Thallium poisoning
Encyclopedia
Thallium
and its compounds are often highly toxic. Contact with skin is dangerous, and adequate ventilation should be provided when melting this metal. Many thallium(I) compounds are highly soluble
in water and are readily absorbed through the skin. Exposure to them should not exceed 0.1 mg per m² of skin in an 8-hour time-weighted average (40-hour work week). Thallium is a suspected human carcinogen.
Part of the reason for thallium's high toxicity is that, when present in aqueous solution as the univalent thallium(I) ion (Tl+), it exhibits some similarities with essential alkali metal
cations, particularly potassium
(as the atomic radius is almost identical). It can thus enter the body via potassium uptake pathways. Other aspects of thallium's chemistry differ strongly from that of the alkali metals, such its high affinity for sulfur
ligands. Thus this substitution disrupts many cellular processes (for instance, thallium may attack sulfur-containing proteins such as cysteine
residues and ferredoxin
s).
Thallium's toxicity has led to its use (now discontinued in many countries) as a rat
and ant
poison.
Among the distinctive effects of thallium poisoning are loss of hair
(which led to its initial use as a depilatory before its toxicity was properly appreciated) and damage to peripheral nerves (victims may experience a sensation of walking on hot coals). Thallium was once an effective murder weapon before its effects became understood, and an antidote (Prussian blue
) discovered.
, which is a solid ion exchange
material, which absorbs thallium. Up to 20 g per day of Prussian blue is fed by mouth to the person, and it passes through their digestive system and comes out in the stool
. Hemodialysis
and hemoperfusion
are also used to remove thallium from the blood serum. At later stage of the treatment additional potassium is used to mobilize thallium from the tissue.
less and taste
less thallium sulfate
was also used as rat poison
and ant
killer. Since 1975, this use in the United States
and many other countries is prohibited due to safety concerns.
Because of its use for murder
, thallium has gained the nicknames "The Poisoner's Poison" and "Inheritance Powder" (alongside arsenic
).
Thallium
Thallium is a chemical element with the symbol Tl and atomic number 81. This soft gray poor metal resembles tin but discolors when exposed to air. The two chemists William Crookes and Claude-Auguste Lamy discovered thallium independently in 1861 by the newly developed method of flame spectroscopy...
and its compounds are often highly toxic. Contact with skin is dangerous, and adequate ventilation should be provided when melting this metal. Many thallium(I) compounds are highly soluble
Solubility
Solubility is the property of a solid, liquid, or gaseous chemical substance called solute to dissolve in a solid, liquid, or gaseous solvent to form a homogeneous solution of the solute in the solvent. The solubility of a substance fundamentally depends on the used solvent as well as on...
in water and are readily absorbed through the skin. Exposure to them should not exceed 0.1 mg per m² of skin in an 8-hour time-weighted average (40-hour work week). Thallium is a suspected human carcinogen.
Part of the reason for thallium's high toxicity is that, when present in aqueous solution as the univalent thallium(I) ion (Tl+), it exhibits some similarities with essential alkali metal
Alkali metal
The alkali metals are a series of chemical elements in the periodic table. In the modern IUPAC nomenclature, the alkali metals comprise the group 1 elements, along with hydrogen. The alkali metals are lithium , sodium , potassium , rubidium , caesium , and francium...
cations, particularly potassium
Potassium
Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K and atomic number 19. Elemental potassium is a soft silvery-white alkali metal that oxidizes rapidly in air and is very reactive with water, generating sufficient heat to ignite the hydrogen emitted in the reaction.Potassium and sodium are...
(as the atomic radius is almost identical). It can thus enter the body via potassium uptake pathways. Other aspects of thallium's chemistry differ strongly from that of the alkali metals, such its high affinity for sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
ligands. Thus this substitution disrupts many cellular processes (for instance, thallium may attack sulfur-containing proteins such as cysteine
Cysteine
Cysteine is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCHCH2SH. It is a non-essential amino acid, which means that it is biosynthesized in humans. Its codons are UGU and UGC. The side chain on cysteine is thiol, which is polar and thus cysteine is usually classified as a hydrophilic amino acid...
residues and ferredoxin
Ferredoxin
Ferredoxins are iron-sulfur proteins that mediate electron transfer in a range of metabolic reactions. The term "ferredoxin" was coined by D.C. Wharton of the DuPont Co...
s).
