A 14-year-old Lithuanian schoolboy who came to Ireland to visit his mother, who worked on a mushroom farm in Co Cavan, died as a result of hydrogen sulphide poisoning while helping a man who was moving mushroom waste from the farm.
The inquest at Cavan Coroner's Court yesterday heard that a sample of the used mushroom compost had tested positive for hydrogen sulphide, as had the boy's blood and urine.
After the jury returned a verdict of accidental death, the coroner, Dr Mary Flanagan, issued a warning about the dangers of moving such material.
The court heard that Felix McGovern rented a house next to his own home at Drumcondra, Swanlinbar, to Rosa Grundiene and her partner.
On August 8th, 2005, her son, Justinas Gleiznys, was staying with her. That day Mr McGovern was using a digger to transfer used mushroom compost from beside Mellanophy's mushroom farm in Drumcondra into a lorry with rigid sides. He then drove it to local farmers who used it on their land.
The boy used to travel with him in the lorry and was, Mr McGovern said, "a friendly and lively young lad". Justinas joined him around 9.30am that day as he worked.
Around 2pm they returned to the compost heap. Justinas was standing in the trailer of the lorry watching as the compost was transferred and he took out any plastic or debris he saw.
Around 2.30pm Mr McGovern did not see Justinas when he moved the digger around towards the lorry. He found Justinas lying on his side, having apparently fallen on top of the compost.
The boy's body was limp and Mr McGovern ran to Mellanophy's farm for help. Fruit and vegetable distributor Kevin Prior ran to the lorry, which was around 275m (300 yards) from the main farm and found no signs of life.
Justinas's mother, along with other workers from the farm, arrived on the scene and she identified him to gardaí. He was pronounced dead at the scene by a doctor and his body removed to Cavan General Hospital.
A number of witnesses spoke about getting a strong smell of rotten eggs at the scene and pathologist Dr Deborah Condell said that was from the hydrogen sulphide, a colourless gas with a fetid odour that occurs as a result of anaerobic decomposition.
It causes rapid loss of consciousness, breathing to cease and can cause cardiac failure and death, she told Ms Grundiene.
The day was hot and humid with no breeze and it was possible that Justinas bent forward to pick up something and lost consciousness, Dr Condell said. Hydrogen sulphide is a gas heavier than air and Justinas was surrounded on four sides and was effectively in a semi-enclosed space, so the levels of the gas would have been high, she added.
The court heard that inspectors from the Health and Safety Authority attended the scene and carried out tests.
Dr Condell said cyanide was also detected in Justinas's blood and urine but can come from a number of sources including composting and being in the company of people who smoked.
The coroner advised the jury that the appropriate verdict was accidental and afterwards said it was "a very exceptional and unusual situation". It had happened before and care should be taken "especially as people do get into their trailers unaware of the potential for danger".
Dr Condell suggested the Health and Safety Authority should look at the issue.
Speaking afterwards Ms Grundiene said Justinas was her only son and the day before his death her partner had told her that she was "the luckiest woman and had her son here", but that all changed and ended in tragedy.
"We were all here together and this luck ended in tragedy," she said.