Doctor 1: Yes, just as I thought. Traces of hydrogen sulphide. We know he worked at the rayon textile plant at Wayville.
Doctor 2: [eagerly] He was poisoned!
Doctor 1: In a manner of speaking, he was. Hydrogen sulphide is a byproduct of dozens of industries: Pulp mills, municipal sewers, coal-fired power stations and rayon textile factories. It's been known to trigger asthma problems and can be toxic in levels as low as one part per million.
Doctor 2: You think he died from an asthma attack as a result of toxic poisoning?
Doctor 1: I'm suggesting it was a contributing factor. He was asthmatic and subject to toxic environmental air pollution. He had a history of skin complaints and respiratory problems. You have to take these things into consideration. What we have here is clearly a case of environmental hypersensitivity leading to this man's demise.
Doctor 2: What are you talking about?
Doctor 1: We all live and work within a cocktail of airborne poisons. Synthetic carpets can emit traces of formaldehyde gas for years. Talcum powder contains asbestos. There's benzene in steel soap pads, phenols in skin cream.
Doctor 2: Well, these are present in insignificant amounts. It is irresponsible to blow these things out of proportion.
Doctor 1: I'm afraid our Dr. Hope is missing the point again, Susan. The amounts appear to be small, but over a number of years and in combination with other things, we don't know what can result. Did you know, for instance, that every time we fill up our cars with gas, hydrocarbons escape into the air, adding up to billions of litres of gas each year? Or look at a typical house. Paint remover, furniture wax, clothes back from the dry cleaner, all emit gases that accumulate in homes made airtight to conserve energy. They can transform your house into a toxic cesspool. And we go to work each day breathing in car exhaust, diesel fumes, pesticide-soaked dust from farmers' fields, second hand cigarette smoke... These things affect people in different ways. My uncle Larry gets sick in airplanes just from the recycled air. I can't read a fresh newspaper without sneezing because of the ammonia in the ink. These are all contributing factors to our long-term health and, I maintain, probably a factor in the death of our Mr. Treebridge here.
Doctor 2: Wait a minute... What the-?
[She takes out a peanut from the corpse's mouth]
Doctor 1: [deflated] A peanut.
