As a followup, the main active component of chili peppers is capsaicin,
IUPAC Name 8-methyl-N-vanillyl-trans-nonenamide
, CAS 404-86-4. Chilis also contain several related chemical comp
ounds known as capsaicinoids.
There is actually a rating scale for the "hottness" of chilis:
; the Scoville scale. Pur capsaicin has a Scoville rating of 16 M
illion, while jalapeno peppers have a rating of about 2,500 and the hab
anero pepper, said to be the hottest, rates from 300,000-500,00&nbs
p;Scoville units.
C&E News had an article on this in the November 3, 2003 issu
e which was quoted on-line in Science Daily: http://www/sciencedaily
.com/releases/2003/11/031104064123.htm.
There's also an informative entry on Capsaicin in Wikipedia.
Given the molecular formula of capsaicin of C18H27NO3 and its Molar Mass of
305.41 g/mol, I would suspect it and similar compounds would not be dete
cted by the types of instruments usually carried by HAZMAT responders.
;
That ought to be enough on this topic from the peanut gallery here in Laram
ie, WY.
Alan
Alan H. Hall, M.D.
Date: April
25, 2011 2:03:33 PM EDT
Subject: RE: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google
I will say t
hat I remember working in a major Emergency Department in El Paso, Texas
many years back when we had quite a large number of late-middle aged Hispan
ic women coming in complaining of chest tightness and chest pain. After about the 4th ot 5th one
, we got smart enough to ask them if they were working, and if so, wh
ere.
Turned out t
hat it was the end of the chili growing season there and they were all empl
oyed as temps in chopping and roasting chilis for a mexican food plant in A
nthony, Texas. A si
te visit gave me the same symptoms.&
nbsp; After some discussions with management, ventilation was si
gnificantly improved and the "epidemic" of what looked clinically rather li
ke angina chest pain disappeared.
Even driving
by on I-25 near Hatch, NM which arguably grows some of the hottest chili
s in America during the roasting season is sufficient to cause eye and uppe
r airway irritation.
And yes, a
s an ol' boy who spend a lot of years practicing medicine on the US-Mexico
border, I love to eat chilis!
I would also
doubt that standard HAZMAT team detection gear would detect the various ir
ritant organic compounds released from roasting chilis, but maybe someone
who knows detection devices better than I do could comment.
Maybe the ne
ighbor should just have made a big pot of chili con queso and invited every
one over for a picnic?
Alan<
/DIV>
Alan H. Hall
, M.D.
Date: Mon,
25 Apr 2011 10:14:03 -0400
Subject: Re:
[DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google
Re: fumes ca
used by heating chilies.
=93The Hazmat unit was unable to
detect the cause of the fumes because it was organic=85..=94
HUH?
I=92m a bit at a loss.<
SPAN class=ecxApple-converted-space> I would crack a joke
about the chilies being raised without the use of pesticides, but the sta
tement shows such a lack of understanding that it=92s almost scary. I hope it was the reporter t
hat was clueless and not the people entrusted to make knowledgeable decisio
ns about potentially hazardous situations.
Kay Calhoun<
/FONT>
