Wagner G N, Clark M A, Koenigsberg E J, Decata S J
Department of Forensic Sciences, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, DC.
J Forensic Sci. 1988 Jul;33(4):899-909.
A cloud of carbon dioxide gas, with an estimated volume of 1 km3 was released from Lake Nyos, a volcanic crater lake in Cameroon, Africa, causing 1700 to 2000 human fatalities as well as killing thousands of livestock and wild animals. At the request of the Cameroonian Government, the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance of the U.S. Department of State sent a multidisciplinary team which included 2 forensic pathologists to assist the Government of Cameroon in investigating this natural disaster. The medical evaluation was concentrated in 3 areas: the autopsy of human and animal fatalities, examination and interview of survivors, and examination of the scene of the disaster. Toxicologic specimens were obtained at autopsy, and numerous samples of lake water were collected. The autopsy findings were consistent with asphyxia. The results of chemical analyses excluded many volatiles but not carbon dioxide as the toxic agent. The exact source of this gas continues to be a subject of a heated geologic debate, but fermentation of organic materials in the lake water has been eliminated on the basis of C14 isotope studies. This investigation underlines the value of forensic pathologists in epidemiological studies and in the examination of living persons.
非洲喀麦隆的火山口湖尼奥斯湖释放出一团估计体积达1立方千米的二氧化碳气体，导致1700至2000人死亡，数千头牲畜和野生动物丧生。应喀麦隆政府请求，美国国务院对外灾难援助办公室派遣了一个多学科团队，其中包括两名法医病理学家，协助喀麦隆政府调查这场自然灾害。医学评估集中在三个方面：对人类和动物死亡进行尸检、对幸存者进行检查和访谈以及对灾难现场进行勘查。尸检时采集了毒理学标本，并收集了大量湖水样本。尸检结果与窒息相符。化学分析结果排除了许多挥发性物质，但并未排除二氧化碳作为有毒物质。这种气体的确切来源仍是激烈地质辩论的主题，但基于碳14同位素研究已排除了湖水中有机物质发酵的可能性。这项调查凸显了法医病理学家在流行病学研究和对在世人员检查中的价值。
