Discarded cans of Nitrous Oxide, commonly known as ‘laughing gas’ are a serious concern in parts of Dún Laoghaire and pose considerable threats to people’s safety.
That’s according to Aontú candidate for the constituency, Mairead Tóibín, who says she was shocked at the number of cans strewn along the ground of a housing estate, one of which was unopened.
She says
“While sadly it’s no longer rare to see large, discarded canisters thrown around, I was genuinely concerned to see several large, discarded canisters along a path in a housing estate. One of the canisters was unopened, which is a real worry. The canisters were so close to houses”.
“There is no easy way to dispose of these, they are pressurised containers and may explode if crushed or thrown onto a bonfire, with potentially disastrous consequences”.
“Given we’re coming up to Halloween, it’s a more pressing issue”
“There is a real concern that another young person will die or be left with a serious injury following inhalation of Nitrous Oxide or ‘laughing gas’. Despite its innocuous name, inhaling the gas from these canisters can force users to stop breathing. Every year users end up in hospital suffering injury while others may suffer hallucinations or paranoia following its use”.
“I am asking people to be vigilant over the next few weeks and to collect these if dumped and return to local Garda stations”.
