What is a colourless, odourless poison that may kill upon skin contact or inhalation? No gases.?

Question

I'm doing a 3rd yr secondary school Forensic Science Assignment, and have to compose a murder story. I need the name of a poison as described. The murderer isn't me, duh :P

Thanks Dave, I looked up your suggestion and it sounds good, but my 'partner in crime' and I just thought that we probably need something that cannot be treated once exposed, and will kill within a day or so. Is there anything you can think of?

Answer 1

Contact poison with little or no vapor component -- I'd have to go with the nerve agent VX. It's an organo-phosphorus anti-cholinesterase agent. Vapor pressure is similar to that of 30W motor oil, and toxicity is on the order of 15 μg/kg (subcutaneous). Perhaps even more toxic if you can make an aerosol that is inhaled by the victim.

Edit --

If you want something very lethal and relatively untreatable, then I'd switch my answer to Soman. Not quite as toxic as VX (LD50 = ~62 μg/kg) but if you don't get the proper antidote into the bloodstream within about 5 minutes, it's all over - the toxin binds irreversibly to the active site. Death within minutes, depending on the route of entry. Soman is hard to make, however, because one of the major components is not commercially available.

If that's not enough, then you have to go with biotoxins -- botulism or perhaps ricin. Both must be injected, ingested, or inhaled to be effective -- not viable contact poisons. Ricin is untreatable, botulism (if correctly diagnosed) has an anti-toxin available.

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What is a colourless, odourless poison that may kill upon skin contact or inhalation? No gases.?
I'm doing a 3rd yr secondary school Forensic Science Assignment, and have to compose a murder story. I need the name of a poison as described. The murderer isn't me, duh :P

Answer 3

carbon monoxide is odourless and colourless (ie car exhausts)... but a more interesting story would be about sodium nitrite which can be easily mistaken for common table salt (looking and tasting like salt) but is highly toxic and starves the blood of oxygen. Some naughty soandso swaps the salt for the sodium nitrate- Now there is a tale of murder worthy of Mordor!

Answer 4

Phosgene gas.
It is colourless but can appear as a white or yellowish haze when released into air, due to refraction of light. In low concentrations its odor resembles recently cut hay or green corn (maize), while at higher concentrations it may be strongly unpleasant. In addition to its industrial production, small amounts occur naturally from the breakdown of chlorinated compounds and the combustion of chlorine-containing organic compounds.

Answer 5

Just shove some Potassium Cyanide down the throats, or use SO3 gas.

Answer 6

Sarin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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For other uses, see Sarin (disambiguation).
Sarin

Discovery
Discovered by Gerhard Schrader
Ambrose
Rüdiger
van der Linde
Discovered in 1938
Chemical Characteristics
Chemical Name 2-(fluoro-methyl-phosphoryl)oxypropane
Chemical Family Fluorinated organophosphorus compound
Chemical Formula C4H10FO2P
Molecular Weight 140 g/mol
NFPA 704 Rating
141
Airborne exposure limit 0.0001 mg/m3
Boiling point 158 °C
Freezing/melting point -56 °C
Vapor pressure 2.9 at 25 °C
Vapor relative density (Air=1) 4.86
Liquid density 1.0887 g/cm³ at 25 °C
1.102 g/cm³ at 20 °C
Solubility in Water Complete
Appearance and color Clear colorless liquid. Odorless in pure form.
Precursors
Key precursors methylphosphonyl difluoride
methylphosphonyl dichloride
diisopropyl methylphosphonochloridate
Precursors Dimethyl methylphosphonate
isopropyl methylphosphonate
Other chemicals Trimethylphosphite
phosphorus trichloride
triisopropyl phosphite
Except where noted otherwise, data are given for
materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa)
Infobox disclaimer and references
Sarin, also known by its NATO designation of GB (O-Isopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate) is an extremely toxic substance whose sole application is as a nerve agent. As a chemical weapon, it is classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations according to UN Resolution 687, and its production and stockpiling was outlawed by the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993.

Contents [hide]
1 Chemical characteristics
1.1 Shelf life
1.1.1 Efforts to lengthen shelf life
2 Biological effects
3 History
3.1 Origin
3.2 Sarin in Nazi Germany during World War II
3.3 Sarin after World War II
4 External links
5 References



[edit] Chemical characteristics
Sarin is similar in structure and biological activity to some commonly used insecticides, such as Malathion, and is similar in biological activity to carbamates used as insecticides such as Sevin, and medicines such as Mestinon, Neostigmine, and Antilirium.

