Heartland man tragically dies of apparent palytoxin poisoning hours after cleaning aquarium

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Reefing_addiction

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HEARTLAND, Texas — A Heartland man tragically died of apparent palytoxin poisoning hours after cleaning his household saltwater aquatic tank.

On Sunday, February 21, 2021, at approximately 8:52 p.m., the Dallas Fire Department's HAZMAT team was asked to respond, as mutual aid with the Crandall Police Department and Crandall Fire Department, to a home located in the 2100 block of Long Forest Road in the Heartland community.

There, Crandall Police Department Chief Dean Winters confirms to inForney.com a resident was exposed to palytoxin while cleaning a saltwater aquatic tank.

The resident, later identified by family and friends as Marlon Linton, was transported by CareFlite to a Dallas hospital. Linton was later pronounced deceased.


In addition to the Dallas Fire-Rescue HAZMAT team, Winters says a biologist who is familiar with the aquatic life that can present palytoxin was dispatched to the residence.

"Palytoxin is known to be a dangerous and often deadly toxin which can cause significant morbidity and mortality," according to a 2015 research journal published by Hindawi. "Cases of human exposure have been documented from ingestion of contaminated seafood, dermal exposure, and inhalational exposure. This rare toxin which is most often found in soft corals and dinoflagellates has been definitively identified in zoanthid corals found both in the homes of collectors and for sale commercially."

Linton was remembered by family and friends as a devoted father and husband.

 
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These stories are typically very vague... FILLED with holes

What exactly was he doing? Last time I read an article like this the genius boiled his LIVE ROCK ON THE STOVE..............
All it says is he was cleaning his tank. Either way it is a good reminder for people to be careful
 

((FORDTECH))

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These stories are typically very vague... FILLED with holes

What exactly was he doing? Last time I read an article like this the genius boiled his LIVE ROCK ON THE STOVE..............
He was boiling them so he can eat them.....
 

ThePurple12

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Articles like this generate clicks. Because theres no back story.

He wasn't simply cleaning his tank he was doing something else. All seasoned hobbyists know this.
Most people, who aren't hobbyists, aren't going to care about/understand the details. It's enough to say "he was cleaning his saltwater tank"
 

((FORDTECH))

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Most people, who aren't hobbyists, aren't going to care about/understand the details.
Most Noobs now who read this will ask 100 questions and won’t want to put Zoa in their tanks because they’re worried about dying I’m tired of reading articles about this
 

Sarcazian

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I find this interesting that as HAZMAT team got involved, but I have to say this article did come at the wrong time. I have been researching the risks since I am getting back in the hobby and sorry to hear that someone died. Especially, when some of the threads here talk about about as uncommon as dying from drinking bleach.

Years ago, I fragged with only gloves on... but the tank was in a very open area. Now my tank (13.5G soon stuffed with zoas) is with me in a 12x12 office 12 hours a day with very little airflow.

I also don't like wearing gloves and I prefer to syphon the WC water into the bucket the old fashion way.
 

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I just bought 3 zoa polyps from lfs and now I’m scared to death to put my hands in my tank. What should I do. Should I throw them in the garbage. Should I wear a hazmat suit to handle them. If I blow up my house will they die and I be ok...I’m not making fun of the fact that dude died that is very sad but this stuff sends some people to go crazy is all I’m saying
 

Jimmyneptune

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It would be nice to have more info on the whole story. What we do is relatively safe with caution like woodworking, home repair or remodeling, or working on cars its "safe" if you take care and know what your doing. The more we know the more we can be aware of the right way to care for our reefs. I want all you guys yo live long lives.
Your the ones who think I am least crazy for doing what I do.
 

Crashnt24

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RIP fellow reefer. Although I agree we shouldn't dismiss that someone died. We shouldn't also dismiss that scraping glass or pulling GHA will not cause this type of poisoning. Articles never cater to the hobbyist who knows the limits. The writer has probably never had a reef tank.

Everyone should chill and know the limitations of dealing with coral. Unfortunately someone died, fortunately we have a large community to help people learn what they have and how to handle it.
 

saltybees

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At least he went out doing what he loves?
no regrets GIF
 

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It would be nice to have some details. Palytoxin is serious, but I've worked with zoa's and paly's pretty extensively with the barest of precautions and have never had a reaction. Maybe some folks are more susceptible than others. I'm personally more concerned with making sure I have fresh carbon running for the tank when working with them than I am for my own wellbeing. Maybe I should be more careful.
 

Sebastiancrab

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It would be nice to have some details. Palytoxin is serious, but I've worked with zoa's and paly's pretty extensively with the barest of precautions and have never had a reaction. Maybe some folks are more susceptible than others. I'm personally more concerned with making sure I have fresh carbon running for the tank when working with them than I am for my own wellbeing. Maybe I should be more careful.
Is it possible for some people to have an allergic reaction?
 

tehmadreefer

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I just bought 3 zoa polyps from lfs and now I’m scared to death to put my hands in my tank. What should I do. Should I throw them in the garbage. Should I wear a hazmat suit to handle them. If I blow up my house will they die and I be ok...I’m not making fun of the fact that dude died that is very sad but this stuff sends some people to go crazy is all I’m saying
Send them to me, I’ll dispose of them properly ;)
 
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