Thallium's toxicity has led to its use (now discontinued in many countries) as a rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
and ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
poison.
Among the distinctive effects of thallium poisoning are loss of hair
Alopecia
Alopecia means loss of hair from the head or body. Alopecia can mean baldness, a term generally reserved for pattern alopecia or androgenic alopecia. Compulsive pulling of hair can also produce hair loss. Hairstyling routines such as tight ponytails or braids may induce Traction alopecia. Both...
(which led to its initial use as a depilatory before its toxicity was properly appreciated) and damage to peripheral nerves (victims may experience a sensation of walking on hot coals). Thallium was once an effective murder weapon before its effects became understood, and an antidote (Prussian blue
Prussian blue
Prussian blue is a dark blue pigment with the idealized formula Fe718. Another name for the color Prussian blue is Berlin blue or, in painting, Parisian blue. Turnbull's blue is the same substance but is made from different reagents....
) discovered.
Treatment and internal decontamination
One of the main methods of removing thallium (both radioactive and normal) from humans is to use Prussian bluePrussian blue
Prussian blue is a dark blue pigment with the idealized formula Fe718. Another name for the color Prussian blue is Berlin blue or, in painting, Parisian blue. Turnbull's blue is the same substance but is made from different reagents....
, which is a solid ion exchange
Ion exchange
Ion exchange is an exchange of ions between two electrolytes or between an electrolyte solution and a complex. In most cases the term is used to denote the processes of purification, separation, and decontamination of aqueous and other ion-containing solutions with solid polymeric or mineralic 'ion...
material, which absorbs thallium. Up to 20 g per day of Prussian blue is fed by mouth to the person, and it passes through their digestive system and comes out in the stool
Human feces
Human feces , also known as a stool, is the waste product of the human digestive system including bacteria. It varies significantly in appearance, according to the state of the digestive system, diet and general health....
. Hemodialysis
Hemodialysis
In medicine, hemodialysis is a method for removing waste products such as creatinine and urea, as well as free water from the blood when the kidneys are in renal failure. Hemodialysis is one of three renal replacement therapies .Hemodialysis can be an outpatient or inpatient therapy...
and hemoperfusion
Hemoperfusion
Hemoperfusion is a medical process used to remove toxic substances from a patient's blood. The technique involves passing large volumes of blood over an adsorbent substance. The adsorbent substance most commonly used in hemoperfusion are resins and activated carbon...
are also used to remove thallium from the blood serum. At later stage of the treatment additional potassium is used to mobilize thallium from the tissue.
Bioconcentration
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), thallium release to the environment was reported in Texas and Ohio. This may indicate bioconcentration in aquatic ecosystems.http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw/dwh/t-ioc/thallium.htmlThallium compounds
The odorOdor
An odor or odour is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds, generally at a very low concentration, that humans or other animals perceive by the sense of olfaction. Odors are also commonly called scents, which can refer to both pleasant and unpleasant odors...
less and taste
Taste
Taste is one of the traditional five senses. It refers to the ability to detect the flavor of substances such as food, certain minerals, and poisons, etc....
less thallium sulfate
Thallium(I) sulfate
Thallium sulfate , archaically known as thallous sulfate, is the sulfate salt of thallium. It is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, but highly toxic.-Uses:...
was also used as rat poison
Rat poison
Rodenticides are a category of pest control chemicals intended to kill rodents.Single feed baits are chemicals sufficiently dangerous that the first dose is sufficient to kill....
and ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
killer. Since 1975, this use in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and many other countries is prohibited due to safety concerns.
Detection in body fluids
Thallium may be quantitated in blood or urine as a diagnostic tool in clinical poisoning situations or to aid in the medicolegal investigation of suspicious deaths. Normal background blood and urine concentrations in healthy persons are usually less than 1 μg/L, but they are often in the 1–10 mg/L range in survivors of acute intoxication.In real life
There are numerous recorded cases of fatal thallium poisoning.Because of its use for murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, thallium has gained the nicknames "The Poisoner's Poison" and "Inheritance Powder" (alongside arsenic
Arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...
