The Plot to Poison Ukrainian Presidential Candidate Viktor Yushchenko with Dioxin

The news about the attempted poisoning of Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko with dioxin was given wide coverage in the world media. Abraham Brouwer, a professor of environmental toxicology at the Free University in Amsterdam, reported that Yushchenko was poisoned with pure TCDD, the most harmful known form of dioxin. His blood contained 100,000 units (pg/g of lipid) of the poison, the second highest concentration ever recorded. Physicians at the Vienna Clinic in Vienna, said that Yushchenko's face was disfigured but he will recover over time. The author attempted to calculate the amount of dioxin with which Yushchenko was poisoned, taking into consideration his toxic intake from the viewpoint of the Yusho investigation previously reported in Japan. Yushchenko's toxic intake was calculated at 1.89mg-TEQ. This value fairly agrees with the maximum incubative amount that exhibits toxic symptoms, mainly chlor-acne (a type of skin disease). This value is equivalent to a daily intake of dioxin over a period of 30, 000 years.