[rasiel]

just as fun a list to compare i would imagine!

these would be the top contenders for the stuff you'd most dread to get on you. off the top of my head these are the ones that most freak me out:

1- hydrofluoric acid
2- nitric acid
3- bromine
4- dimethylmercury
5- liquid nitrogen
6- white phosphorus
7- polonium
8- dioxin
9- radon
10- dog poop? meth?

ras

[imp]

rasiel said:

just as fun a list to compare i would imagine!

these would be the top contenders for the stuff you'd most dread to get on you. off the top of my head these are the ones that most freak me out:

1- hydrofluoric acid
2- nitric acid
3- bromine
4- dimethylmercury
5- liquid nitrogen
6- white phosphorus
7- polonium
8- dioxin
9- radon
10- dog poop? meth?

ras

Get on you, or ingest by swallowing or breathing? The latter is especially vile:
plutonium, beryllium, aspergilla (mold)- bad to breathe! imp

[John Cuthber]

Liquid nitrogen huh?
OK, I will get a dewar of it and pour some over my arm if you will do the same with boiling water.
I'm not sure dioxin is common enough for anyone to have investigated its toxicity. Tetrachloro dibenzo p dioxin is quite bad for you.
I'm suprised that ricin and tetrodotoxin didn't make the list.
Come to think of it anhydrous (liquid) HCN is pretty bad, not only very toxic (Not in ricin's league - but pretty bad), but explosive too.

[YT2095]

there`s 1000`s really, but common ones...

1. Organophosphates
2. hexavalent Chrome
3. Beryllium (dust)
4. DMSO
5. Psychotropic drugs
6. metaloids and Selenium.
7. Hydrazine
8. Dishonest Poisons
9. unpredictable explosives
10. Acetaldehyde (think Hangovers)

in no particular order.

[John Cuthber]

Pure DMSO is an odd choice (though I don't like the aftertaste you get when it ges on skin it's barely toxic). But what I'd really like to know is what is a "dishonest poison"?

[YT2095]

one that shows no signs right away, but is going to kill you.

and DMSO isn`t directly toxic, however it will complex easily and present Anything present on the skin surface into the blood stream, again, I consider it Sneaky.

[John Cuthber]

Fair point, yes they are a bit sneaky. On the other hand, as a DNA based life form I'm a bit upset that you don't like organophosphates.

[MolotovCocktail]

My opinion:

1. Thallium
2. Bromine
3. Sulfuric Acid
4. Chrome
5. Cyanide
6. Carbon Monoxide
7. Anhydrous Ammonia
8. Mustard Gas
9. Chlorine Gas
10. Sewage

[jdurg]

1): Hydrofluoric Acid
2): Concentrated Nitric Acid
3): Nitroglycerine (Think MASSIVE headache and then nearly non-existant blood pressure).
4): Dimethylmercury
5): Cesium
6): Cesium hydroxide
7): Liquid Fluorine
8): White Phosphorus
9): Any soluble radium compound
10): Butyl Lithium

[SkepticLance]

Methyl mercury has to be close to the top of the list.

A few years ago, a lady chemist was decanting methyl mercury solution from one container to another, wearing PVC gloves. One drop spilled onto her gloved hand. A month later, she died, in great pain.

Methyl mercury goes straight through PVC, straight through human skin, and into the blood. It is carried to the brain, which it slowly kills.

The most toxic of all poisons is the product used in the beauty industry - botox. That is, the toxin produced by the anaerobic bacterium, Clostridium botulinum. Acute oral LD50 is estimated at 1 part per quadrillion.

The most toxic man-made chemical is the dioxin 2,3,7,8 TCDD. Minimum dose that might kill is estimated at 20 parts per billion.

[jdurg]

It was actually dimethyl mercury that the researcher Karen Wetterhahn at Dartmouth had spilled a drop onto her glove. Methyl mercury is still toxic, but the dimethyl variety is a bit worse.

[TATER]

in my opinion:
1.hydroflouric acid
2.methyl mercury
3.nitric acid
4. sodium
5.any concentrated acid

my top five

[bascule]

I don't see how any of these lists can omit plutonium

[jdurg]

bascule said:

I don't see how any of these lists can omit plutonium

Because the toxicity and "nastiness" of plutonium and plutonium compounds has been VASTLY overexaggerated by media and people who don't really know a whole lot about radiation and/or chemical toxicity. (I.E. the people who think that uranium metal is horrendously radioactive and will cause cancer if you even look at it).

[John Cuthber]

Err, it's a fair point that the media exagerate things like it's going out of fashion, but since plutonium is roughly a million times more radioactive than uranium it's a reasonable candidate for this list. It has an LD 50 of about 50 µg/kg which is pretty low and it certainly got a mention early on in this thread.
I think the problem with including it is that you would also need to include every radioisotope with an apropriate half life (too short and you will never get enough into someone to kill them; too long ant it won't do any harm).

[emcelhannon]

Let's lay down some rules. 1/10 of a gram of white phosophorous ingested will likely kill you faster than 1/10 of gram of plutonium. Am I right? You're just as dead either way, but I think the speed of reaction ought to be of consideration here. Mere proximity points, however go straight to the radioactive contestants. We need to make a separate list for each kind of exposure, or figure in a handicap for certain chemicals. I'd be interested in watching you guys figure out a point system for a single list, myself.

[John Cuthber]

"I'd be interested in watching you guys figure out a point system for a single list, myself."
Two years ago we might have bothered.

[toastywombel]

To find out what are the nastiest chemicals I think it would be important for everyone to have a sound definition of nastiness

nasty-
offensive or even (of persons) malicious; "in a nasty mood"; "a nasty accident"; "a nasty shock"; "a nasty smell"; "a nasty trick to pull"; "Will ...
exasperatingly difficult to handle or circumvent; "a nasty problem"; "a good man to have on your side in a tight situation"
cruddy: characterized by obscenity; "had a filthy mouth"; "foul language"; "smutty jokes"
filthy: disgustingly dirty; filled or smeared with offensive matter; "as filthy as a pigsty"; "a foul pond"; "a nasty pigsty of a room"

filth: a state characterized by foul or disgusting dirt and refuse
cattiness: malevolence by virtue of being malicious or spiteful or nasty
the quality of being unpleasant; "I flinched at the nastiness of his wound"

This is a rather fun post, but I think nasty is a rather opinionated term to judge chemicals by.

---

Merged post follows:

Consecutive posts merged
Here are some other nasty chemicals you might want to consider, some of these might have been previously listed.

-cadaverene
-putrescene
-thioglycolic acid
-VX gas
-botulinum
-dihydrogen monoxide

[emcelhannon]

estrogen?

[jake.com]

toastywombel said:

-dihydrogen monoxide

funny guy

---

Merged post follows:

Consecutive posts merged

emcelhannon said:

estrogen?

also funny guy