Toxicology

Toxicology The study of poisons and the identification of drugs that may have been used for medicinal, recreational, or illegal purposes.

Poison A naturally occurring or manufactured substance that can cause severe harm or death ◦ A toxin is a subgroup of poisons that are naturally produced by bacteria, plants, or animals.

Exposure Ingestion Inhalation Injection Absorption

Exposure Can be: ◦ Intentional ◦ Accidental ◦ Deliberate

Toxicity The degree to which a substance is poisonous. ◦ Depends on a variety of factors:  Dose  THE DOSE MAKES THE POISON  Duration  Method of exposure  Individual factors

Murder Less than one percent of homicides result from poisoning. Most common agents are arsenic, cyanide, strychnine, and fertilizers. Accidental overdoses are much more common.

Acute or Chronic Acute poisoning is caused by a high dose in a short time which produces immediate symptoms. ◦ Cyanide Chronic poisoning is lower doses over a longer time which produce gradual symptoms ◦ Mercury or Lead

DID YOU KNOW? Saliva based drug tests are just as accurate as urine based tests. If two people use the exact same amount of a drug the person with darker hair will retain more of the drug in their hair.

Organic toxins Poisonous substances produces by living organisms. ◦ Bee Sting ◦ Snake bite

Bacterial Toxins Botulism ◦ Most poisonous biological agent known ◦ Neurotoxin that paralyzes muscles ◦ Toxic in small amounts ◦ If caught early an antitoxin is available ◦ From contaminated food or bacterial spores ◦ Current uses????

Bacterial Toxins Tetanus ◦ Severe muscle spasms ◦ Often called lockjaw ◦ 1 million deaths per year ◦ About 5 per year in US---Why?

Heavy Metals and Pesticides Pesticides ◦ Accumulate in fat causing anxiety, seizures, twitching, weakness, sweating, diarrhea, rapid heartbeat, coma, and death Lead ◦ Nausea, stomach pain, headache, weight loss, anemia, kidney problems, seizure, coma, death

Heavy Metals and Pesticides Mercury ◦ Acute---flu like symptoms ◦ Chronic: personality changes, irritability, memory and balance problems, damage to gums, teeth, and mouth. Can cause death. Cyanide ◦ Fatal in 6-8 minutes ◦ Weakness, confusion, coma, and pink skin ◦ Almond odor ◦ Used in manufacturing of precious metals

Heavy Metals Arsenic ◦ Within 30 minutes produces nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, difficulty speaking, kidney failure, convulsions, death ◦ Chronic exposure causes skin lesions, pigment changes, personality changes, nausea and vomiting, convulsions, and coma. ◦ Found in metal finishing, some pesticides and insecticides, and treating wood

Pesticides Strychnine ◦ Spasms, increased temperature, convulsions, and rigor mortis within minutes. ◦ Found in pesticides

Bioterrorism Ricin ◦ Results from production of castor oil. ◦ Tiny amount can be fatal ◦ Can be inhaled, ingested, or injected ◦ Prevents cells from making proteins which causes cell death ◦ Symptoms appear 6-8 hours later.  Fever, cough, nausea, vomiting, bloody urine, low blood pressure, hallucinations, convulsions, death

Bioterrorism Anthrax ◦ Caused by a bacteria ◦ Human to human transmission has not been reported. ◦ Inhalation—most fatal type. More than 70% die with treatment ◦ Ingestion—25-60% fatal ◦ Skin---20% of untreated cases result in death. Causes a painless black sore

Alcohol FACTS 40% of all traffic deaths are alcohol- related It is the most widely used drug It’s also the most commonly abused drug 40 billion dollars a year are spent on alcohol

Alcohol Toxicology Beer is absorbed more slowly than other alcohol because of the carbohydrates. Alcohol is absorbed faster on an empty stomach. Alcohol is broken down by the liver at a rate of.015% per hour (but this varies person to person) Highest Blood Alcohol level is minutes after your last drink

Testing for Intoxication The Breathalyzer ◦ Concerns: mouth alcohol Field Sobriety Testing ◦ Concerns: Subjective Blood Alcohol Level ◦ Concerns: convenience; nonalcoholic disinfectant; storage

Legal Status Legal limit is.08 for private drivers and.04 for commercial drivers Fifth Amendment rights vs. implied consent Supreme court ruled that your 5 th amendment right applies only to testimonial evidence not physical evidence SC also ruled that it constitutes “an emergency circumstance” and that waiting for a warrant could destroy evidence.

Markov and Kostov (1978) Markov (political writer) was injected with ricin while walking. Modified umbrella was used to administer the poison. Died after three days Kostov was poisoned ten days earlier but survived because the poison lodged in a muscle which prevented it from circulating. assassin-watch-full-episode/1549/ assassin-watch-full-episode/1549/

Tylenol tampering (1982) Laced with cyanide Claimed seven lives in the Chicago area Three additional bottles were found on the shelves Never solved news/ # news/ #

Stella Nickell (1986) Laced Excedrin with cyanide to kill her husband for his life insurance. Placed three additional bottles in the Seattle store to make it look random. Killed one additional woman, Susan Snow Sentenced to 99 years in prison. KuhrIU KuhrIU