Coroner finds 'non-sniffable' petrol caused boy's death

The Northern Territory coroner has found the low aromatic Opal fuel was behind the death of a 12-year-old boy at the Aboriginal community of Hermannsburg, 130 kilometres west of Alice Springs.

In his findings handed down today, coroner Greg Cavanagh found the boy died in April last year when he suffocated from sniffing Opal fuel.

Mr Cavanagh found the promotion of Opal fuel as non-sniffable to be misleading.

He has recommended the Northern Territory and Federal Governments and the fuel's manufacturer, BP Australia, ensure the fuel is not promoted as a harmless substance because it can lead to death from ingesting or sniffing.

It's the first known death linked to Opal.

In light of the Coroner's recommendation, Chandran Vigneswaren from BP says they will review how Opal is promoted, but says they may continue to market it as "non-sniffable" despite the findings.

"In practically every place in which we refer to Opal, be it online or on printed material or wherever it may be, we have some reference to the fact that Opal, like any fuel, is a volatile substance and should not be sniffed.

"So BP takes our commitment to the community in terms of safety in all of our products very seriously."