No evidence of significant natural environmental exposure to arsenic for Napoleon I on the island of Saint Helena (1815-1821) - 28/06/26

Doi : 10.1016/j.pharma.2026.06.010

P Charlier ^1,^2,^3,⁎ , J Charlier ⁴, N Djebrani Oussedik ⁵ , J Poupon ^1,³

¹ Laboratory Anthropology, Archaeology, Biology (LAAB) & Chaire Unesco Anthropologie, Archéologie, Histoire de l’esclavage transatlantique, UFR Simone Veil – Health (Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines), 2 avenue de la source de la Bièvre, 78180 Montigny Le Bretonneux, France

² Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University Hospital Raymond Poincaré (Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Paris), 104 boulevard Raymond Poincaré, 92380 Garches, France

³ Académie Nationale de Pharmacie, avenue de l’observatoire, 75006 Paris, France

⁴ Lycée Louis Le Grand, 123 rue Saint-Jacques, 75005 Paris, France

⁵ Laboratoire de Toxicologie, CHU Lariboisière (Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Paris), 2 rue Ambroise Paré, 75010 Paris, France

^⁎ Corresponding author:

Sous presse. Manuscrit accepté. Disponible en ligne depuis le Sunday 28 June 2026

Highlights

•	Multi-element analyses by ICP-MS of sediment samples taken from areas where Emperor Napoleon I lived during his stay on the island of Saint Helena between 1815 and 1821 provided no evidence of potential health risk related to any arsenic exposure, at the exception of the ones from The Briars (these last may correspond to a semi-recent contamination originating from a garbage/rubbish zone).
•	Only lead and manganese potential natural environmental exposure existed at the time of Napoleon I, mainly in the context of the waterpipes connecting the source of Diana’s peak and Longwood House.
•	It is most reasonable to consider that Napoleon I was not killed by the soil of Saint Helena Island.
•	Significant heavy metal contamination was found in the different stratigraphic layers of Toby's cottage and in the wall of its water cistern, allowing for more precise documentation of the living conditions of slaves at the beginning of the 19 ^th century, and their exposure to pollutants which further aggravated their health.

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Abstract

The multi-element analyses (n=70) by ICP-MS of 20 sediment samples taken from areas where Emperor Napoleon I lived during his stay on the island of Saint Helena between 1815 and 1821 provided no evidence of potential health risk related to any arsenic exposure, at the exception of the ones from The Briars (these last may correspond to a semi-recent contamination originating from a garbage/rubbish zone). Only lead and manganese potential natural environmental exposure existed at the time of Napoleon I, mainly in the context of the waterpipes connecting the source of Diana’s peak and Longwood House.

In this instance, it is most reasonable to consider that Napoleon I was not killed by the soil of Saint Helena Island. On the other hand, significant heavy metal contamination was found in the different stratigraphic layers of Toby's cottage and in the wall of its water cistern, allowing for more precise documentation of the living conditions of slaves at the beginning of the 19 ^th century, and their exposure to pollutants which further aggravated their health.

Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.

Keywords : Paleopathology, toxicology, public health, history of medicine, history of diseases