>To remove the odour, we used to put charcoal from our fire place in a billy
>(tin) in the refrigerator overnight.  By morning the odour would be gone,
>soaked up by the charcoal (so we were told).
 
I have not had to try this but it makes sense.  Charcoal is used to absorb
toxins in many situations.
 
It is used as the filtering agent in gas masks for chemical warfare where it
stops everything except CO2.
When I was in the ambulance service, our first aid kits had packets of
charcoal.  If our patients had swallowed any toxins we were supposed to give
them a dose of charcoal (never actually had one of these cases).
 
For many of the toxic substances commonly available, the safety directions
often quote charcoal as the best way to handle accidental ingestion.
 
Regards
 
Chris Allen