For their study, Hinz and her colleagues enlisted the help of the New Zealand customs authority. Staff used probes, which they pushed through the rubber seals of the container doors, to collect gas samples from 490 sealed containers. Hinz also gathered air samples from dozens of other containers herself, tracking how the concentrations of compounds changed in real time as the containers were opened and the air inside allowed to mix with fresh outside air.
The investigation revealed plenty of nasty substances. The customs authority staff found methyl bromide, the compound that overwhelmed the Rotterdam dockworkers, in 3.5 percent of the sealed containers. They found formaldehyde in 81 percent of
→ Continue reading at Wired - Science