).
- In 1953, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n Caroline GrillsCaroline GrillsCaroline Grills, born Caroline Mickelson , was an Australian serial killer.Grills became a suspect in 1947 after the deaths of four family members: her 87-year-old stepmother Christine Mickelson; relatives by marriage Angelina Thomas and John Lundberg; and sister in law Mary Anne Mickelson...
was sentenced to life in prison after three family members and a close family friend died. Authorities found thallium in tea that she had given to two additional family members. - In 1957, Nikolai Khokhlov, a former KGBKGBThe KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
assassin, was poisoned with thallium. Khokhlov fell ill with stomach cramps and nausea and within days his hair had fallen out and he was covered with marks on his skin. He fled the Soviet Union to Germany where doctors suspected thallium poisoning and tried every known antidote without success. Khokhlov was then taken to the US hospital and treated with hydrocortisone, steroids, and blood and plasma transfusions and he eventually recovered. - In 1960, Félix-Roland MoumiéFélix-Roland MoumiéFélix-Roland Moumié was a Cameroonian leader, assassinated in Geneva on 3 November 1960 by the SDECE with thallium. Félix-Roland Moumié succeeded Ruben Um Nyobe, who was killed in September 1958, as leader of the Union des Populations du Cameroun .- See also :*Colonialism and...
, a Cameroonian leader, was assassinated in Geneva in on 3 November 1960 by the SDECE (French secret services) with thallium. - In 1971, thallium was the main poison that Graham Frederick YoungGraham Frederick YoungGraham Frederick Young was an English serial killer. He is notable for his obsession with the use of poison, and for having been imprisoned for murder in his teens, only to kill again after his release.-Early life and crimes:...
used to poison around 70 people in the English village of BovingdonBovingdonBovingdon is a large village in the Chiltern Hills, in Hertfordshire, England, four miles south-west of Hemel Hempstead and it is a civil parish within the local authority area of Dacorum...
, HertfordshireHertfordshireHertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, of whom 3 died. - In 1988, members of the Carr family from Alturas, Polk County, Florida fell ill from what appeared to be thallium poisoning. Peggy Carr, the mother, died slowly and painfully from the poison. Her son and stepson were critically ill but eventually recovered. The Carr's neighbor, George J. Trepal, a chemist was convicted of murdering Mrs. Carr and attempting to murder her family and sentenced to death. The thallium was slipped into bottles of Coca-Cola at the Carr's home and Trepal's.
- Thallium was the poison of choice for Saddam HusseinSaddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
to use on dissidents, which even allowed for them to emigrate before dying. - In 1995 Zhu Ling was the victim of an unsolved thallium poisoning in Beijing, China. In 1994, Zhu Ling was a sophomore in Class Wuhua2 (Physical Chemistry) at Tsinghua University in Beijing. She began to show strange and debilitating symptoms at the end of 1994, when she reported experiencing acute stomach pain, along with extensive hair loss. Ultimately she was diagnosed on UsenetUsenetUsenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
with poisoning by thallium. To this date speculation of the true poisoner is still discussed by many Chinese expatriates overseas. - In January 1999, 40 year old Inger Lise Bakken of Norway was admitted to hospital and diagnosed with thallium poisoning. She died in February, and ex-husband Terje Wiik was sentenced to 21 years in prison. He intentionally murdered her by repeatedly poisoning her, the final time by adding the toxin to a bottle of cognac, and continuously pretending ignorance as to what had caused her excruciating condition. He acquired the thallium through his job within the petroleum industry.
