Top 14 Most Terrible Poisons in The World
Table of Contents |
Assessing the toxicity of a substance is not an easy task. For example, if you consume liquid mercury, it is usually expelled without injury. However, inhaling mercury vapor will be exceedingly harmful.
14. Dimethyl cadmium (CH3-CO-CH3)
Dimethyl cadmium - Inhaling causes dead. |
Dimethyl cadmium (CH3-CO-CH3) is a chemical from the organometallic group. It is a highly hazardous, colorless liquid that emits fumes into the atmosphere. It is a linear molecule with a C-Cd bond length of 213 pm. The molecule has limited applications as a reagent in organic synthesis and metal chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). It has also been used to synthesize cadmium selenide nanoparticles, while efforts have been undertaken to replace it due to its toxicity.
This material has both the frightening traits of being difficult to extinguish and explosive, but its fear stems from the toxic concentration it causes. A few millionths of a gram of dimethyl cadmium vapor spread in one cubic meter is enough to kill a person.
The toxicity of dimethyl cadmium has both acute and chronic impacts on the human body. When inhaled, this toxin immediately enters the bloodstream and spreads throughout the body, having practically immediate effects on organs such as the lungs, liver, and kidneys. Even if the sufferer survives a few hours after inhaling this gas, the ramifications are severe. This poison is very carcinogenic. Listening to this, you can easily comprehend Dimethyl cadmium's destructive potential.
So, if you accidently spill dimethyl cadmium, how do you clean it up? It's best not to let it happen. Water cannot be used to wash or sweep because it causes a fire and explosion. Even waiting for dimethyl cadmium to breakdown is impractical because the resulting substance is more explosive than the original.
13. Brodifacoum
Brodifacoum is a drug that kills animals by inhibiting blood coagulation, resulting in persistent internal bleeding. |
Brodifacoum is an extremely potent anticoagulant that lowers the concentration of vitamin K in the blood, resulting in internal bleeding and death. It is offered as rat poison under the names Talon, Jaguar, and Havoc. People and dogs will be in the same condition, even if they only barely contact the contaminated thing. The toxin penetrates the skin and remains in the body for months. Animals consuming contaminated rodents are also at risk.
12. Cyanide (xyanua)
Apple seeds contain Cyanide |
Cyanide is likely the best-known poison because it has been used in several terrorist attacks. If someone inhales or consumes Cyanide through their digestive tract, they will die from asphyxia within 20 seconds.
Scientists believe that Cyanide and Strychnine have similar toxicity, although Cyanide has a far better reputation. This chemical compound can be found in plants, bacteria, fungi, and the seeds of certain fruits.
Apple seeds contain Cyanide; nevertheless, you can only be poisoned by chewing and swallowing at least 150 apple seeds, which will result in convulsions, respiratory failure, heart failure, and death within a few seconds.
11. Arsenic
Arsenic is popular |
This ubiquitous toxin is not harmful in tiny quantities. In reality, a 2017 study discovered that 2 million Americans are constantly exposed to arsenic through well water.
Long-term exposure to arsenic causes cancer, and consuming significant amounts of arsenic mixed into liquids (odorless, tasteless) will result in death.
That's why arsenic was popular with killers in nineteenth-century England. Vomiting and diarrhea are the first symptoms; depending on the dose, death can occur between 2 hours to 2 days.
10. Botulinum
Botulinum is 40 million times more deadly than cyanide and can kill a person in as little as 80 nanograms. Symptoms include numbness in the face, followed by limbs and respiratory organs.
Unfortunately, as said at the beginning of the article, this toxin can present in food, though it is extremely unusual, so if you notice your facial muscles numbing and you are unable to talk after eating something, get medical attention. Get to the hospital as soon as possible.
9. Mercury
Mercury occurs naturally |
Mercury occurs naturally in the air, water, and soil, but it is hazardous when it forms inside fish and produces Methylmercury. Because this is the simplest route for mercury to enter our bodies when consumed. It is high on the list because even trace amounts of mercury can be lethal.
Many people have died as a result of exposure to mercury, including a British scientist in 1996. She followed all safety precautions when working with dangerous substances but was still in danger. She died within a few weeks after putting two drops of mercury on her hand despite wearing protective gloves.
8. Strychnine
Strychnine is a chemical found in abundance in the pennywort plant and used in a variety of treatments. Drinking rubbing alcohol soaked in pennywort seeds, poisoning with strychnine-containing insecticides, utilizing drug preparations such as cocaine and heroin laced with strychnine, and even contaminated food and water are the leading causes of mortality.
If you are poisoned, you will notice symptoms such as anxiety, muscle discomfort, and spasms within 15-60 minutes, which can progress to respiratory failure and brain death at high doses. If you can hold out for 12 hours, you will be able to survive.
