Phenol Poisoning: Three Fatal Cases

Abstract

Phenol poisoning, although less common now than in the early part of this century, still occurs. The fatal cases discussed include the ingestion and percutaneous absorption of phenol. Death appeared to be the result of central nervous system toxicity and respiratory failure, the common autopsy finding being pulmonary edema. Blood concentrations of phenol were determined in two cases.

Determination of phenol and o-cresol by GC/MS in a fatal poisoning case

“…To validate these procedures, the recoveries were calculated with results greater than 95% in all samples. The concentrations of phenol in the blood in the case of fatal ingestion were reported in literature as 60 mg/ml [7] and 56 mg/ml [1]. The concentrations of phenol in the blood in the case reported here was in the fatal range (see Table 2).…”

“…Distributions of phenol in fatal poisonings have been reported [1,2]. Usually, colorimetry was used as the analytical method but it cannot exclude the interference of other phenolic compounds.…”

Accidental death caused by the absorption of 2,4-dichlorophenol through the skin

“…Moreover, the concentration of the stomach contents suggests an absorption through the skin. The lethal blood concentrations of phenol reported in the literature are the follows: 56 and 27 mg/1 (Soares 1982), 4.7 mg/l (Lewin 1982), and 130 mg/1 (Lo Dico 1989).…”

Special Considerations in Hazardous Materials Burns

“…Deaths after exposure have been reported with as little as 50 mg in infants and with 1 gram in adults. In the earlier part of the twentieth century, half of all poisoning deaths in the United States were due to phenol (1621 of 3376 reported poisoning deaths in 1909 were due to phenol, most of which were suicides) (46).…”