THE discovery of a significant number of large nitrous oxide canisters on the Pass Road in Caherdavin this week has been deemed “deeply concerning” by local councillors.
Nitrous oxide, which has a number of industrial and medical uses, is known by people who use it as ‘laughing gas’, ‘whippets’, ‘chargers’, and ‘balloons’. The media has also termed this substance, which when used in large quantities can displace the oxygen in the lungs and lead to asphyxia, as ‘hippy crack’.
Posing both immediate and long-term risks, health experts warn that there is no “safe” level of use, and the more people use the higher the risk of harm. Using large amounts of the gas can lead to nitrous oxide poisoning and other serious conditions.
A recent study published in the American Journal of Neuroradiology, led by a consultant neuroradiologist at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, pointed to an “alarming” spike in the number of young people in Ireland ending up with spinal cord damage and lasting injuries from inhaling nitrous oxide. Researchers found cases of spinal cord damage caused by nitrous oxide have “spiked significantly” since the Covid-19 pandemic.
When contacted for comment about the canisters dumped in Caherdavin, Aontú councillor Sarah Beasley said that illegal dumping a blight on the community.
“It’s costing Limerick over €3.2million over the past five years – with last year alone costing €709,847. What’s worse is that people are getting more and more brazen about it.
These images of nitrous oxide canisters dumped on the Pass Road are a case in point. There’s absolutely no care that these have been discarded like this for anyone to come across, including small children. It’s a complete disregard for the community,” Cllr Beasley declared.
The City North representative also deemed the sheer volume of canisters dumped on the Pass Road as deeply concerning.
“A lot of young people think nitrous oxide – laughing gas – is harmless fun, but it’s not. In 2020, a 15-year-old Dublin boy, Alex Ryan Morrissey, died after inhaling it. His heartbroken father warned others to stay away from what he called a ‘lethal drug.’ His son didn’t survive after taking just one canister,” she added.
Hospital admissions for neurological damage from nitrous oxide have quadrupled in Ireland over the past four years, according to a study published in the Irish Times last month. The use of the gas can cause nerve damage, paralysis, vitamin B12 deficiency, serious life-changing conditions, and in some cases, death.
“What really worries me is that the GardaÃ’s Medical Bureau of Road Safety doesn’t currently test for nitrous oxide. So if a young driver or someone on an e-bike or e-scooter is impaired by laughing gas and causes a fatal collision, it would go completely undetected. With the number of young people on our roads and the volume of canisters we’re seeing dumped around Limerick, that’s a massive concern for road safety.
“Until possession of nitrous oxide is made illegal, we’re going to keep seeing these catastrophic incidents increase. The current law only tackles sale and supply for psychoactive use – it does absolutely nothing about personal possession or people actually using it,” Beasley told the Limerick Post.
Social Democrats councillor Shane Hickey-O’Mara described the recent illegal dumping of the nitrous oxide canisters in Caherdavin as “disgraceful” – in terms of the environmental concerns it raises as well as how dispiriting it is for local residents who take great pride in their local community.
“The recreational use of nitrous oxide, or ‘laughing gas’, is on the rise, particularly among young people, and we need to see a national information campaign to inform people of all ages about it’s prevalence and, crucially, the long term health affects that can result from it’s misuse,” Cllr Hickey-O’Mara opined.