@Battered_Seoul As
@Kasumi eluded to, there are three variables that go into determining dose for a barium suicide. These are as follows:
1. Solubility.
Insoluble salts are unsuitable for use as suicide agents. This naturally excludes the common sulfate for this purpose. The order of solubility for barium compounds is as follows
(Kozempel, 2014):
Compound | Solubility mg/100ml water |
Barium sulfate | .22 |
Barium carbonate | 2.2 |
Barium sulfide | 7,860 |
Barium acetate | (unknown, but likely similar to nitrate since there are no solubility rule exceptions for acetates) |
Barium nitrate | 9,100 |
Barium chloride | 36,200 |
As illustrated, the most soluble compounds are the chloride and nitrate. Unsuprisingly, the nitrate and chloride are the most toxic (
CDC, 2007).
2. Ability to dissociate in water
Toxicity is caused by the barium cation; therefore, the ability of the particular salt to dissociate in water and liberate the barium cation is very important. The strongest acid ions are the perchlorate, sulfate, iodide, bromide, chloride, and nitrate. The strongest base ions are the methide, hydride, amide, ethoxide, and sulfide
(Rice University, 2016). Again, see how the most toxic barium salts (chloride and nitrate) have strong anions bonded to the barium cation.
3. Absorption
The third variable is absorption into the body. About 30% of a highly soluble barium salt is absorbed into the body (
CDC, 2007). If the LD50 (dose at which 50% of group dies), as stated by
@Kasumi, is 80mg/kg, then double it to ensure a good chance of success. This dose would be 14,400mg for a 90kg person. However, bioavailability should be accounted for. After accounting for a 30% bioavailabilty, the dose should be around 24g for a highly soluble salt.
Conclusions
My initial dose recommendation was 25g for a highly soluble salt (chloride, nitrate, sulfide, and acetate), and I stand by it. One publication reports that barium chloride is about as toxic sodium nitrite in general:
"Barium compounds are widely known to be toxic and again treated as such; sodium nitrite has similar toxicity ratings yet is treated in much the same way as we would sodium nitrate" (Crellin, 1989).
However, this publication also states that barium is likely more toxic in man than sodium nitrite:
"Interestingly a lowest known toxic (not fatal) dose of 14 mg kg-1 (equivalent to about 1 g for a 75 kg man) is reported for sodium nitrite, suggesting that, despite its low lethal dose for rats, it may not be as bad as barium chloride for man" (
Crellin, 1989).
Furthermore, the same publication lists a dose of 900mg as the lethal dose for barium chloride and also provides a comparison to potassium cyanide (see Table 2):
Compound | Fatal Dose (Human) |
Potassium cyanide | 200mg |
Barium chloride | 900mg |
Table 2. (Crellin, 1989).
Sourcing
In regard to sourcing barium, many barium salts are sold as reagents by online retailers. However, should these become restricted, soluble barium salts can be found in the following products:
1. Barium sulfide can be found in shaving powder (
Downs et al., 1995).
2. Barium nitrate can be found in fireworks and is sold to manufacture pyrotechnics
(Deepthiraju & Varma, 2012).
3. Barium carbonate can be found as a ceramic pottery glaze
(Jamshidi et al., 2022). It should be noted that barium carbonate is not very toxic on its own and its toxicity is solely based on its ability to metabolize into barium chloride. It can also be used to manufacture the chloride, as shown
here.
4. Barium chlorate can be found in fireworks (
Minns, 2018). This is a strong oxidizer and can even spontaneously combust in air with too much dust or lint in it.
5. Barium chromate can be found in textile pigments as Barium Yellow
("Barium Chromate"). It should be noted that barium chromate is a carcinogen in addition to a toxin.
6. Barium metal can be bought for element collecting. The careful addition of water to the metal produces barium hydroxide and hydrogen gas. Barium hydroxide can be used to create barium chloride (
Sullivan, 2012).
7. Barium sulfate can be bought as a pigment, or as the mineral barite. Barium sulfate, although insoluble and non-toxic, can be used to create barium carbonate through a lengthy reflux with sodium carbonate. The carbonate can be used to manufacture the chloride, as shown
here.