EVERYTHING IS TOXIC: IT DEPENDS ON THE DOSE

Dr. M.G. Hogben, Dept. of Chemistry, Concordia University, Nov. 7, 1984

Paracelsus (1493‑1541) said it 500 years ago: "All substances are poisonous; there is none which is not a poison. The right dose differentiates a poison and a remedy."

Each of the following common household chemicals, if ingested (eaten or drunk) within a one or two hour period, is said to be able to kill the average 2 year old child weighing about 23 lbs. (10 Kg). Often far less can kill or seriously harm even children who are strong and healthy.

Alcohol	100g or about 1 1/2 cups of vodka, gin etc.
Salt	37g or 2 oz.
Sugar	300g or 1/2 lb.
Caffeine	30g or 1 oz; equiv. to 20 cups of coffee, tea or 30 colas
Baking Powder	(50% tartrate; 50% sodium bicarbonate) 10 g (La. p 316)
Crushed Fruit Seeds	(apple, peach, apricot, plum) 5‑25 seeds can be fatal through the slow release of cyanide into stomach (La. p. 277)
ASA	(Aspirin) 2g (6 tablets);
Phenacetin	(Tylenol) 10 g (La. p. 328)
Cigarettes	(2 g tobacco) 20 eaten, not smoked!; actually 2 cigarettes have enough nicotine to be lethal but absorption is too slow.
Matches	strike anywhere (pot chlorate) 50‑100 match heads (La.p.407)
Weed Killer	(potassium chlorate) 2 g.
Nail Polish Remover	(ethyl acetate or acetone) 100 ml or three I oz. Bottles
Moth Balls	(naphthalene) 2 g. (La.p.21 1)
Deodorizer Cakes	q)‑dichlorobenzene) 5 g. (La.p. 178)
Kerosene/Turpentine	+ other petroleum spirits: 10 mls. has been fatal
Fuel Tablets	(metaldehyde) 1 g. (La.p.202)
Fondue Fuel	(methyl hydrate) 50 mls. or 1/4cup ‑‑ note: small amounts make you irreversibly blind
Latex Paints	50 ml (U.p.318)
Oil Based Paints	Equiv. to kerosene
Detergent	(dishwashing, laundry, shampoo): max. non‑lethal lg (La.p.315)
Bleach (Javex)	15 ml. (La.p.314) as corrosive as same cone. lye; severe irritant but no chronic effect
Lye	(Draino or Liquid Plumber) 5 g. but terrible sub‑lethal effects

or even pure WATER!: a gallon (force‑fed over a period of one hour) is lethal. For comparison, the lethal dose for well known 'poisons' such as cyanide and strychnine would be about 20 mg. for a 2 year old.

NOTE: This information is not to be used to diagnose or to treat anyone; it is merely to warn! If you think your child has been poisoned, then phone a hospital and give them your suspicions. There are Poison Control Centres to assist you as well.

References: Most of the references on this sheet have been taken from the Lange Handbook of

Poisoning by R.H. Dreisbach. For example: La. p.328 means page 328 of the Lange

Handbook

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