Mercury, arsenic, lead, and antimony

Mercury, arsenic, lead, and antimony: how soon does it show?

Minutes to hours for a large dose; months or years for the slow poisoning of the trades.

How does it run?

Arsenic and antimony: cholera-like purging, then the nerves and the heart. Mercury: salivation, loosened teeth, tremor, and the madness of the hatters. Lead: colic, anaemia, the wrist-drop of painters, and in children the loss of mind. All bind the sulphur of the body’s enzymes.

What is done for it?

Chelation: dimercaprol and its successors, succimer, and for lead EDTA.

Historical and descriptive, not medical advice. In a poisoning, call a poison centre or emergency services.

Which substances in the database cause it?

A

MineralAntimonyAntimonio The metallic element and its compounds.CanaleCaution

A

CompoundArmenian stone, pills ofPillole di lapide armeno Lapis armenus, azurite, a blue copper carbonate.CanaleCaution

A

CompoundAurum potabileDrinkable gold Gold dissolved or suspended in liquid for drinking.

C

MineralCinnabarMinium, vermilion Mercury sulfide.Deadly

I

MineralIron and steelFerrum, chalybs The metal, given as filings in wine, as its rust, or in chalybeate spring waters.

J

CompoundJames’s powderDr. James’s fever powder A patent powder of antimony and calcined bone, secret in its making.Caution

L

MineralLithargeLithargyrum, “silver stone” Lead monoxide, a byproduct of refining silver.Caution

O

MineralOrpiment and realgarAuripigmentum, sandaraca Yellow and red arsenic sulfides.Deadly

P

CompoundPassarino’s white powder A very white powder prepared in Brescia “with great mastery” by Signor Giovanni Antonio Passarino, a man skilled in the spagyric (chemical) art (note XXXIX). Canale does not give its composition; it makes one vomit and purge, and he names it just after advising that well-prepared antimony is safer than hellebore, but what it was is not recorded.Canale

Q

Mineral QuicksilverArgentum vivum, hydrargyrum; mercury Elemental mercury, and its salts such as calomel and corrosive sublimate.Caution

V

MineralVerdigrisAerugo; Greek ios Copper acetate, the green rust of copper.Caution

V

MineralVitriolVitriolum; copperas Green vitriol (iron sulfate), blue vitriol (copper sulfate), and white vitriol (zinc sulfate); “oil of vitriol” is sulfuric acid.Caution

W

MineralWhite arsenicArsenic; “inheritance powder” Arsenic trioxide.Deadly

W

MineralWhite leadCerussa; ceruse Basic lead carbonate.Caution