News Excerpt:
Recently, Methanol Used Toxic Liquor consumed in Tamilnadu that killed more than 50 persons in Kallakurichi (TN).
More about the news:
- Ethanol used in liquor is replaced by methanol which killed more than 50 people.
- Almost all the postmortem reports of the victims attribute the cause to methanol consumption.
- It claimed the lives of at least 56 persons including women and a transperson.
- More than 100 others have been hospitalized at government hospitals in Kallakurichi, Villupuram, Salem and Puducherry JIPMER.
How are ethanol, methanol made?
- Ethanol is legal liquor for consumption which is produced biologically and can be edible, whereas methanol is produced from fuels such as coal in India which is poisonous.
- Even very low concentrations of methanol can be toxic, often fatal.
- During ethanol production in responsible distilleries, methanol is also produced but is carefully removed since the processes are highly controlled.
- However, methanol is needed to produce a range of products that are highly useful
How did methanol mixed in liquor?
- It is possible that methanol formed during the crude distillation process, adopted by the bootleggers at Kallakurichi, wasn’t removed, leading to methanol poisoning.
- However, the widespread nature of contamination and scale of the Kallakurichi tragedy suggests that methanol was procured and supplied separately, either as part of a brew or alone in a diluted form.
Way forward:
- The need for strong central legislation that can work with State legislation.
- The implementation of laws holds the key, especially when there are plans to ramp up the production of both ethanol and methanol for use as cheaper, eco-friendly alternatives to petrol and diesel for transportation.
- The NITI Aayog has talked of ramping up methanol production from two metric tonnes to 20, therefore both methanol and ethanol should be kept separate and not allowing any pilferage should be a national priority.
