KOAT

TAOS, N.M. — A 36-year-old man died at a Taos Hospital after consuming 1.5 pounds of aluminum phosphide, a rat poison that becomes a deadly gas called phosphine when it comes in contact with water.

"It turns into a strong acid as it touches the inside of the lungs," said Dr. Per Bjorkman, an emergency room physician. "It can put the lungs out of commission."

It all started when the man was brought straight to the emergency room by a family member after ingesting the rat poison doctors say is illegal to buy in the United States without a license.

Read Full Story: Man overdoses, vomit contaminates Taos hospital