The Massachusetts State Senate unanimously passed a bill on Tuesday that would require wholesalers of Pets are exposed to ethylene glycol that leaks from vehicles on streets and in drivewaysanti-freeze and engine coolants to add an unpleasant bitter taste to their products to prevent pets from drinking the poisonous liquid. Currently more than 90,000 pet deaths each year are attributed to the drinking of anti-freeze and coolants.
Animals can die within hours from drinking fairly small amounts of these liquids. Pets are attracted to the sweet smelling liquids and will lap it up, not knowing that it is toxic. They usually get into the substances that have leaked out of vehicles onto driveways and streets. Amounts as small as a tablespoon can kill a 10-pound cat or dog.
Two years ago the state legislature passed a law that covered the adding of a bittering agent to one gallon and five gallon containers of anti-freeze and coolant. The new bill adds that the agent must also be added to the 55-gallon drums that are often used by garages and dealerships.
The bill now moves on to the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
Source: The MetroWest Daily News