Chapter 9: Solvents and hydrocarbons · Part 3: Petroleum hydrocarbons
Butane and propane
- Contaminant risk
The worst fact: of 164 Australian deaths from sniffing solvents in 2000–2021, butane was the substance most often detected (40.7% of cases tested), and propane was found in 25.9%. The most common source was gas fuels such as lighter refills (35.4% of deaths), well ahead of aerosol propellants (12.8%), and the authors concluded many deaths were probably extremely rapid. The NSW Poisons Information Centre took 752 calls about recreational inhaling of hydrocarbons in 2010–2020; where age was recorded, 67% involved children or adolescents.
Why brands use them: squashed into a liquid inside the can, they push the product out as a fine spray.
Take care if: you have teenagers, or are near a flame. Aerosol labels say "Pressurized container: Do not pierce or burn, even after use", and not to spray near a flame. Australia classes both as "Extremely flammable gas". If someone collapses after inhaling, start CPR straight away: survival is far better with immediate bystander CPR and defibrillation.
Comes from: natural gas processing and oil refining.
Myth check: "The can's empty when it stops spraying": not necessarily. Empty and partly full cans are still under pressure and may explode if crushed or heated. And aerosols aren't CFCs: Australian aerosols mostly switched from CFCs to hydrocarbon propellants in the 1980s.
Contaminants: 1,3-butadiene. Butane containing 0.1% or more is classed in Australia as "May cause genetic defects; May cause cancer". It's unlikely in a well-made product, but it's a factor you can't see on the label.
Fair to say: Canada's assessment found everyday exposure to these gases isn't harmful to health. The deaths come from deliberate sniffing, not normal spraying.
Correct as of November 2026. What the badges mean
Sources
- Safe Work Australia. Hazardous Chemical Information System (HCIS): classifications for each chemical, and for ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, epichlorohydrin, benzene, 1,3-butadiene-containing butane and 1,2-dichloroethane. Workplace exposure standards (amended November 2025) and workplace exposure limits (July 2025). Labelling of workplace hazardous chemicals code of practice (2015). Trichloroethylene health monitoring guide.
- Australian Government. Australian CFC Management Strategy (2001).
- Health Canada / Environment and Climate Change Canada. Screening assessment: ethane, propane, isobutane, butane (2017).
- Darke S et al. Volatile solvent misuse-related death in Australia, 2000–2021. Clin Toxicol 2023;61:260-265.
- Berling I, Chiew AL, Brown JA. Inhalant use in Australia: poisons centre calls and deaths. Addiction 2023;118:1370-1375.
- Berling I, Isbister GK. Sudden sniffing death. Addiction 2025;120:1884-1888.
The full source list is at the end of Chapter 9.