A University of Wisconsin-Madison lab researcher admitted to adding poisonous chemicals to his coworker’s water bottle and shoes because he was upset the coworker received a promotion and had not been “following rules,” according to court files obtained by The Daily Cardinal.
Makoto Kuroda was arrested Friday for reckless endangerment involving chemicals.
UWPD received a report of chemicals located inside a water bottle and shoes on April 6. Kuroda’s coworker at the Influenza Research Institute claimed that on April 2, he opened a new plastic water bottle from Trader Joe’s, drank half it and left it out open on his desk. When he returned to his desk on April 4, he noticed a strange odor from his bottle and spat it out after noticing a “chemical taste.”
He reported to UWPD that the odor smelled of chloroform, a colorless liquid that was previously used as an anesthetic during surgery but is no longer used because of its toxicity. The substance is now used to break down other chemical compounds.
The bottle was then collected by the State Lab of Hygiene, and the water residue from the bottle tested positive for chloroform, containing a “high” value. After admitting what he had done to his coworker, Kuroda was arrested on April 10 on charges of second-degree reckless endangerment safety and held at Dane County’s Public Safety Building Jail.
While being interviewed by UWPD officers, Kuroda admitted he wanted his coworker to vomit and for his skin to be irritated. Kuroda used a mixture of Paraformaldehyde (PFA) and Trizol in the water bottle and shoes. The Trizol mixture used at IRI contains chloroform.
Kuroda’s coworker used ChatGPT on his work laptop to ask what would be a harmful amount of PFA and Trizol in humans and animals.
Ingestion of high levels of chloroform for humans can cause an increased risk of liver and kidney function damage. The minimal fatal dose has been reported to be 30mL, although some fatalities have been reported with dosages as low as 10 mL.
Kuroda will now await a preliminary hearing on April 21 at the Dane County Courthouse.