At room temperature, sarin is a colorless, odorless liquid. Its relatively high vapor pressure means that it evaporates quickly (about 36 times faster than tabun, another common chemical nerve agent). Its vapor is also colorless and odorless. It can be made more persistent through the addition of certain oils or petroleum products.

Sarin can be used as a binary chemical weapon; its two precursors are methylphosphonyl difluoride and a mixture of isopropyl alcohol and isopropyl amine. The isopropyl amine binds the hydrogen fluoride generated during the chemical reaction.


[edit] Shelf life
Sarin has a relatively short shelf life, and will degrade after a period of several weeks to several months. The shelf life may be greatly shortened by impurities in precursor materials. According to the CIA [1], in 1989 the Iraqis destroyed 40 or more tons of sarin that had decomposed, and that some Iraqi sarin had a shelf life of only a few weeks owing mostly to impure precursors.

Like other nerve agents, Sarin can be chemically deactivated with a strong alkali. Typically an 18 percent aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide is used to destroy sarin.


[edit] Efforts to lengthen shelf life
Nations stockpiling sarin have tried to overcome the problem of its short shelf life in three ways:

The shelf life of unitary (i.e., pure) sarin may be lengthened by increasing the purity of the precursor and intermediate chemicals and refining the production process.
Incorporating a stabilizer chemical called tributylamine. Later this was replaced by diisopropylcarbodiimide (di-c-di), which allowed for GB nerve agent to be stored in aluminium casings.
Developing binary chemical weapons, where the two precursor chemicals are stored separately in the same shell, and mixed to form the agent immediately before or when the shell is in flight. This approach has the dual benefit of making the issue of shelf life irrelevant and greatly increasing the safety of sarin munitions. However, experts still refuse to put the shelf life of this type of weapon past 5 years.

[edit] Biological effects

Rabbit used to check for leaks at Sarin production plant, Rocky Mountain Arsenal. (photo 1970)Like other nerve agents, sarin attacks the nervous system of a living organism. It is an irreversible cholinesterase inhibitor.

When a functioning motor neuron or parasympathetic neuron is stimulated it releases the neurotransmitter acetylcholine to transmit the impulse to a muscle or organ. Once the impulse has been sent, the enzyme acetylcholinesterase breaks down the acetylcholine in order to allow the muscle or organ to relax.

Sarin is an extremely potent organophosphate compound that disrupts the nervous system by inhibiting the cholinesterase enzyme by forming a covalent bond with the particular serine residue in the enzyme which forms the site where acetylcholine normally undergoes hydrolysis; the fluorine of the phosphonyl fluoride group reacts with the hydroxyl group on the serine side-chain, forming a phosphoester and releasing HF. With the enzyme inhibited, acetylcholine builds up in the synapse and continues to act so that any nerve impulses are, in effect, continually transmitted.

Initial symptoms following exposure to sarin are a runny nose, tightness in the chest and constriction of the pupils. Soon after, the victim has difficulty breathing and experiences nausea and drooling. As the victim continues to lose control of bodily functions, he vomits, defecates and urinates. This phase is followed by twitching and jerking. Ultimately, the victim becomes comatose and suffocates in a series of convulsive spasms.

Sarin is a highly volatile liquid. Inhalation and absorption through the skin pose a great threat. Even vapour concentrations immediately penetrate the skin. People who absorb a nonlethal dose but do not receive immediate appropriate medical treatment may suffer permanent neurological damage.

Even at very low concentrations, sarin can be fatal. Death may follow in one minute after direct ingestion of about 0.01 milligram per kilogram of body weight if antidotes, typically atropine and pralidoxime, are not quickly administered. Atropine, an acetylcholine inhibitor, is given to treat the physiological symptoms of poisoning. Pralidoxime can regenerate cholinesterases if administered within approximately five hours.

It is estimated that sarin is more than 500 times as toxic as cyanide.

The short- and long-term symptoms experienced by those affected included:

bleeding from the nose and mouth
coma
convulsions
death
difficulty breathing
disturbed sleep and nightmares
extreme sensitivity to light
foaming at the mouth
high fevers
influenza-like symptoms
loss of consciousness
loss of memory
nausea and vomiting
paralysis
post-traumatic stress disorder
respiratory problems
seizures
uncontrollable trembling
vision problems, both temporary and permanent.

this is another interesting webpage.
http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/byzantium/55/poison.htm
im a forensic stud oso. ok tc n gud luck.