|
First this:
One of the main methods of removing thallium (both radioactive and normal) from humans is to use Prussian blue, which is a solid ion exchange material which absorbs thallium and releases potassium. The prussian blue is fed by mouth to the person, and it passes through their digestive system and comes out in the stool.
Then there are these interesting anecdotes:
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.
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.
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.
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 1991, Robert Curley was poisoned with thallium. His wife, Joann Curley, murdered him for insurance money.
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. However, efforts came too late to prevent major damage: she now cannot speak, remains largely paralyzed and blind and with severely reduced mental function.
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.
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.
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
