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IT IS ELEMENTARY
Human Existence and the Chemical
Elements
SC 210
May 7, 2015
John Bush
CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES
• Determine what humans can experience
• Enable humans to achieve their purposes
CLASS OUTLINE
• Weeks One and Two: committing homicide -the elements as poisons
– Criminal homicide
– Sanctioned homicide
– Accidental homicide
• Week Three: keeping in touch-- using the
elements
• Week Four: keeping track of the elements-the periodic table
USEFUL CONCEPTS
• Classical elements: earth, air, fire, water
• Chemical elements: un-decomposable
substances-- H, O, N, C
• Chemical compounds: substances formed
from chemical reactions-- H2O, NH3, CH4. CO2
SOME MORE CONCEPTS
• Atoms: smallest particles of elementary
substances
• Molecules: chemically bonded atoms
• Ions: electrically charged atoms or groups of
chemically bonded atoms: H+, Na+, Cl-, CO3-• Chemical bonds:
– Ionic: NaCl = Na+ …. Cl– Shared electron: H2O = H-O-H
AND FINALLY
• Structure of an atom: nucleus and electrons
• Nucleus: consists of protons and neutrons
• Atomic number: number of protons in the nucleus of
an atom
• Atomic mass number: number of protons plus
neutrons in the nucleus of an atom
• Isotopes: atoms with the same atomic number and a
different atomic mass number
HOMICIDAL POISONING
• Criminal (murder)
John Emsley The Elements of Murder: A History of Poison
• Suicidal
• State sanctioned—Judicial/Military
• Accidental
– Industrial
– Domestic
– Environmental
ELEMENTS FOR CRIMINAL POISONERS
ARSENIC: “THE KING OF POISONS”
ELEMENTAL ARSENIC
ARSENIC TRIOXIDE
ARSENIC (As)
Atomic number: 33, Isotope 75
Abundance: 53rd in crust (1.5 ppm)
Compounds known since the early Bronze Age
Element isolated by Albertus Magnus 1250 AD
Current uses: strengthening alloys, electronic
components, pyrotechnics, pesticides, medicines
• Former uses: pigments, cosmetics, animal food
additives, wood preservatives, stimulant, war gas
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ARSENIC AND MURDER
• Readily available, soluble in food and drink, odorless,
nearly tasteless, either slow or quick acting, not
readily diagnosed, until 1836 untraceable in body
• “Poudre de succession” (Inheritance Powder)
• Extensively used for political murders—Mithridates
VI “The Poison King”
• Several spectacular trials in Victorian England
• Raleigh 2005 Ann Kontz
• San Diego 2007 Cynthia Sommer
ELEMENTS FOR CRIMINAL POISONERS
ANTIMONY
ELEMENTAL ANTIMONY
ANTIMONY POTASSIUM TARTRATE
TARTAR EMETIC
ANTIMONY (Sb)
• Atomic number 51; Isotopes 121, 123
• Abundance : 62nd in the crust (0.2-0.5 ppm)
• Compounds known in antiquity; element
isolated in 1540
• Current uses: strengthen alloys, electronic
components, fire retardants, medicines, antialcohol abuse, cosmetics
• Former uses: pigments, laxatives, emetics
ANTIMONY AND MURDER
• Usually administered as a series of sub-lethal
doses
• Several spectacular cases in Victorian England
1840-1900
– Especially used by husbands and wives to poison
their spouses
– 1865 Dr. Edward Pritchard
– 1876 “Murder at the Priory” Charles Bravo
– 1897-1902 George Chapman
ELEMENTS FOR CRIMINAL POISONERS
MERCURY
ELEMENTAL
MERCURY
MERCURIC SULFIDE
(CINNABAR)
PIGMENTED LACQUER
MERCURY (Hg, QUICKSILVER)
• Atomic Number 80 Isotopes: 196, 198, 199,
200, 201, 202, 204
• Abundance: 66th in the crust (.05-.08ppm)
• Element known since at least 1500 BCE
• Current Uses: Mercury switches, gold and silver mining,
lighting, vaccine preservatives, dental amalgams, chemical
