Talk:Arsenic poisoning

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Under "Notables", why is there no mention of the mass poisoning at Gustav Adolf Lutheran Church in New Sweden, Maine, in April of 2003? It's the subject of Christine Ellen Young's book "A Bitter Brew". Jeanie821 14:55, 3 March 2007 (UTC)Jeanie

There's no mention probably because no one has added it yet (so feel free :) Just be sure to reference your sources, e.g. [1] -- Limulus 04:09, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

does anyone now anything about arsenic

please see Arsenic......WBardwin 02:17, 11 November 2005 (UTC)

From the article:

Also, eating food with sulphur such as eggs and onions help to neutralize arsenic in a natural, nonchemical way. (emphasis mine)

What is this supposed to mean? Is it somehow identifying chemical with unnatural? Or is it simply a clumsy way of saying that eggs and onions, two natural products, neutralise arsenic in a nonchemical (physical, physiological) way? I suspect the most likely answer is the first, so I have taken the freedom to correct it. If anyone disagrees, please answer.--Daniel Medina 00:19, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] What idiot...

Who the hell is going around talking about arsenic killing by stomach disruption? You really can't believe that. Overdoing arsenic will lead to vomiting and perhaps this is where the myth was first perpetuated. Arsenic kills by multi-system organ failure. It's absorption is gastric and excretion is renal. Which is why the test for arsenic poisoning is examination of urine.Angrynight 16:50, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

Please don't call people idiots who don't know as much as you. Try and be civil, even if you're annoyed. Thanks. --Singkong2005 16:35, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] From Talk:Arsenicosis (merged to this page)

I merged the two articles. There were just a few talk page comments at Talk:Arsenicosis, which have been copied to this section:

i was under the impression that WHO documents are in the public domain, as is the case with US document publications. Sorry if I am wrong, and will rewrite the article. thanks. vogon77 20:38, Oct 7, 2004 (UTC)

[edit] arsenic poisoning

Is this another word for arsenic poisoning, or is it a particular type of arsenic poisoning? If the former, this should be merged with the arsenic poisoning article. If the latter, the article should make that more clear. --Alynna 22:51, 5 December 2005 (UTC)

Okay, according to arsenic poisoning it's "chronic low-level arsenic poisoning". I will update the article accordingly. --Alynna 01:18, 18 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Bangladesh

The issue of Arsenic poisoning from groundwater in Bangladesh needs to be addressed properly in one place. Info already on Wikipedia includes:

  • A reference in Bangladesh: Nickson, R, McArthur, J & Burgess, W, et al. (1998), "Arsenic poisoning of Bangladesh groundwater", Nature, no. 6700, pp. 338.
  • A section about the problem in Arsenic.

Relevant articles include: Arsenic, Borehole, Bangladesh - these should be linked appropriately.

[edit] stricter USA arsenic norm questioned by experts

The article says that the WHO approved safe limit in water is 0.01 mg/L. Experts question this, and say that up to 100 ppb is safe (which by my calculation is 0.1 mg/L, 10 times the WHO level ), according to these links:

It's claimed that a stricter guideline (in the USA) is unnecessary and harmful for the poor. (I'm not agreeing - it's just a bit of info that may be revelant.) --Singkong2005 17:18, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] How long does arsenic take to kill a person?

How long does arsenic take to kill a person through steady poisoning, and in what amounts? The section on Charles Francis Hall makes mention of the length of time, but not the amounts required. The article also mentions assassinations, but doesn't go into any detail. I'm not interested in murder, but I am interested in the process.

I have a related question: more than once I've read a mystery story (from authors ranging from Dorothy Sayers to Dashiell Hammett) where the murderer desensitizes him/herself to arsenic by taking increasingly large doses, so that he can partake of the food lethal for the victim. Is that medically possible? Is there any documented case where that actually happened (or has been suspected)? 89.102.137.191 15:06, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Napoleon -- Anon contribution

The info below moved here for a more specific source (publication, date, etc.) as well as format compatibility. Anyone have more information? WBardwin 06:50, 9 July 2006 (UTC)

IT IS NOW KNOWN THAT NAPOLEON WAS POISONED WITH RAT POISON AS CONFIRMED BY PASCAL KINTZ, PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL FORENSIC TOXICOLOGY SOCIETY WITH NEW METHODOLOGY CONFIRMING THAT IN THE MEDULLA OF THE HAIR SHAFT THERE WAS ORGANIC ARSENIC, THE MOST TOXIC NOT OCCURING IN NATURE AND BY NECESSITY WAS CONSUMED AND CARRIED BY THE BLOOD TO THE HAIR SHAFT. (contributed by 64.12.116.9, 17:14, 8 July 2006)


[edit] Removed text

I've just removed the following text from the 'Treatment' section:

If modest amounts of arsenic is ingested, it is suggested that 5 charcoal tablets be ingested immediately in order to help soak up the arsenic and then pass it through your system naturally. Eating food with sulphur, such as eggs and onions, can also help to neutralize arsenic.

I don't know what the medical advice is for arsenic poisoning but in the activated carbon article it specifically states that it is bad at absorbing arsenic, which indicates to me that this advice is wrong. If it is wrong, then it could actually be dangerous to include it in the article (although it would be stupid to get medical advice from Wikipedia there are stupid people in the world). I thought it best to remove it just in case rather than waiting for references. --82.47.198.253 16:13, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Dioxin

Dioxin doesn't contain Asenic - why is it mentioned here at all?