- In June 2004, 25 Russian soldiers earned Honorable Mention Darwin AwardsDarwin AwardsThe Darwin Awards are a tongue-in-cheek honor, created by Wendy Northcutt to recognize individuals who contribute to human evolution by self-selecting themselves out of the gene pool through putting themselves in life-threatening situations...
after becoming ill from thallium exposure when they found a can of mysterious white powder in a rubbish dump on their base at KhabarovskKhabarovskKhabarovsk is the largest city and the administrative center of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It is located some from the Chinese border. It is the second largest city in the Russian Far East, after Vladivostok. The city became the administrative center of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia...
in the Russian Far East. Oblivious to the danger of misusing an unidentified white powder from a military dump site, the conscripts added it to tobacco, and used it as a substitute for talcum powder on their feet. - In 2005, a 17-year-old girl in Numazu, Shizuoka, JapanNumazu, Shizuokais a city located in eastern Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of 2009, the city has an estimated population of 205,636 and a population density of 1,100 persons per km². The total area was 187.11 km².- Geography:...
admitted to attempting to murder her mother by lacing her tea with thallium, causing a national scandal. - In February 2007, two Americans, Marina and Yana Kovalevsky, a mother and daughter, visiting Russia were hospitalized for thallium poisoning. Both had emigrated from the Soviet Union to the United States in 1989 and had made several trips to Russia since then.
- In February 2008, members of Iraqi air force club and some of their children were poisoned by cake laced with thallium. Two of the children died.
- In 2011, a chemist at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Li Tianle, was charged with murder of her husband. According to an investigation by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, Li Tianle was able to obtain a chemical containing thallium and feed it to her husband. Li was a chemistry student at Beijing University at the time of the highly publicized thallium poisoning of Zhu Ling in 1995 at neighboring Tsinghua University.
In fiction
- Ngaio MarshNgaio MarshDame Ngaio Marsh DBE , born Edith Ngaio Marsh, was a New Zealand crime writer and theatre director. There is some uncertainty over her birth date as her father neglected to register her birth until 1900...
used thallium acetate in her 1947 detective novel, Final CurtainFinal CurtainFinal Curtain is a 1947 novel by Ngaio Marsh, which was adapted for television in 1993 as part of the Inspector Alleyn Mysteries.-Plot:Agatha Troy Alleyn is waiting for the return of her husband Roderick Alleyn after a long separation during World War II...
. It was being used legitimately for scalp problems in a group of school children just after World War Two, housed in a private estate. A relative living there used it in place of the heart medicine intended for the owner.
- Agatha ChristieAgatha ChristieDame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
, who worked as a pharmacistPharmacistPharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...
, used thallium in 1961 as the agent of murder in her detective fictionDetective fictionDetective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
novel The Pale HorseThe Pale Horse (novel)The Pale Horse is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1961 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at fifteen shillings and the US edition at $3.75...
— the first clue to the murder method coming from the hair loss of the victims. This novel is notable as being credited with having saved at least two lives after readers recognised the symptoms of thallium poisoning that Christie described.
- In Nigel Williams'sNigel Williams (author)Nigel Williams is an English novelist, screenwriter and playwright.-Biography:He was educated at Highgate School and Oriel College, Oxford, is married with three sons and lives in Putney, south-west London...
1990 novel The Wimbledon Poisoner, Henry Far uses thallium to baste a roast chicken in a failed attempt to murder his wife.
- Thallium figures prominently in the 1995 film The Young Poisoner's HandbookThe Young Poisoner's HandbookThe Young Poisoner's Handbook is a 1995 British-German-French-produced black comedy film based on the life of Graham Young, more commonly known as "The Teacup Murderer". It was directed by Benjamin Ross and written by Ross and Jeff Rawle...
, a dark comedy loosely based on the life of Graham Frederick YoungGraham Frederick YoungGraham Frederick Young was an English serial killer. He is notable for his obsession with the use of poison, and for having been imprisoned for murder in his teens, only to kill again after his release.-Early life and crimes:...
.
- In Season 4 Episode 6 "Whatever It Takes", of the TV show HouseHouse (TV series)House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
, a doctor poisons a patient with thallium to make it appear that she had polio.
- In Larry NivenLarry NivenLaurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
's Known SpaceKnown SpaceKnown Space is the fictional setting of some dozen science fiction novels and several collections of short stories written by author Larry Niven. It has also in part been used as a shared universe in the Man-Kzin Wars spin-off anthologies sub-series....
cycle of science fiction stories, thallium is a soil component essential for the proper growth of Tree of lifeTree of lifeThe concept of a tree of life, a many-branched tree illustrating the idea that all life on earth is related, has been used in science , religion, philosophy, mythology, and other areas...
which, when ingested by hominid species, triggers the change from the Breeder lifestage to the ProtectorPak ProtectorPak Breeders and Pak Protectors are two forms of fictional life in Larry Niven's Known Space universe. The Pak first appeared in "The Adults," which appeared in Galaxy in 1967; this story was expanded into the novel Protector by Larry Niven...
lifestage.
