Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol

1. Chapter 8Toxicology:Poisons and Alcohol “All substances are poisons. There is none which is not. The right dose differentiates a poison and remedy.” —Paracelsus (1495-1541). Swiss physician and chemist

3. A history of poison… dates from before 4500 BC to the present day. Poisons have been used for many purposes most commonly as weapons, anti-venoms, and medicines. Poison has allowed much progress in branches of medicine, toxicology, and technology, among other sciences.

4. ` Nazi war leader Herman Goering even used it to kill himself the night before he was supposed to be hanged during the Nuremberg Trials. Adolf Hitler had also taken a pill of cyanide shortly before the fall of Berlin along with his wife, Eva Braun

5. Example: Strychnos toxifera, a plant used for the making of dart and arrow poisons: Strychnine

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8. The Colorado River Toad or Bufo alvarius, also known as the Sonoran Desert Toad, is a psychoactive toad found in the Southwestern U.S and northern Mexico.. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

9. The toad's primary defense system is glands that produce a poison that is potent enough to kill a full grown dog. These parotoid glands also produce the 5-MeO-DMT and bufotenin for which the toad is known; both of these chemicals belong to the family of hallucinogenic tryptamines. The presence of these substances in the skin and poison of the toad produces psychoactive effects when smoked. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

10. Bufotenine is a Schedule I controlled substance in the U.S. While possession of the toad is not a crime in itself (in Arizona, U.S.A., one may legally bag up to ten toads with a fishing license), it could constitute a criminal violation if it can be shown that one is in possession of this toad with the intent to milk and smoke its venom. In Nov. 07, a man in Kansas City was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance when police discovered B. alvarius toad poison in his possession. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

12. Dog Eats Poison Toad

14. Pesticides in crop dusting planes spread toxins in our air and on our food in order to kill crop destroying pests

15. In this Unit You will learn: • A measurable approach to toxicology. • The danger of using alcohol. • The connection of blood alcohol levels to the law, incapacity, and test results. • Poison vocabulary • Design and conduct scientific investigations. • Use technology and mathematics to improve investigations and communications. • Identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigations. • Communicate and defend a scientific argument.

16. Biological Definition of Poison • Substances that can cause disturbances to organisms by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism. Legally and in hazardous chemical labeling, poisons are especially toxic substances; less toxic substances are labeled "harmful", "irritant", or not labeled at all. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

17. Medical Definition of Poisons • (particularly veterinary) and in zoology, a poison is often distinguished from a toxin and a venom. Toxins are poisons produced via some biological function in nature, and venoms are biologic toxins that are injected by a bite or sting to cause their effect, while other poisons are generally defined as substances which are absorbed through epithelial linings such as the skin or gut. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

18. Cattle poisoned overnight by ingesting a toxin in a poisonous weed

19. Toxicology: The study of the adverse effects of chemicals or physical agents on living organisms. Types: • Environmental—air, water, soil • Consumer—foods, cosmetics, drugs • Medical, clinical, forensic Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Kendall/Hunt Publishing Compny

20. Forensic Toxicology • Postmortem—medical examiner or coroner • Criminal—motor vehicle accidents (MVA) • Workplace—drug testing • Sports—human and animal • Environment—industrial, catastrophic, terrorism Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

21. Toxicology Toxic substances may: • Be a cause of death • Contribute to death • Cause impairment • Explain behavior

22. A history of Poisoners: • Olympias—a famous Greek poisoner • Locusta—personal poisoner of Emperor Nero • Lucretia Borgia—father was Pope Alexander VI • Madame GiuliaToffana—committed over 600 successful poisonings, including two Popes. • HieronymaSpara—formed a society to teach women how to murder their husbands • Madame de Brinvilliers and CatherineDeshayes—French poisoners. AND many others through modern times.

23. The Severity of the Problem “If all those buried in our cemeteries who were poisoned could raise their hands, we would probably be shocked by the numbers.” —John Harris Trestrail, “Criminal Poisoning” Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

24. People of Historical Significance Mathieu Orfila: A.K.A. the father of forensic toxicology, published in 1814 “Traite des Poisons” describing the first systematic approach to the study of the chemistry and physiological nature of poisons. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

25. His Role in Forensic Toxicology • If there is reason to believe that a murder or attempted murder may have been committed using poison, a forensic toxicologist is often brought in to examine pieces of evidence such as corpses and food items for poison content. In Orfila's time the primary type of poison in use was arsenic, but there were no reliable ways of testing for its presence. Orfila created new techniques and refined existing techniques in his first treatise, Traité des poisons, greatly enhancing their accuracy. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

26. In 1840, Marie LaFarge was tried for the murder of her husband using arsenic. Mysteriously, although arsenic was available to the killer and was found in the food, none could be found in the body. Orfila was asked by the court to investigate. He discovered that the test used, the Marsh Test, had been performed incorrectly, and that there was in fact arsenic in the body, allowing LaFarge to be found guilty. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

