ARSENIC FUMES: What made Peruvian villagers sick on Sept 16th when a meteorite struck near Lake Titicaca? Arsenic fumes. According to Peru's Mining, Metallurgy, and Geology Institute, the crash site coincides with a natural underground deposit of arsenic. Visitors to the crater inhaled fumes resulting in headaches and nausea. Sensational reports attributing the crater and the illnesses to a downed radioactive spy satellite were unfounded.