Arsenic Content of Napoleon I's Hair Probably taken Immediately after his Death

Forshufvud, Sten; Smith, Hamilton; Wassén, Anders

doi:10.1038/192103a0

Cited by 66 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…basis of hair analysis, it was suspected that Napoleon and King Erik XIV of Sweden were poisoned by arsenic (14,15). We attempted to use the concentration of arsenic in hair to assess the extent of nonoccupational exposure in previous studies (4)(5)(6).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Test of environmental exposure to arsenic and hearing changes in exposed children

Bencko¹,

Symon²

1977

Environ Health Perspect

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Arsenic determination was carried out on hair, urine, and blood samples taken from groups of 10-year-old boys, each numbering 20 to 25 individuals, residing in a region polluted by arsenic. In all the examined materials considerably elevated concentrations of arsenic were found. The relation of the observed levels of arsenic to the distance of the place of residence up to a distance of more than 30 km from the source of the emissions was studied. On the basis of the results obtained, the most advantageous material for estimation of nonoccupational exposure to arsenic seems to be hair, in spite of some problems with the decontamination procedure involved. Considerable variability among individual arsenic values in the hair makes group examination a necessity. Hearing changes were analyzed in a group of 56 10-year old children residing near a power plant burning local coal of high arsenic content. The results of both audiometric and clinical examination were compared with those of control group numbering 51 children of the same age living outside the polluted area. The highly standardized audiometric and clinical examination were completed with a questionnaire analysis concerning the personal medical histories of the children. The obtained data were elaborated statistically by means of the x2-test.In the case of air conduction, important hearing losses were found at frequencies of 125, 250 and 8000 Hz, especially at the lowest frequency range. Significant degrees of hearing loss were found in bone conduction as well as in the corresponding ranges of frequencies. The high statistical significance of the hearing impairments found points to very low probability of their being only an "accidental" finding. The possibility of toxic damage to the ear cannot yet be excluded.The air pollution caused by fly ash and sulfur oxides released from coal burning is complicated in some places by the presence of excessive quantities of toxic elements in the emissions of power plants. We have studied the hygienic-toxicologic problems of environmental pollution by arsenic in the vicinity of a power plant which burns local coal with an arsenic content of 900 to 1500 g/ton of dry substance in the form of sulfides. Despite the use of electrostatic eliminators, about half a ton of arsenic is emitted daily in the smoke, according to rather conservation calculations. Most of the arsenic is in the form of arsenic trioxide contained in the solid phase of the emissions. The first indication of arsenic pollution was the mass extinction or severe depletion of colonies of bees at the distance of 30 km from the power plant in the direction of prevailing winds. Several epidemiological studies have been per-

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Test of environmental exposure to arsenic and hearing changes in exposed children

Bencko¹,

Symon²

1977

Environ Health Perspect

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“…The most famous instance was the finding of arsenic in Napoleon's hair and the consequent debate about the supposed poisoning of the Emperor (Forshufvud et al 1961;Smith et al 1962). Information about elemental contents in Napoleon's hair cut before and after his death can be found in a separate report, Lin et al (2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Hair Analysis as Method for Determination of Level of Drugs and Pharmaceutical in Human Body: Review of Chromatographic Procedures

Srogi

2006

Analytical Letters

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Interest in hair analysis as an alternative or complementary approach to urinalysis for drug abuse detection has grown in recent years. Hair analysis can be particularly advantageous for drugs and their enantiomers.More than hundred pharmaceuticals, drugs of abuse agents are reported to be detectable in human and animal hair. This article reviews the analysis of drugs and drug metabolites by chromatographic procedures, including the pretreatment steps, and the extraction methods. The general tendency in the last years, to highly sophisticated techniques gas chromatography -mass spectrometry (GC-MS-NCI), high pressure liquid chromatography -mass spectrometry (HPLC -MS), gas chromatography -mass spectrometry -mass spectrometry (GC-MS-MS) well illustrates this constant fight for sensitivity.

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“…Among other findings, the autopsy revealed a hardened ulcerating mass with irregular borders covering 4/5 of the stomach, suggesting gastric cancer as the cause of death [1]. Subsequently, the finding of Sten Forshufvud, a Swedish dentist and expert on poisons, of an elevated arsenic concentration in NapoleonTs hair in 1961 [2], ignited a fierce debate on whether Napoleon had been poisoned, allegedly by his friend the Count of Montholon in a possible collusion with French Royalists and the British Government [3]. Recently (mercurous chloride), administered to Napoleon as a purgative, might have resulted in hypokalemia, prolongation of the QT segment, and finally in a fatal cardiac arrhythmia (b torsades de pointes Q) [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%