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**OrefZorremn** · 11-23-2006, 06:16 PM

Thallium

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thallium

Thallium (IPA: /ˈθaliəm/) is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Tl and atomic number 81.[1] This soft gray malleable poor metal resembles tin but discolors when exposed to air. Thallium is highly toxic and is used in rat poisons and insecticides but since it might also cause cancer (although the EPA does not class it as carcinogen), this use has been cut back or eliminated in many countries. It is also used in infrared detectors. It has even been used in some murders, earning the nicknames "The Poisoner's Poison" and "Inheritance powder" (alongside arsenic).

Toxicity

Thallium and its compounds are highly toxic and should be handled with great care. Contact with skin is dangerous and adequate ventilation should be provided when melting this metal. Thallium(I) compounds have a high aqueous solubility 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. It can thus enter the body via potassium uptake pathways. However other aspects of thallium's chemistry are very different from that of the alkali metals (e.g. its high affinity for sulfur ligands), and so this substitution disrupts many cellular processes (for instance thallium may attack sulphur-containing proteins such as cysteine residues and ferredoxins).

Thallium's toxicity has led to its use (now discontinued in many countries) as a rat and ant poison.

Amongst the distinctive effects of thallium poisoning are loss of hair (which ironically led it 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.

Famous uses as a poison

Agatha Christie, who worked as a pharmacist, used thallium as the agent of murder in her detective fiction novel The Pale Horse — the first clue to the murder method coming from the hair loss of the victims.

The CIA is believed (by its Inspector General) to have conceived a scheme to poison Fidel Castro by exposure to thallium salts placed in his shoes while they were being polished. The goal was to discredit him by causing him to lose his characteristic hair and beard. The scheme progressed as far as testing on animals, but the trip during which the poison was to be administered fell through.[4]

In 1953, Australian Caroline Grills 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.[5]

Dr. Félix-Roland Moumié, a leader of the Cameroonian anticolonial armed struggle against France was murdered by thallium poisoning on October 15, 1960. A French agent posing as a journalist was the main suspect of this murder.

It is claimed that South African agents once plotted to use it against Nelson Mandela while he was in prison on Robben Island. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission heard how agents established plans to add doses of the chemical to his medication.[5]

In the 1960s and 1970s, Graham Frederick Young killed at least three people with thallium. The 1995 film The Young Poisoner's Handbook is based upon him.

In 1995, Zhu Ling, a student at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, was reportedly poisoned twice by her roommate, over a period of a few months. The classmates of the victim asked for help through Usenet, to which access was very new in mainland China at the time. Joint efforts by physicians who responded through the web led to the diagnosis of thallium poisoning. The case was covered by news reports around the world.

In June 2004, 25 Russian soldiers earned Honorable Mention Darwin Awards after becoming ill from thallium exposure when they found a can of mysterious white powder in a rubbish dump on their base at Khabarovsk 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.[6]

In 2005, a 17 year old girl in Numazu, Shizuoka, Japan, admitted to attempting to murder her mother by lacing her tea with thallium, causing a national scandal.[7]

In November 2006, Alexander Litvinenko, a 44 year old British resident and former KGB agent, and critic of the Kremlin fell ill hours after first having tea with former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoy, then lunch with Italian KGB expert Professor Mario Scaramella in London. Doctors initially confirmed that tests showed thallium poisoning as the cause of his sudden critical illness [8], although there are now suspicions that he may have been poisoned with some other substance, or even a radioactive isotope of thallium.[9] He had been investigating the recent murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, another public critic of the Kremlin.

11-23-2006, 06:16 PM	#3
OrefZorremn Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 526 Senior Member	Thallium http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thallium Thallium (IPA: /ˈθaliəm/) is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Tl and atomic number 81.[1] This soft gray malleable poor metal resembles tin but discolors when exposed to air. Thallium is highly toxic and is used in rat poisons and insecticides but since it might also cause cancer (although the EPA does not class it as carcinogen), this use has been cut back or eliminated in many countries. It is also used in infrared detectors. It has even been used in some murders, earning the nicknames "The Poisoner's Poison" and "Inheritance powder" (alongside arsenic). Toxicity Thallium and its compounds are highly toxic and should be handled with great care. Contact with skin is dangerous and adequate ventilation should be provided when melting this metal. Thallium(I) compounds have a high aqueous solubility 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. It can thus enter the body via potassium uptake pathways. However other aspects of thallium's chemistry are very different from that of the alkali metals (e.g. its high affinity for sulfur ligands), and so this substitution disrupts many cellular processes (for instance thallium may attack sulphur-containing proteins such as cysteine residues and ferredoxins). Thallium's toxicity has led to its use (now discontinued in many countries) as a rat and ant poison. Amongst the distinctive effects of thallium poisoning are loss of hair (which ironically led it 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. Famous uses as a poison Agatha Christie, who worked as a pharmacist, used thallium as the agent of murder in her detective fiction novel The Pale Horse — the first clue to the murder method coming from the hair loss of the victims. The CIA is believed (by its Inspector General) to have conceived a scheme to poison Fidel Castro by exposure to thallium salts placed in his shoes while they were being polished. The goal was to discredit him by causing him to lose his characteristic hair and beard. The scheme progressed as far as testing on animals, but the trip during which the poison was to be administered fell through.[4] In 1953, Australian Caroline Grills 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.[5] Dr. Félix-Roland Moumié, a leader of the Cameroonian anticolonial armed struggle against France was murdered by thallium poisoning on October 15, 1960. A French agent posing as a journalist was the main suspect of this murder. It is claimed that South African agents once plotted to use it against Nelson Mandela while he was in prison on Robben Island. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission heard how agents established plans to add doses of the chemical to his medication.[5] In the 1960s and 1970s, Graham Frederick Young killed at least three people with thallium. The 1995 film The Young Poisoner's Handbook is based upon him. In 1995, Zhu Ling, a student at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, was reportedly poisoned twice by her roommate, over a period of a few months. The classmates of the victim asked for help through Usenet, to which access was very new in mainland China at the time. Joint efforts by physicians who responded through the web led to the diagnosis of thallium poisoning. The case was covered by news reports around the world. In June 2004, 25 Russian soldiers earned Honorable Mention Darwin Awards after becoming ill from thallium exposure when they found a can of mysterious white powder in a rubbish dump on their base at Khabarovsk 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.[6] In 2005, a 17 year old girl in Numazu, Shizuoka, Japan, admitted to attempting to murder her mother by lacing her tea with thallium, causing a national scandal.[7] In November 2006, Alexander Litvinenko, a 44 year old British resident and former KGB agent, and critic of the Kremlin fell ill hours after first having tea with former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoy, then lunch with Italian KGB expert Professor Mario Scaramella in London. Doctors initially confirmed that tests showed thallium poisoning as the cause of his sudden critical illness [8], although there are now suspicions that he may have been poisoned with some other substance, or even a radioactive isotope of thallium.[9] He had been investigating the recent murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, another public critic of the Kremlin.
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