diethylene glycol

American  

[dahy-eth-uh-leen glahy-kawl, ‐kol] / daɪˈɛθ əˌlin ˈglaɪ kɔl, ‐kɒl /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a syrupy colorless liquid, C 4 H 10 O 3 , used as a solvent for nitrocellulose and as a fabric softener.

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diethylene glycol British  

/ daɪˈɛθɪˌliːn ˈɡlaɪkɒl /

noun

1. a colourless soluble, poisonous liquid used as a solvent. Formula: (C 2 H 4 OH) 2 O

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Etymology

Origin of diethylene glycol

First recorded in 1925–30; di- ¹ + ethylene

Example Sentences

In 2023, Indian syrups tainted with diethylene glycol were linked to the deaths of 70 children in The Gambia and 18 in Uzbekistan.

From BBC

Privately held Swiss drugmaker Similasan has previously been asked by the agency to meet relevant safety limits for levels of diethylene glycol or ethylene glycol, two common contaminants in some medicines, as they could lead to lethal poisoning at higher levels.

From Reuters

The samples of the cough syrup collected in Ramnagar and sent for testing to a lab in Chandigarh had "more than 34% diethylene glycol," Jammu and Kashmir drug controller Lotika Khajuria told the BBC.

From BBC

In their book, The Truth Pill, health expert Dinesh Thakur and advocate Prashant Reddy write that India's first recorded case of diethylene glycol poisoning was in 1972, when 15 children died in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

From BBC

Since then, there have been "mass poisoning events" in several Indian states, they say, adding that the death tolls may be much higher as diethylene glycol poisoning is hard to diagnose.

From BBC