Polyatomic Ions

• The Tylenol Murders of 1982•

When you buy a bottle of cough syrup, eye drops, or nasal spray from your pharmacy, you probably notice the plastic safety seals around the rims of the lids as you try to open the package. Yet, do you check if the tamper-resistant seal is intact? If the seal is broken, do you return the product to the store or take your chances and use it anyway?

Many people do not think about how product tamper-resistant seals first came into play. In 1982, seven people died in Chicago after someone laced seven bottles of Extra Strength Tylenol capsules with potassium cyanide. The first victim who died was a 12-year-old girl named Mary Kellerman in Elk Grove Village on September 29. Her parents had given her an Extra Strength Tylenol capsule that morning when she complained of a sore throat. They later found her unconscious. The paramedics tried desperately to revive her. Yet, Mary died on the way to the hospital and doctors believed initially Mary had a stroke.

Later that same day 27-year-old postal worker Adam Janus living in Arlington Heights is rushed to another local hospital and dies. Paramedics believe he has had a massive heart attack. That night Adam’s family returns to his home to discuss his funeral arrangements. Then Stanley Angus, Adam’s 25-year-old younger brother and Stanley’s 19-year-old fiancée, Teresa, both complain of headaches. The two ingest Extra Strength Tylenol capsules found in Adam’s kitchen, and both soon collapse. Paramedics return to the house for the second time that day and attempt to save the young couple, unsuccessfully. Stanley died on the way to the hospital and Teresa died a couple days later. Doctors know the deaths of the three family members are related but are unsure how.

Two off duty Chicago firefighters Philip Cappitelli and Richard Keyworth, make the connection regarding the Tylenol. Both men had been monitoring emergency calls from their homes and noticed two families reporting the person down had ingested Tylenol. The firefighters feeling Tylenol was involved confirm the other two members of the Janus family also ingested Tylenol immediately before collapsing. The firefighters call the coroner who confirms capsules of Tylenol obtained from both victim homes and finds 65 milligrams of cyanide in some of them. Johnson and Johnson initiate a recall of select Tylenol products.

Chicago uses every means to alert citizens to the dangers in its midst. Police officers announce the danger over their loudspeakers as they drive through neighborhoods. Schools ask staff and students to bring all Tylenol to the nurse. Sadly, the recall is too late for the final three victims found dead on October 1st. Mary Reiner is a 27-year-old mother of four. She had just delivered her fourth baby. Paula Prince is a 35-year-old United Airlines flight attendant. She died in her Chicago apartment with an open bottle of Extra-Strength Tylenol close to her body. Then 35-year-old Mary McFarland, a mother of two boys of Elmhurst who collapsed at her job.

The recall initially causes a mass panic and people flooded hospitals, poison control centers and walk in clinics, believing they were victims of cyanide poisoning. What people failed to realize was that cyanide is an extremely lethal and quick acting agent and once ingested is lethal. When the local area stores had removed the bottles of Tylenol from shelves, the capsules were tested, and investigators found that seven cyanide tainted Tylenol bottles were found in six stores in the suburban Chicago area. The fact that the tainted bottles were so localized led investigators to believe that the person or persons who tampered with the painkiller were in the local area at that time.

There has been great speculation as to who was capable of carrying out such evil. Initially it was thought it happened inside a manufacturing plant but that idea was quickly disproven. The next thought turns to a disgruntled employee who was seeking revenge on the company and after tampering with the bottles, they were randomly placed back on store shelves.

Several people were closely investigated, one a dockhand who may have used cyanide in a previous job. In his apartment were several items leading investigators to suspect him, including weapons, one-way plane tickets out of the USA and a book on killing people by using poison in capsules. Another man tried to extort Johnson and Johnson demanding a million dollars to end the Tylenol murders, although there was no evidence he was connected to the murders. Both men spent time in prison.

Tylenol once a household name for pain relief suddenly was a household name for instant death. Johnson and Johnson rereleased Tylenol to the public on November 11 of 1982 with a triple safety product seal designed to prevent product tampering in hopes of saving the market for the pain reliever. Many people and companies feared product tampering would become a new fad. Thankfully, it has not, and in the years since then only a few people have attempted similar copycat product tampering. The Tylenol murders remain unsolved.

The Tylenol MurdersThe Tylenol Murders

Cyanide

Cyanide• Cyanide is a polyatomic ion. A group of

atoms with a charge.

Cyanide• Cyanide is a polyatomic ion. A group of

atoms with a charge.

CNˉ

Cyanide• Cyanide is a polyatomic ion. A group of

atoms with a charge.

CNˉ• Note that the charge on this ion is not

considered an oxidation number since it is not a charge on single atom.

Polyatomic IonsH2PO4

- Dihydrogen Phosphate C2H3O2

- Acetate HSO3

- Hydrogen Sulfite (Bisulfite) HSO4

- Hydrogen Sulfate (Bisulfate) HCO3

- Hydrogen Carbonate (Bicarbonate) NO2

- Nitrite NO3

- Nitrate CN- Cyanide OH- Hydroxide MnO4

- Permanganate ClO- Hypochlorite ClO2

- Chlorite ClO3

- Chlorate ClO4

- Perchlorate HPO4

2- Hydrogen Phosphate C2O4

2- Oxalate SO3

2- Sulfite SO4

2- Sulfate CO3

2- Carbonate CrO4

2- Chromate Cr2O7

2- Dichromate SiO3

2- Silicate PO3

3- Phosphite PO4

3- Phosphate NH4

+ Ammonium Hg2

2+ Mercury(I)

Memorization Hints

• There are only two positive polyatomic ions [ammonium & mercury(I)]. All other polyatomic ions are negative.

Memorization HintsAn ion ending in -ate can often form an ion which is the same but with one less oxygen atom. This new ion is named with an -ite ending.

chlorate ClO3- chlorite ClO2

- nitrate NO3

- nitrite NO2-

sulfate SO42- sulfite SO3

2- phosphate PO4

3- phosphite PO33-