 26 человек в Иркутске "Боярышника" задержаны". BBC News Русская служба (in Russian). 20 December 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
36. ^ "Some 10,000 bottles of poisonous bath lotion seized in Siberia's Irkutsk". TASS. 22 December 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
37. ^ "Suspected Surrogate Alcohol Supplier Arrested in Irkutsk". The Moscow Times. 23 December 2016. Archived from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
38. ^ "Counterfeit Alcohol Producers Arrested in Siberia". The Moscow Times. 31 January 2017. Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
39. ^ "Supplier Of Deadly Bath Lotion In Siberia Jailed". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 28 February 2020. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
40. ^ "Alcohol-Based Medicines to Need Prescriptions After Siberian Poisoning Tragedy". The Moscow Times. 22 December 2016. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
41. ^ Walker, Shaun (21 December 2016). "Vladimir Putin orders clampdown on 'surrogate' alcohol as deaths rise". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
42. ^ Новости, Р. И. А. (21 December 2016). "Путин: нужно повышать акцизы, а не продавать флакончики за три копейки". RIA Novosti (in Russian). Retrieved 16 August 2024.
43. ^ Kottasova, Ivana (22 December 2016). "Putin cracks down on moonshine amid poisoning crisis". CNN Business. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
44. ^ "Putin Plans Alcohol Tax Cuts After Siberian Poisoning Tragedy". The Moscow Times. 21 December 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
45. ^ "Russia Suspends Sale of Non-Food Products Containing Alcohol". The Moscow Times. 26 December 2016. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
46. ^ "Russia Extends Restrictions on Sale of Alcohol Products After Mass Poisoning". The Moscow Times. 25 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
47. ^ Neufeld, Maria; Rehm, Jürgen (April 2018). "Newest policy developments regarding surrogate alcohol consumption in Russia". International Journal of Drug Policy. 54: 58–59. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2017.11.013.
48. ^ Gil, Artyom; Savchuk, Sergey; Appolonova, Svetlana; Allenov, Andrey; Khalfin, Ruslan (20 April 2021). "Availability of non-beverage alcohols in Russia in 2015–2020: Were control policies implemented since 2005 effective?" (PDF). Journal of Law, Public Policies, and Human Sciences. 2 (2): 08–34. doi:10.52571/JLPPHS.v02.n02.pgi.08.2021.
49. ^ Neufeld, Maria; Rehm, Jürgen (January 2018). "Effectiveness of policy changes to reduce harm from unrecorded alcohol in Russia between 2005 and now". International Journal of Drug Policy. 51: Appendix A./Web supplementary data. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2017.09.006. PMID 29031132.
50. ^ Neufeld, Maria; Bobrova, Anastacia; Davletov, Kairat; Štelemėkas, Mindaugas; Stoppel, Relika; Ferreira‐Borges, Carina; Breda, João; Rehm, Jürgen (March 2021). "Alcohol control policies in Former Soviet Union countries: A narrative review of three decades of policy changes and their apparent effects". Drug and Alcohol Review. 40 (3): 350–367. doi:10.1111/dar.13204. ISSN 0959-5236. PMC 7936953. PMID 33155370.`{{cite journal}}`: CS1 maint: PMC format (link)

## Further reading

[edit]

* Lachenmeier, Dirk W.; Neufeld, Maria; Rehm, Jürgen (15 February 2021). "The Impact of Unrecorded Alcohol Use on Health: What Do We Know in 2020?". Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. 82 (1): 28–41. doi:10.15288/jsad.2021.82.28. PMID 33573720. S2CID 231901412.