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Darwin Awards
2008 Slush Pile

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Man dies from mercury poisoning aft

2008 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

http://www.durantdemocrat.com/articles/2008/04/01/news/doc47f14876d8777987127925.txt

By MATT SWEARENGIN SENIOR Staff Writer Published: Tuesday, April 1, 2008 11:45 AM CDT A man who was poisoned March 19 while trying to use mercury to extract gold from computer parts has died and the home is so contaminated that it cannot be lived in, an emergency official said.

Tony Winnett, 55, died Saturday at a Tulsa hospital. Durant/Bryan County Emergency Management Director James Dalton said the Environmental Protection Agency finished its investigation over the weekend and ruled the home is not liveable.

The home is located on Winnett Road southeast of Colbert. Winnett and Melissa Lake drove themselves to the hospital after inhaling mercury vapors, according to authorities.

Lake was treated at the Medical Center of Southeastern Oklahoma and later released, but Winnett was flown to the Tulsa hospital. According to Dalton, Lake has suffered respiratory problems that are still lingering, but officials believe she will be okay.

Mercury has a chemical reaction with gold and causes it to separate, according to Dalton. Authorities believe the couple heated the mercury and accidentally inhaled it.

The home was immediately cordoned off after the incident. Dalton said he did not know how much mercury was inside the home, but the residence would have to be gutted before it could ever be used again.

“We’re going to be in touch with the health department and the district attorney’s office on what type of action we have to take to abate it,” Dalton said.

A funeral service for Winnett will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Church of Christ in Colbert.

Submitted on 04/01/2008

Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference: Durant Daily Democrat 04/01/2008

Copyright © 2008 DarwinAwards.com

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Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
A perfect example of making sure you know exactly what you're doing before you go doing it. Thanks for sending this in!


James said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
What a waste of a life...and all for a few micro-grams of gold. Kids, don't try this at home!


$5 Darwin Fish.
6" x 2.25" Silver Emblem like those commonly seen on cars
only way sexier. A cute fish, floating belly-up, illustrating
the mechanism of natural selection. Minimum order is 2.
  

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