Arsenic Poisoning - History

History

In addition to its presence as a poison, for centuries arsenic was used medicinally. It has been used for over 2,400 years as a part of traditional Chinese medicine. In the western world, arsenic was used extensively to treat syphilis before penicillin was introduced. It was eventually replaced as a therapeutic agent by sulfa drugs and then by other antibiotics. Arsenic was also an ingredient in many tonics (or "patent medicines").

In addition, during the Elizabethan era, some women used a mixture of vinegar, chalk, and arsenic applied topically to whiten their skin. This use of arsenic was intended to prevent aging and creasing of the skin, but some arsenic was inevitably absorbed into the blood stream.

Some pigments, most notably the popular Emerald Green (known also under several other names), were based on arsenic compounds. Overexposure to these pigments was a frequent cause of accidental poisoning of artists and craftsmen. One of the biggest unintentional cases of arsenic poisoning via well water consumption is in Bangladesh and called by the World Health Organization as the "largest mass poisoning of a population in history."

Arsenic became a favorite murder weapon of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, particularly among ruling classes in Italy allegedly. Because the symptoms are similar to those of cholera, which was common at the time, arsenic poisoning often went undetected. By the 19th century, it had acquired the nickname "inheritance powder," perhaps because impatient heirs were known or suspected to use it to ensure or accelerate their inheritances.

In ancient Korea, and particularly in Joseon Dynasty, arsenic-sulfur compounds have been used as a major ingredient of sayak (사약; 賜藥), which was a poison cocktail used in capital punishment of high-profile political figures and members of the royal family. Due to social and political prominence of the condemned, many of these events were well-documented, often in the Annals of Joseon Dynasty; they are sometimes portrayed in historical television miniseries because of their dramatic nature.

On April 27, 2003, sixteen members of the Gustaf Adolph Lutheran Church in New Sweden, Maine, became ill following the church coffee hour; one man, Reid Morrill, died a short time later. It was found that the coffee had been heavily laced with arsenic, setting off a flurry of local gossip and hysteria and worldwide media coverage. As of the 2005 publication of journalist Christine Ellen Young's book, A Bitter Brew: Faith, Power and Poison in a Small New England Town, no one had been charged with the crime, but Young's book revealed that lifelong church member Daniel Bondeson, who shot himself at his family farm five days after the poisoning, left a note confessing sole responsibility for the crime. Bondeson died while undergoing surgery, leaving Maine State Police and many church members convinced someone had helped Bondeson. Young's book rejected the conspiracy theory, citing evidence that the well-liked Bondeson had a dark side, harboring bitter grudges and battling emotional problems. In 2006, the Maine Attorney General agreed that Bondeson had acted alone and closed the case.