1. Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol

2. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 2 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 2 Objectives You will understand: The danger of using alcohol. A quantitative approach to toxicology.

3. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 3 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 3 You will be able to: Discuss the connection of blood alcohol levels to the law, incapacity, and test results. Understand the vocabulary of poisons. 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. Objectives, continued

4. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 4 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 4 Toxicology 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

5. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 5 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 5 Forensic Toxicology Postmortem—medical examiner or coroner Criminal—motor vehicle accidents (MVA) Workplace—drug testing Sports—human and animal Environment—industrial, catastrophic, terrorism

6. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 6 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 6 Toxicology Toxic substances may: Be a cause of death Contribute to death Cause impairment Explain behavior

7. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 7 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 7 Historical Perspective of Poisoners Olympias—a famous Greek poisoner Locusta—personal poisoner of Emperor Nero Lucretia Borgia—father was Pope Alexander VI Madame Giulia Toffana—committed over 600 successful poisonings, including two popes Hieronyma Spara—formed a society to teach women how to murder their husbands Madame de Brinvilliers and Catherine Deshayes—French poisoners AND many others through modern times.

8. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 8 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 8 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

9. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 9 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 9 People of Historical Significance Mathieu Orfila—known as the father of forensic toxicology, published in 1814 Traité des poisons which described the first systematic approach to the study of the chemistry and physiological nature of poisons

10. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 10 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 10 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

11. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 11 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 11 Lethal Dose LD 50 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

12. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 12 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 12 Toxicity Classification LD 50 (rat,oral)Correlation to Ingestion by 150-lb Adult Human Toxicity <1 mg/kga taste to a dropextreme 1–50 mg/kgto a teaspoonhigh 50–500 mg/kgto an ouncemoderate 500–5,000 mg/kgto a pintslight 5–15 g/kgto a quartpractically nontoxic Over 15 g/kgmore than 1 quartrelatively harmless

13. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 13 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 13 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)

14. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 14 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 14 Symptoms of Various Types of Poisoning Symptom/Evidence Characteristic burns around the lips and mouth of victim Red or pink patches on the chest and thigh, unusually bright red lividity Black vomit Greenish-brown vomit Yellow vomit Coffee-brown vomit, onion or garlic odor Burnt almond odor Extreme diarrhea Nausea and vomiting, unconsciousness possibly blindness Type of Poison Caustic poison (lye) Carbon monoxide Sulfuric acid Hydrochloric acid Nitric acid Phosphorus Cyanide Arsenic, mercury Methyl (wood) or isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol

15. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 15 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 15 Critical Information 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 —John Trestrail from Criminal Poisoning

16. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 16 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 16 To Prove a Case Prove a crime was committed Motive Intent Access to poison Access to victim Death was homicidal Death was caused by poison

17. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 17 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 17 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.

18. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 18 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 18 Human Specimens for Analysis Blood Urine Vitreous humor of eyes Bile Gastric contents Liver tissue Brain tissue Kidney tissue Hair/nails

19. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 19 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 19 Alcohol—Ethyl Alcohol (C 2 H 5 OH) Most abused drug in America About 40 percent 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 percent in the liver About 5 percent is excreted unchanged in breath, perspiration, and urine

20. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 20 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 20 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

21. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 21 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 21 BAC: Blood Alcohol Content Expressed as percent weight per volume of blood Legal limit in all states is 0.08 percent Parameters influencing BAC: Body weight Alcohol content Number of beverages consumed Time since consumption

22. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 22 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 22 BAC Calculation Male BAC = Female BAC = Burn-off rate of 0.015 percent per hour, but can vary: 0.071  (oz)  (% alcohol) body weight 0.085  (oz)  (% alcohol) body weight

23. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 23 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 23 Henry’s Law When a volatile chemical is dissolved in a liquid and is brought to equilibrium with air, there is a fixed ratio between the concentration of the volatile compound in the air and its concentration in the liquid; this ratio is constant for a given temperature. THEREFORE, the concentration of alcohol in breath is proportional to that in the blood. This ratio of alcohol in the blood to alcohol in the alveolar air is approximately 2,100 to 1. In other words, 1 ml of blood will contain nearly the same amount of alcohol as 2,100 ml of breath.

24. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 24 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 24 Field Tests Preliminary tests —used to determine the degree of suspect’s physical impairment and whether or not another test is justified Psychophysical tests —three basic tests: Horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN): follow a pen or small flashlight, tracking left to right with one’s eyes. In general, wavering at 45 degrees indicates 0.10 BAC. Nine-step walk and turn (WAT): comprehend and execute two or more simple instructions at one time One-leg stand (OLS): maintain balance; comprehend and execute two or more simple instructions at one time

25. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 25 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 25 The Breathalyzer More practical in the field Collects and measures alcohol content of alveolar breath Breath sample mixes with 3 ml of 0.025 percent K 2 Cr 2 O 7 in sulfuric acid and water: 2K 2 Cr 2 O 7 +3C 2 H 5 OH + 8H 2 SO 4  2Cr 2 (SO 4 ) 3 + 2K 2 SO 4 + 3CH 3 COOH + 11H 2 O Potassium dichromate is yellow; as concentration decreases, its light absorption diminishes, so the breathalyzer indirectly measures alcohol concentration by measuring light absorption of potassium dichromate before and after the reaction with alcohol.

26. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 26 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 26 Generalizations During absorption, the concentration of alcohol in arterial blood is higher than in venous blood. Breath tests reflect alcohol concentration in the pulmonary artery. The breathalyzer also can react with acetone (as found in diabetics), acetaldehyde, methanol, isopropyl alcohol, and paraldehyde, but these are toxic and their presence means the person is in serious medical condition. Breathalyzers now use an infrared light-absorption device with a digital readout. Prints out a card for a permanent record.

27. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 27 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 27 People in the News John Trestrail is a practicing toxicologist who has consulted on many criminal poisoning cases. He is the founder of the Center for the Study of Criminal Poisoning in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which has established an international database to receive and analyze reports of homicidal poisonings from around the world. He is also the director of DeVos Children’s Hospital Regional Poison Center. In addition, he wrote the book Criminal Poisoning, used as a reference by law enforcement personnel, forensic scientists, and lawyers.

28. Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol 28 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 28 More Information Read more about forensic toxicology at truTV’s Crime Library: http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/forensics/toxicol ogy/2.html