27. Aspects of Toxicity • Dosage • The chemical or physical form of the substance • The mode of entry into the body • Body weight and physiological conditions of the victim, including age and sex • The time period of exposure • The presence of other chemicals in the body or in the dose Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

29. Lethal Dose • LD50—refers to the dose of a substance that kills half the test population, usually within four hours • Expressed in milligrams • of substance per kilogram of body weight Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

32. Toxicity Classes Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

33. Federal Regulatory Agencies • Food and Drug Administration (FDA) • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) • Consumer Product Safety Commission • Department of Transportation (DOT) • Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

34. Symptoms Poison Types PoisonSymptom/Evidence • Caustic Poison (lye) Characteristic burns around the lips and mouth of the victim • Carbon Monoxide Red or pink patches on the chest and thighs, unusually bright red lividity • Sulfuric acid Black vomit • Hydrochloric acid Greenish-brown vomit • Nitric acid Yellow vomit • Phosphorous Coffee brown vomit. Onion or garlic odor • Cyanide Burnt almond odor • Arsenic, Mercury Pronounced diarrhea • Methyl (wood) or Nausea and vomiting, unconsciousness, Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol possibly blindness Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

35. Form Common color Characteristic odor Solubility Taste Common sources Lethal dose Mechanism Possible methods of administration Time interval of onset of symptoms. Symptoms resulting from an acute exposure Symptoms resulting from chronic exposure Disease states mimicked by poisoning Notes relating to the victim Specimens from victim Analytical detection methods Known toxic levels Notes pertinent to analysis of poison List of cases in which poison was used Critical Informationon Poisons —John Trestrail from “Criminal Poisoning” Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

36. To Prove a Case • Prove a crime was committed • Motive • Intent • Access to poison • Access to victim • Death was caused by poison • Death was homicidal Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

37. Forensic Autopsy Look for: • Irritated tissues • Characteristic odors • Mees lines—single transverse white bands on nails. Order toxicological screens • Postmortem concentrations should be done at the scene for comparison • No realistic calculation of dose can be made from a single measurement Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

38. Blood Urine Vitreous Humor of Eyes Bile Gastric contents Liver tissue Brain tissue Kidney tissue Hair/nails Human Specimens for Analysis Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

39. Alcohol—Ethyl Alcohol (C2H5OH) • Most abused drug in America • About 40% of all traffic deaths are alcohol-related • Toxic—affecting the central nervous system, especially the brain • Colorless liquid, generally diluted in water • Acts as a depressant • Alcohol appears in blood within minutes of consumption; 30-90 minutes for full absorption • Detoxification—about 90% in the liver • About 5% is excreted unchanged in breath, perspiration and urine Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

40. DUI: driving under the influence • DWI: driving while intoxicated • OUI: operating under the influence • OWI: operating while intoxicated • MIP: minor in possession • DUI or DWI? • AZ DUI

41. Man Eats Underwear to Beat Breathalyzer An 18-year-old man tried to eat his underwear while sitting in the back of a police car in the hope that it would absorb the alcohol before he took a Breathalyzer test. —abstracted from The Advocate This didn’t work. He had a BAC of 0.08.

44. EVERY 15 MINUTES: paramedic Norm Desautels covers the body of Darrell Reed as Justin Eaglin and Rita Gonzalez mourn his death from a drunk driving accident as student at Tracy High took part in the "Every 15 Minutes" event. The program simulates a drunk driving accident with a fatality and arrest. Leading up to the accident one student is removed from class every 15 minutes as an example of the lives lost from DUI accidents. Photo by Glenn Moore

45. Rate of Absorption Depends on: • amount of alcohol consumed • the alcohol content of the beverage • time taken to consume it • quantity and type of food present in the stomach • physiology of the consumer Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

46. BACBlood Alcohol Content • Expressed as percent weight per volume of blood • Legal limits in all states is 0.08% • Parameters influencing BAC: • Body weight • Alcoholic content • Number of beverages consumed • Time between consumption Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

47. BAC • Burn off rate of 0.015% per hour but can vary: • Male BAC male = 0.071 x (oz) x (% alcohol) body weight • Female BAC female = 0.085 x (oz) x (% alcohol) body weight Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

48. Alcoholic proof • a measure of how much alcohol (i.e., ethanol) is contained in an alcoholic beverage. The measure is commonly used in the United States, where it is defined as twice the percentage of alcohol by volume. • At 60°F (15.5°C). 100-proof whiskey contains 50% alcohol by volume; 86-proof whiskey contains 43% alcohol. • Sailors and Rum

49. Friday

50. BAC male = 0.071 x (oz) x (% alcohol) body weight What would be the approximate BAC of a 185 pound man who has consumed three shots (1.5 oz each) of Jack Daniels (80 proof = 40% alcohol) within an hour? Should he drive? What about after an hour? BAC male = 0.071 x ( oz) x ( % ) = ( ) ______________ X Burn off rate of 0.015% per hour but can vary