Books that are deadly to humans have often appeared in works of fiction. Connoisseurs, for example, may recall Aristotle's poisonous book that played a vital role in the plot of Umberto Eco's novel The Name of the Rose.
Poisoned by an insane Benedictine monk, the book kills monks in an Italian monastery who, while reading this book, accidentally licked their fingers while flipping through the pages soaked in poison.
Could something like this have happened in reality? As it turned out, quite.
Researchers recently discovered in the library of the University of Southern Denmark three books published in the 16th and 17th centuries, the covers of which were richly saturated with arsenic.
The toxic properties of these books were accidentally discovered during a series of X-ray fluorescence analyzes. This is one of the most modern spectroscopic methods for studying a substance in order to obtain its elemental composition. In recent years, this technology has been widely used in the field of archeology and art, in the study of the chemical elements of ceramics and painting.
The books piqued the interest of researchers because their thick green covers consisted of rare passages from Roman law and medieval Latin manuscripts. Previously, it was a common practice to make covers for new books from old scattered sheets of parchment.
The cover texts were also very difficult to read due to the extensive green paint that obscured the old handwritten letters. Therefore, the books were taken to the laboratory and a series of X-ray fluorescence analyzes were carried out, which suddenly showed that the green dye is nothing more than poisonous arsenic.
This chemical element is one of the most toxic substances in the world and contact with it can lead to various symptoms of poisoning, the development of cancer and even death.
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Arsenic toxicity does not diminish over time. Depending on the type and duration of exposure, various symptoms of arsenic poisoning include stomach irritation, intestinal irritation, nausea, diarrhea, skin changes, and lung irritation.
It turned out that green paint with arsenic is the so-called Parisian green - mixed acetate-arsenite of copper (II) Cu (CH3COO) 23Cu (AsO2) 2. It was previously known under dozens of other trade names and was used as a green paint pigment until it was banned due to toxicity. Now this element is used only in such arsenic-containing preparations as a poison against mice, rats and insects.
The industrial production of Parisian greenery began in Europe in the early 19th century. Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painters used different versions of this pigment to create their vibrant masterpieces. This means that many museum exhibits of that time still contain poison.
The researchers speculate that green arsenic paint was applied to the covers of old books to prevent damage from insects and mice. Already in those years, people understood that this pigment was very toxic, but did not understand that it could be toxic for those who would later take these books into unprotected hands.
Now all three books in poisoned covers are kept in the same library, but they are in separate cardboard boxes with safety labels and in a ventilated cabinet.
