Fatal poisoning of four workers in a farm: Distribution of hydrogen sulfide and thiosulfate in 10 different biological matrices

•We report an accidental poisoning by hydrogen sulfide involving 4 farmers.•Sulfide and thiosulfate were evaluated in 10 different biological matrices.•We discuss the not homogeneous toxicological values detected in samples.•Toxicological analyses contributed to understand the sequence of the events...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Forensic science international 2020-11, Vol.316, p.110525, Article 110525
Main Authors: Moretti, Matteo, Ballardini, Marco, Siodambro, Chiara, Tronconi, Livio, Osculati, Antonio Marco Maria, Freni, Francesca, Vignali, Claudia, Morini, Luca
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adipose Tissue - chemistry
Adult
Air Pollutants - poisoning
Alkylation
Animals
Autopsies
Bile
Bile - chemistry
Biological properties
Biological samples
Blood
Brain
Brain Chemistry
Case reports
Chloride
Dairy farming
Dairy farms
Death
Distribution
Edema
Enzymes
Farmers
Fatalities
Femur
Forensic sciences
Gas chromatography
Gases
Humans
Hydrogen
Hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen Sulfide - poisoning
Inhalation
Intoxication
Iodine
Lagoons
Liver
Liver - chemistry
Lung - chemistry
Lungs
Male
Manure
Manures
Mass spectrometry
Mass spectroscopy
Metabolism
Middle Aged
Mortality
Muscle, Skeletal - chemistry
Muscles
Occupational Exposure - adverse effects
Poisoning
Potassium
Respiration
Sodium
Spleen
Spleen - chemistry
Sulfides - analysis
Thiosulfate
Thiosulfates
Thiosulfates - analysis
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Summary:•We report an accidental poisoning by hydrogen sulfide involving 4 farmers.•Sulfide and thiosulfate were evaluated in 10 different biological matrices.•We discuss the not homogeneous toxicological values detected in samples.•Toxicological analyses contributed to understand the sequence of the events. We evaluate the distribution of sulfide and thiosulfate (TS) in biological samples of four dairy farmers died inside a pit connected to a manure lagoon. Autopsies were performed 4 days later. Toxicological analyses of sulfide and TS were made using an extractive alkylation technique combined with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Autopsies revealed: multiorgan congestion; pulmonary edema; manure inside distal airways of three of the four victims. Sulfide concentrations were cardiac blood: 0.5–3.0 μg/mL, femoral blood: 0.5–1.2 μg/mL, bile:
ISSN:0379-0738
1872-6283
DOI:10.1016/j.forsciint.2020.110525