7. Polonium
In principle, one gram of Polonium 210 might kill ten million people if consumed. |
Polonium, a radioactive material discovered in 1898, caused the death of Yasser Arafat, the Russian dissident Palestinian leader. Polonium is regarded as the most hazardous poison of the twenty-first century. It is not employed in biological research because it is exceedingly harmful to all living beings. Its most frequent form is Polonium 210, which is thought to be 250,000 times more hazardous than hydric cyanide. This explains why the United States dropped Polonium on Nagasaki as part of what they called Manhattan's Dyton Project. In principle, one gram of Polonium 210 could kill ten million people if consumed, injected, or inhaled. Its radiation may cause cancer in humans.
6. Tetrodotoxin
This poison comes from puffer fish |
Tetrodotoxin, abbreviated as TTX, is a deadly neurotoxin derived from the puffer fish. If you consume puffer fish venom, you will get symptoms such as paralysis, confusion, frequent convulsions, coma, and death. It everything happens in 17 minutes, or a maximum of six hours. TTX is at the top of the list of dangerous toxins.
Just a very small amount of these substances is enough to kill you. (Photo source: AMC) |
Here are the world's five most potent poisons. They are hundreds of times more poisonous than cyanide and strychnine.
5. Ricin poison
Ricin is extracted from the seeds of the castor bean plant (Ricinus communis). (Photo source: Flickr). |
This highly poisonous plant poison was used to assassinate important Bulgarian politician Georgi Markov, who was living in exile in London. On September 7, 1978, Markov was waiting for a bus at Waterloo Bridge (UK) when he felt something brush his leg.
He looked behind him and noticed a man leaning down to pick up an umbrella. Markov quickly became disoriented and fainted at the bus stop. He was transported to the hospital for a high fever and died three days later.
An examination showed a very little sphere of platinum-iridium alloy attached to Markov's thigh. The ball, covered with many little needles, was smeared with ricin, which caused death.
Ricine is derived from the seeds of the castor bean plant (Ricinus communis). This molecule is a form of glycoprotein that inhibits protein synthesis and so causes cell death. Only one milligram per kilogram of human body is sufficient to kill the person.
4. VX poison
In 1950, VX was banned worldwide for being too toxic. (Image source: zidbits). |
VX is a neurotoxic derived from engine oils. Initially, this chemical was developed and employed in pesticides. However, by 1950, VX had been prohibited globally due to its high toxicity. VX disrupts the passage of nerve information between cells by altering the chemical acetylcholine.
Once acetylcholine has sent nerve messages, it must be eliminated by an enzyme known as acetylcholinesterase. Otherwise, they will continue to transmit signals indefinitely. VX inhibits the function of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, allowing acetylcholine to work continuously. From there, your muscles will lose control, causing you to die from spasms and asphyxia.
3. Batrachotoxin
Batrachotoxin is obtained from poisonous frogs. (Photo source: musemalady) |
Perhaps we've all seen images of South American Indians using blowtorches to hunt animals. But have you ever considered why such a small dart could kill a buffalo? That's because they've been spiked with a dangerous compound called Batrachotoxin, which comes from venomous frogs.
Aboriginal people will strive to catch as many colorful frogs as possible and grill them on an open fire. These frogs will emit poison, which the indigenous will capture and apply to the darts.
Batrachotoxin kills by disrupting Na+ ion channels in muscle and nerve cells, causing them to fail to shut. This will result in a continual flow of Na + ions, leading to death from heart failure.
The fascinating thing here is that the frogs are not toxic. The toxins they acquire come from the beetles they frequently consume in the forest.
2. Maitotoxin
This is the most lethal form of toxin found in the bodies of marine animals. (Photo: Flickr) |
Maitotoxin is the most lethal toxin found in the bodies of marine animals. This toxin is produced by a species of algae and has a highly complicated structure. As a result, they are difficult to produce synthetically. Maitotoxin increases the flow of calcium ions through the myocardial cell membrane, resulting in heart failure and death.
1. Botulinum toxin
Just one nanogram per kilogram of body of this substance is enough to cause instant death. (Image source: npr). |
Scientists now agree that botulinum toxin, a chemical produced by anaerobic bacteria, is the most toxic molecule known. A single nanogram of this chemical per kilogram of body weight is sufficient to cause instant death.
There are several forms of botulinum toxin, with type A being the most effective. This material has a polypeptide structure, which is made up of over 1,000 amino acid units linked together. They produce muscle paralysis by inhibiting the production of the nerve chemical acetylcholine.
However, this type of material is used in the cosmetics and beauty industries. A modest dose of botulinum will induce face muscles to cease working, resulting in fewer wrinkles.
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