Analysis of Carboxyhemoglobin and Cyanide in Blood from Victims of the Dupont Plaza Hotel Fire in Puerto Rico

Abstract

Ninety-seven people died from a fire that occurred in the Dupont Plaza Hotel in Puerto Rico on 31 Dec. 1986. All, except four who died later in the hospital, were found dead at the scene. All of the fatalities at the hotel (except for eight) were burned beyond recognition. Blood from seventy-eight of the victims was screened for carboxyhemoglobin at the Institute for Forensic Sciences in Puerto Rico and was then sent to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland, for analysis of carboxyhemoglobin and cyanide concentrations. The blood data indicated that carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide, singly or combined, were probably not responsible for the majority of the deaths that occurred in the badly burned victims. On the other hand, the significantly higher carboxyhemoglobin in the nonburned victims indicated that carbon monoxide alone or combined with hydrogen cyanide probably played a major role in the cause of their deaths.

Determination of Cyanide in Blood by Isotope-Dilution Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

“…Concentrations are reported on a mass basis because greater accuracy can be obtained from gravimetric measurements than is typically achievable with volumetric techniques. Working internal standard solutions containing 13 C 15 N mass fractions of ϳ3 g/g were prepared periodically by gravimetric dilution of the stock solution with 0.1 mol/L NaOH. The concentration of 13 C 15 N in the internal standard stock solution was calibrated by reverse ID MS against a standard solution of natural K 12 C 14 N. In this procedure, a known amount of natural CN is added to a weighed aliquot of the labeled internal standard solution, and the resulting mass ratio is measured in the GC/MS.…”

“…Measured area counts at m/z 27 were corrected for endogenous 12 C 14 N in the blood and for the small amount of 12 C 14 N in the internal standard before construction of the regression line. The regression line was constructed by plotting the blank-corrected 27/29 peak-area ratio on the y axis and the ratio of the amount of 12 C 14 N standard to the amount of 13 C 15 N internal standard on the x axis. ANOVA at a 95% level of confidence indicated that the slopes and intercepts for the blood-based curves were not statistically different from those measured without the blood matrix.…”

“…The evolved HCN is either absorbed in a basic solution or sampled directly from the headspace before detection. Detection has been based on colorimetry (8 ), fluorometry (2,9 ), HPLC-mass spectrometry (MS) (10 ), and gas chromatography (GC) with electron capture (11,12 ), nitrogen-phosphorus (5,(13)(14)(15), and MS detection (16,17 ). The determination of CN by equilibrium headspace analysis appears most efficient, with analysis times ranging from 17 to 40 min per sample; however, accurate analysis depends on a matched, interference-free response between CN and an internal standard.…”

Karbonmonoksite Akut ve Kronik Maruziyetin Spektrofotometrik Yöntemlerle Tayini

“…Bu amaçla birçok yöntemler geliştirilmiştir. Zamanımızda ise düşük kon santrasyonda COHb tayini ve COHb'nin methemoglobin (MetHb), siyanmethemoglobin (CNMetHb) ve sulfhemoglobin (SHb) gibi diğer Hb bileşiklerinden ayrılması ile ilgili çalışmalara zamanımızda da Taşlan maktadır (4,5,12). Yukarda açıklanan yöntemlerle postmortem kan da saptanan COHb düzeyleri Tablo l'de gösterilmiştir.…”

Toxicity Assessment Of Products Of Combustion Of Flexible Polyurethane Foam

“…In these studies, there is no significant correlation of reduced %COHb with measured blood cyanide concentrations [11][12][13][14]. In studies of individual events with large life loss Levin [15] found treating CO and HCN as additive useful in understanding the deaths that occurred while Birky et al [16] found that significant HCN concentrations were only found in victims that had fatal levels of CO. The prevailing methodology in toxic hazard analysis is to consider CO and HCN as additive through the use of an N-gas fractional effective dose model [5].…”