Hawkarcher's Link
I was curious about the possibility of inhaling enough airborne fentanyl to cause an overdose. First, I found that a lethal dose is generally considered around 2 milligrams. Then I found an article by the Medical College of Toxicology that stated:
"Industrial producers of fentanyl use time-weighted average occupational exposure limits (OEL-TWA) for alfentanil (1 mcg/m3? ?), fentanyl (0.1 mcg/m3? ?), and sufentanil (0.032 mcg/m3? ?) to limit exposure [17]. At the highest airborne concentration encountered by workers, an unprotected individual would require nearly 200 minutes of exposure to reach a dose of 100 mcg of fentanyl.". (see link)
https://www.acmt.net/_Library/Positions/Fentanyl_PPE_Emergency_Responders_.pdf
100 micrograms is 0.1 milligrams. So, if my math is correct, someone would have to be exposed to airborne fentanyl for 4000 hours to inhale a lethal 2 milligram dose.
It seems unlikely that the officer inhaled enough fentanyl to cause the reaction stated in this report. I suspect he did something stupid, like stick his finger in the powder to taste it, or he smelled the stuff at close range and basically snorted it up his nose.
BTW, I'm certainly no advocate of opiates, but I understand how people can get hooked on the stuff. I recently broke 5 ribs and punctured a lung. The docs inserted a tube into my chest to drain the blood that was collecting in my chest cavity. When they removed the tube, 4 days later, they gave me fentanyl for the procedure. I didn't even feel the tube being removed. Afterwards, I felt great. No pain, lots of energy, and generally in a good mood. The nurses warned me that wouldn't last long. Sure enough, about 4 hours later, I was in miserable pain again. The stuff is dangerously affective for pain relief.
Matt
