Dust-Off

  Dust-Off is a brand of gas duster (refrigerant-based propellant cleaner, which is not compressed air and incorrectly called "canned air") containing difluoroethane; it is used to remove particulates and dust from computers and electronic equipment. Some customers buy Dust-Off just to clean dust and debris from hard to reach areas. Dust-Off is manufactured by Falcon Safety Products. The product has also gained attention as it has been abused as an inhalant by teenagers, as seen in the movie Thirteen. A warning email has been circulated by Jeff Williams, a police officer in Cleveland, Ohio, whose son, Kyle, died after inhaling Dust-Off in Painesville Township, Ohio. ^[1]

Additional recommended knowledge

Weighing the right way

Essential Laboratory Skills Guide

What is the Correct Way to Check Repeatability in Balances?

Falcon has now added a bitterant to the product to deter inhalation, probably in response to the above and other cases.  

References

1. ^ Riverside High School continues to grieve. The News-Herald. Retrieved on 2006-06-10.