- in the TV series "The Shield" thallium is used by a man to try to kill his brother and collect an inheritance, the man does not die but comes quite close.
- In the "Page Turner" episode of CSI: NYCSI: NYCSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that premiered on September 22, 2004, on CBS. The show follows the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths as well as other crimes...
, thallium-201 is used to poison several persons.
- It was also the poison that killed a lieutenant in "Dead Man Walking" an episode of NCIS (TV series)NCIS (TV series)NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
. - In CSI:Miami "Sex and Taxes" episode Calleigh has another lead: the poison was specifically thallium phosphate, or insecticide. One of Simon's potentially dangerous cases involved Carl Dawson, who owns a nursery that was recently seized by the IRS. Horatio and Tripp head to the nursery where they discover Carl and his two sons, Seth and Timothy, taking things from the confiscated property.
- In Numb3rsNUMB3RSNumb3rs is an American television drama which premiered on CBS on January 23, 2005, and concluded on March 12, 2010. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, and follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes , who helps Don solve crimes...
"Janus List" (Season 3 Episode 24), a British intelligence officer has been poisoned by thallium. He claims to have a so-called Janus list that reveals the names of spies and double agents within the FBI.
- In Stephen King's novel, Under the DomeUnder the DomeUnder the Dome is a novel by Stephen King, published in November 2009. It is a partial rewrite of a novel King attempted writing twice in the late 1970s and early 1980s, under the titles The Cannibals and Under the Dome...
, when Junior Rennie was suffering the effects of a brain tumor, he believed that he had been poisoned by dogtags made of thallium that belonged to his nemesis Dale Barbara.
- In the 2006 movie Big NothingBig NothingBig Nothing is a 2006 British neo-noir comedy film directed by Jean-Baptiste Andrea starring David Schwimmer and Simon Pegg. It was released in December 2006, and had its premiere at Cardiff Film Festival in November 2006....
, Josie Bloom aka The Wyoming Widow (Alice EveAlice EveAlice Sophia Eve is an English actress. She is known for her lead in She's Out of My League and also appeared in Sex and the City 2. She will also star in the up-coming The Decoy Bride and Men in Black III.- Early life :...
) uses highly concentrated liquid thallium to kill Charlie (David SchwimmerDavid SchwimmerDavid Lawrence Schwimmer is an American actor and director of television and film. He was born in New York City, and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was two. He began his acting career performing in school plays at Beverly Hills High School. In 1988, he graduated from Northwestern...
).
- In the 2010 movie adaption of Edge of DarknessEdge of DarknessEdge of Darkness is a British television drama serial, produced by BBC Television in association with Lionheart Television International and originally broadcast in six fifty-five minute episodes in late 1985...
, Emma Craven is poisoned with thallium in a bottle of organic milk. It was unclear how Tom Craven is poisoned. The script used thallium-laced toothpaste but that was removed from the final script.
- In the Feb 2011, Episode #14 of Sign, a Korean Television program, a small village was discovered to have been poisoned by thallium due to water contamination from a nearby manufacturer.
- In the August 17, 2011 episode of Royal PainsRoyal PainsRoyal Pains is a USA Network television series that premiered on June 4, 2009, starring Mark Feuerstein, Paulo Costanzo, Jill Flint and Reshma Shetty. The series is based in part on actual concierge medicine practices of independent doctors and companies...
(Season 3 Episode 8, "Run, Hank, Run"), Thallium is used in an attempted poisoning of the mysterious German billionaire Boris.
External links
- Toxicity, Thallium
- Slow-acting killer that was Saddam's favourite instrument of vengeance
- NLM Hazardous Substances Databank – Thallium, Elemental
- http://www.floridacapitalcases.state.fl.us/case_updates/121965.doc
- Cyril Wecht, Thallium, Robert Curley
- ATSDR - ToxFAQs
- The Guardian reports: Two Iraqi children die from Thallium poisoning: 9 February 2008