Are you having more difficulty in sourcing chemicals?

"Finally, we have found the Lost City of Acrolein!"
Credit: cageclub.me

This was an interesting comment by Dan Singleton at Texas A&M about the difficulty of sourcing basic organic chemicals. (Recently, he had difficulty in ordering acrolein, which is a bit of a surprise.)

Here's a comment about the difficulty in sourcing lithium powder (isn't there a Collum prep about how to make lithium powder? Does Rieke sell that? Either way, I'd rather buy that than make it.)

I haven't noticed too much difficulty in ordering compounds these days (at least in the 100 gram range.) Now tons of compound? I think it's always hard.

What's been your experience with finding lab-scale quantities of typical organic chemicals? 

Weird: deaths from hydrocarbons?

What is that plume showing, anyway?
Credit: Wall Street Journal

Busy day today (obviously), but I wanted to note this chemical mystery from the Wall Street Journal from a while back in an article entitled "Why Did These Oil Workers Die?" by Alexandra Berzon:

The deaths of Trent Vigus and at least nine other oil-field workers over the past five years had haunting similarities. Each worker was doing a job that involved climbing on top of a catwalk strung between rows of storage tanks and opening a hatch. 

There were no known witnesses to any of the men’s deaths. Their bodies were all found lying on top of or near the tanks. Medical examiners generally attributed the workers’ deaths primarily or entirely to natural causes, often heart failure. 

But in the past few months, there has been a shift. Though still unsure of the exact cause of the deaths, government agencies and some industry-safety executives are now acknowledging a pattern and are focusing on the possible role played in the deaths by hydrocarbon chemicals, which can lead to quick asphyxiation or heart failure when inhaled in large quantities. 

In the meantime, federal agencies and industry-safety groups are planning to send out a joint alert to the oil industry as early as this week, warning of the potential for imminent danger from inhaling hydrocarbons, according to several people involved in the effort. Much of the industry remains ignorant of the possible risks, they say...

I would think this is about a lack of oxygen, but hey, I could be wrong. Any ideas?

*Can't get to the article? Google the title.