catalysts, chlorine production, cosmetics
• Former uses: thermometers, barometers, blood pressure
gauges, photography, wood preservatives, trunk lid lights,
batteries, disinfectants, leather tanning, treatment of syphilis
MERCURY AND MURDER
• Drawbacks:
– Metallic taste of mercuric chloride
– Relatively easy chemical detection
• Sir Thomas Overbury 1613
• Roland Burnham Molineux 1898
• Albany New York 1992—poisoned candy
ELEMENTS FOR CRIMINAL POISONERS
THALLIUM:
“THE POISONERS POISON”
ELEMENTAL THALLIUM
THALLIUM (I) SULFATE
THALLIUM (Tl)
Atomic Number: 81 Isotopes: 201* 203 205
Abundance: 60th in the crust (0.5 ppm)
Discovered in 1861, isolated in 1862
Current uses: Pesticide (rats, ants), medicine
(stress test)*, electronics, lighting, glass
• Former uses: Pesticide(US), medicine
(ringworms), depilatory
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THALLIUM AND MURDER
• Ngaio Marsh (1947) Agatha Christie (1952)
• Slow acting poison with very painful symptoms
• Drawbacks
– Hair loss is a revealing symptom
– Chemically detectable even after cremation
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1930s Martha Löwenstein
1950s Australia’s “Thallium Craze”
1970s Graham Young “The Teacup Poisoner”
Saddam Hussein dissidents
1988 George Trepal--Florida
2011 BMS chemist’s husband
ELEMENTS FOR CRIMINAL POISONERS
LEAD Pb (Plumbum)
ELEMENTAL LEAD
LEAD(II) ACETATE
SUGAR OF LEAD
LEAD (Pb)
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Atomic Number: 82 Isotopes 204,206,207,208
Abundance: 37th in the crust (10ppm)
Known in antiquity—at least since 6500 BCE
Current uses: batteries, weights, radiation shields,
plumbing, solder, type metal, ammunition, pigments,
hair dyes, glass, semiconductors…
• Former uses: gasoline(US), cooking vessels, food
additives, dental fillings, eye liner, facial makeup,
pesticides, house paints(US), medicines
LEAD AND MURDER
• As a poison lead is very dangerous but as a
murder weapon it is very uncertain
• Examples
– 1047 Pope Clement II?
– 1858 Ann Taylor
– 1858 James Turner
– 1882 Louisa Jane Taylor
ELEMENTS FOR CRIMINAL POISONERS
FLUORINE
ELEMENTAL FLUORINE
SODIUM FLUORIDE
FLUORINE F
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Atomic Number: 9 Isotope: 19
Abundance: 13th in the crust
Isolated in 1886
Current uses: enriching uranium, refining
aluminum and petroleum, making steel, toothpaste
additive, metal cleaning, kitchenware, refrigerants,
medicines, etching glass, drinking water additive
• Former use (US): rat poison
FLUORINE AND MURDER
• Some advantages as a poison:
– Sodium fluoride is odorless, colorless and soluble
in water
– Diagnosis depends on correct interpretation of
symptoms
– Fluoride poisoning has no specific treatment
• Examples
– Many accidents but murder attempts apparently
are rare
– 1949 Cola Leming
ELEMENTS FOR CRIMINAL POISONERS
POLONIUM
AN EXTREMELY THIN FILM OF
ELEMENTAL POLONIUM COATING
A SILVER DISK
POLONIUM (P o)
• Atomic number 84 Isotopes 209*, 210*
• Abundance: traces (10-4 ppm) found in
Uranium ores
• Discovered in 1898 Isolated in 1902 Currently
manufactured from 210Bi in Russia
• Current uses: sources of subatomic particles
(nuclear weapon triggers), heaters in space
probes, antistatic devices
• Former use: spark plugs (!)
POLONIUM AND MURDER
• Advantages
– Lethal dose is less than 1 Microgram
– Symptoms do not appear for days
• Disadvantage: Hard to handle because of its intense
radioactivity
• Polonium examples-no culprit arrested
– 2003
X
- Yuri Shchekochikin
– 2004
X
-Yassar Arafat?
– 2004
X
-Roman Tsepov?
