Toxicologic findings in the USS Iowa disaster.

Area of Science:

• Forensic Toxicology
• Explosion Victim Analysis
• Toxicologic Pathology

Background:

• The USS Iowa battleship experienced a fatal explosion, necessitating comprehensive toxicologic investigation of the casualties.
• Understanding the role of specific chemical agents and their postmortem concentrations is crucial for determining cause of death in such incidents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the comprehensive toxicologic findings from the 47 victims of the USS Iowa explosion.
• To correlate specific toxicologic markers (carboxyhemoglobin, cyanide, ethanol, other drugs) with the determined causes of death.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of blood carboxyhemoglobin saturations.
• Measurement of blood cyanide concentrations.
• Volatile analysis for ethanol and other substances.
• Screening for various drugs of abuse and therapeutic agents.

Main Results:

• A significant correlation was observed between elevated carboxyhemoglobin saturations and the cause of death.
• No correlation was found between blood cyanide concentrations and the cause of death.
• Volatile analysis indicated that detected ethanol was likely a product of postmortem decomposition, not antemortem ingestion.
• Nicotine was the only drug detected in any of the victims; other tested drugs were absent.

Conclusions:

• Carboxyhemoglobin levels are a reliable indicator of cause of death in victims of combustion-related incidents like the USS Iowa explosion.
• Cyanide levels were not indicative of cause of death in this cohort.
• Ethanol detected in victims' blood samples was attributed to postmortem production, not consumption prior to death.
• The absence of other drugs simplifies the toxicologic profile of the fatalities, with nicotine being an incidental finding.