Lead Levels in Human Tissues from the Franklin Forensic Project

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Abstract
Elemental analyses of bone samples from members of the 1845 Franklin Arctic Expedition revealed the presence of high levels of lead. Initial studies using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) on one bone indicated a level of 125 μg/g and prompted a more detailed analysis of lead levels by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry in hair, tissues, and bone from various anatomical regions. Results of lead analysis in 27 bone samples from sailors who succumbed on King William Island in 1848 ranged from 87–223 μg/g. Lead levels in bones taken from Inuit (Eskimo) of the same time period with the same geographical area ranged from 1–14 μg/g suggesting that environmental lead levels were not a contributing factor in the high bone lead levels in the British sailors. This is also confirmed by bone lead in two caribou samples found with one of the British sailors which had a lead level of 2 μg/g. Lead levels in bone of a modern population range from 18–50 μg/g. The presentation will include detailed statistics on lead results of 58 individual bone samples. Explanations for the elevated lead levels in sailors has been attributed to the use of food preserved in crudely soldered tin cans. Examination of tin can residues found at Beechey Island substantiated the possibility of gross lead contamination of food consumed during the course of the three year expedition. The implications of the above data on the ultimate fate of the Franklin Expedition will be discussed.