– 2006 Andrey Lugovoy?-Alexander Litvinenko
• Other other radioisotopes in suspected murders : Plutonium
Cesium 137
ELEMENTS FOR CRIMINAL POISONERS
POTASSIUM
ELEMENTAL POTASSIUM
POTASSIUM CHLORIDE
POTASSIUM (K)
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Atomic number 19 Isotopes 39, 40*, 41
Abundance 7th in the crust 2.6% (26000 ppm)
Discovered /isolated 1807
Current Uses (potassium salts): an essential
nutrient, fertilizer, soap, glass...millions of tons
of potassium salts are produced annually
POTASSIUM AND MURDER
• High concentrations of potassium chloride in
blood cause sudden cardiac death
• Only effective by injection— extremely painful
• Hospitals: 1993-1995 Orville Lynn Majors
• Nursing homes: 1995 Susan Hey
• Assisted suicides: Jack Kevorkian
IT IS ELEMENTARY
Human Existence and the Chemical
Elements
SC 210
May 14, 2015
John Bush
HOMICIDAL POISONING
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Criminal (murder)
Suicidal
State sanctioned—Judicial/Military
Accidental
– Industrial
– Domestic
– Environmental
ELEMENTS FOR SUICIDES AND JUDICIAL
POISONERS
THE COMMON ELEMENTS OF LIFE
• The elements that form all poisons of plant
and animal origin
• These elements or their very simple
compounds can kill—most commonly by
interfering with cellular access to oxygen
• Nitrogen
N2
• Carbon dioxide
CO2
• Carbon monoxide CO
• Hydrogen cyanide HCN
HOMICIDAL POISONING
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Criminal (murder)
Suicidal
State sanctioned—Judicial/Military
Accidental
– Industrial
– Domestic
– Environmental
THE ELEMENTS OF MILITARY POISONS
HISTORY OF MILITARY USE OF
POISONS
• Pre 20th century almost all military poisons were of
plant or animal origin—Sulfur was the exception
• 1914-1918 A “golden age” for the military use of
chemicals—the first weapons of mass destruction
• Since the 1930s Chemical weapons have been used
against defenseless peoples in colonial or civil wars
• 1940-2015 More powerful weapons have been
created and produced but never used in major wars
SULFUR
SULFUR (S)
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Atomic number 16 Isotopes 32,33,34, 36
Abundance 17th in crust (420 ppm)
Known since antiquity
Current Uses: sulfuric acid, wall board,
fungicide, essential nutrient, wine
preservative, fumigant (sulfur dioxide),
chemical weapons
PHOSPHORUS
RED PHOSPHORUS
WHITE PHOSPHORUS
PHOSPHORUS (P)
Atomic number 15 Isotope 31
Isolated 1669 Recognized as elemental 1777
Abundance 11th in the crust (1300 ppm)
Current Uses: military weapons, fertilizers (an
essential nutrient), baking powder, pesticides,
electronics, safety matches
• Former uses: detergents(US), strike-anywhere
matches
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THE ELEMENTS OF MILITARY POISONS
CHLORINE
CHLORINE GAS
CHLORINE LIQUID
CHLORINE (Cl)
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Atomic Number 17 Isotopes 35 37
Abundance 21st in crust (126 ppm)
Discovered 1774 Recognized element 1808
Current uses: Sodium chloride essential for
life; compounds in wide commercial use:
bleaches, disinfectants, solvents, plastics,
pesticides, chemical weapons—both the
element and its compounds
ARSENIC (As)
Atomic number: 33, Isotope 75
Abundance: 53rd in crust (1.5 ppm)
Compounds known since the early Bronze Age
Element isolated by Albertus Magnus 1250 AD
Current uses: strengthening alloys, electronic
components, pyrotechnics, pesticides, animal food
additives, medicines,
• Former uses: pigments, cosmetics, wood
preservatives, stimulant, war gas (lewisite)
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THE ELEMENTS OF MILITARY POISONS
BROMINE
ELEMENTAL BROMINE
SODIUM BROMIDE
BROMINE (Br)
Atomic number 35 isotopes 79 81
Abundance 59th in crust (0.37 ppm)
Discovered 1825
Current uses: flame retardants, well drilling
fluids
• Former uses: sedatives, daguerreotype
photography, gasoline additive, pesticides,
Tear gas
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SOME WEAPONS OF MASS
DESTRUCTION
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Chlorine (Cl)- Ypres 1915
Phosgene (Cl)– Wieltje 1915
Mustard(S,Cl)- Ypres 1917
Adamsite (As, Cl)- Russia 1919
Lewisite (As, Cl) – the war ended “too soon”
Nerve gases (P, O, N, C, S, F)- Yemen, Iraq,
Syria
CHLORINE AND WAR
PERIODIC TABLE OF VIDEOS
5:17 minutes
HOMICIDAL POISONING
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Criminal (murder)
Suicidal
State sanctioned—Judicial/Military
Accidental
– Industrial
– Domestic
– Environmental
PARACELSUS
“All things are poison and nothing is without
poison; only the dose makes a thing not a
poison” (1538)
POISONOUS ELEMENTS
FLUORINE
ELEMENTAL FLUORINE
SODIUM FLUORIDE
LEAD Pb (Plumbum)
ELEMENTAL LEAD
LEAD(II) ACETATE
SUGAR OF LEAD
PERIODIC TABLE OF VIDEOS-LEAD
• 2:13
MERCURY
ELEMENTAL
MERCURY
MERCURIC SULFIDE
(CINNABAR)
PIGMENTED LACQUER
PERIODIC TABLE OF VIDEOS
MERCURY
• 5:13 min