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EBay's Poison Pill

Evan Hessel 12.01.06, 3:30 PM ET

No one knows yet where the murderers of defected former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko obtained the Polonium 210 that poisoned him. Extremely volatile, Polonium 210 is sold for only a few industrial purposes, fueling suspicions that whoever killed Litvinenko was a professional assassin.

Let’s say, however, you’re not a well-financed hit man, but merely a disgruntled housewife looking to knock off your husband and collect a hefty life insurance payout. Chances are such a person could easily obtain an array of less exotic, though perfectly deadly, toxins on eBay (nasdaq: EBAY - news - people ), the online auction site with 212 million members worldwide.

Last year, Lee Cantrell, a toxicology professor at the University of California-San Diego, published a study in the Journal of Toxicology documenting 121 eBay auctions of poisons over a ten-month period from 2003 to 2004. Of Cantrell’s documented auctions, 24 involved strychnine, arsenic trioxide and other poisons considered by scientists to be “super toxic,” meaning a dose of 5 milligrams or less would likely kill a human if ingested.

The other 97 auctions in Cantrell’s study were for less toxic, though still potentially lethal, products such as mercury, antimony and thallium, a toxic metal used in rat poison until 1972, when it was banned by federal regulators.

To be sure, large chemical supply outfits such as Sigma-Aldrich (nasdaq: SIAL - news - people ) and Fisher Scientific peddle vastly more toxins than sellers on eBay. Such firms, however, typically require customers to demonstrate a legitimate, legal use for the products and extensively document all transactions.

“What’s so dangerous about eBay is that chemicals deemed unsuitable for the general public are available to anyone,’’ Cantrell says.

Cantrell still trolls eBay for poisons, and in late November he purchased an 80 gram vial of sodium fluosilicate for $16. “That’s enough gnarly pesticide to kill 30 adults,’’ Cantrell says. Other current eBay offerings include auctions for cyanide (starting price: $10) and mercury bichloride ($10).

Toxins are typically sold on eBay in antique apothecary bottles and listed as collectibles. EBay rules prohibit the sale of “hazardous or dangerous goods” such as explosives, radioactive materials, flammable gases and toxic substances.

EBay maintains a 2,000-employee “safety and trust” team that constantly scours the site for illegal materials. Still, detecting contraband in 105 million daily listings is “more art than science,’’ says eBay spokeswoman Catherine England, who adds: “If one of our members used eBay in a crime, we want that person prosecuted.’’

The eBay name has indeed surfaced in a lurid murder case in San Diego. San Diego County Deputy District Attorney Laura Gunn charged 33-year-old Cynthia Sommer last year with murdering her husband, Marine Sgt. Todd Sommer, in 2002 to collect $250,000 in life insurance benefits, a portion of which Gunn alleges Sommer used to pay for breast enhancement surgery.

Autopsy results revealed Todd had high levels of arsenic in his body at the time of his death. The DA's office is investigating whether Cynthia Sommer could have purchased arsenic on eBay, according to Robert Udell, Sommer’s defense attorney. Udell says investigators have found no evidence connecting Sommer to arsenic, and she has pleaded not guilty to the charges. A spokesman for the district attorney declined to address Udell’s comments; eBay says it has not received formal subpoenas related to the case.

Hey! What's not SLEAZY about that?

(Readers are advised that this article is from Forbes. We have our journalistsick critic/resident boardtroll, Really_Bored, who will be along shortly to fill you in on them.)