![]() Its early symptoms are very non-specific, including gastrointestinal problems, such as vomiting, or merely nausea. Unless given in a high dose, thallium is an agent that exerts its effects slowly. Today, its use in rat poisons is banned in many countries, and has been since the 1970s, though some countries still allow its use. ![]() Of course, its availability as a rat poison also made it readily available to any would-be poisoners, and cases of both accidental and homicidal poisonings with thallium sulfate increased as a consequence over the decades after its introduction. Later, in the early 1900s, use of thallium sulfate as a rodenticide and insecticide became more frequent. It was also used cosmetically, as a depilatory agent to remove hair from the skin. The efficacy of these treatments isn’t noted, but they did inevitably come with significant side effects, and as such didn’t gain widespread use. Thallium sulfate was used for the treatment of diseases and conditions including syphilis, gonorrhoea, gout, and dysentery. The toxicity of thallium and its compounds was quickly noticed experiments in which the compound was fed to animals saw all of the test subjects die within a few days.ĭespite its toxicity, thallium compounds saw use in medicinal treatment of a number of conditions. He identified it from the bright green line in its emission spectrum, and consequently named it thallium, from the Greek word ‘thallos’, meaning ‘green shoot’. Thallium as an element was first discovered in 1861 by the British chemist William Crookes. This graphic looks at its history and effects. Thallium perhaps doesn’t share quite the same profile as arsenic and cyanide, but despite this it’s perhaps an even more effective compound in poisonings. Having already looked at arsenic and cyanide in the previous instalments in this series, our attention turns to thallium, another famed poison. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |