New Jersey Turns Up the Heat on Antifreeze

by Stephanie Feldstein · 2010-01-18 08:00:00 UTC
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The Garden State just became the 10th state to make antifreeze less tasty.

Due to its sweet smell and taste, the antifreeze chemical ehtylene glycol poisons an estimated 10,000 animals (and 1,400 children) every year. The common scenario is that antifreeze is accidentally spilled or left in open containers, or occasionally leaks from the car, and animals lap up the sweet liquid.

The New Jersey bill calls for the addition of denatonium benzoate, a bitter agent which makes it far less appealing.

New Jersey joins Arizona, California, Maine, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, and Washington; Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Ohio have bills on the table. Some of those states never see ice outside their kitchen freezers, which may have made it easier to move the law through the system. Although antifreeze gets all the attention, ethylene glycol is a problem in coolant, too.

With states requiring addition of the bitter agent, pressure is mounting on manufacturers to simply change the product ... even if it does cost them 2-3 cents more per gallon. Though they should swallow the cost, the companies will probably pass it on to the consumer. For me personally, keeping my dogs safe and my car running in the winter is worth a lot more than a handful of change.

Photo credit: marbla123

Stephanie Feldstein is a Change.org Editor who has been part of the animal welfare and rescue community for over a decade, and most recently worked for an environmental organization.
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