What Sarin, Chlorine and Other Chemical Weapons Actually Do in the News
Last week, the United States and its allies France and the United Kingdom fired 105 missiles, most of them Tomahawks, at Syrian targets in an attempt to stave off future chemical attacks during the Syrian civil war. But what are the supposedly used chemical weapons? And what exactly do they do to people? Here’s what you need to know.
Zarin
Sarin is a colorless, odorless liquid, a very potent nerve agent. It is often released into the air as a vapor or aerosol at a target area. When a lethal dose of vapor is inhaled, it causes paralysis of the pulmonary muscle , and, depending on the amount inhaled, death can occur within one to 10 minutes. Even those who do not inhale a lethal dose of the chemical or absorb some through their skin can suffer irreversible neurological damage.
The production and storage of sarin was outlawed in 1997 by the 1993 United Nations Chemical Weapons Convention and is now considered a Schedule 1 substance. The United States stopped production of sarin in 1957. However, the substance was used by the Japanese cult to attack civilians on the subway , as well as by Iraqi rebels , and is still used in the ongoing Syrian civil war .
Chlorine gas
Chlorine gas , also known as bertholite , may sound like the substance that keeps swimming pools clean, but it definitely isn’t. The substance is a remnant of the deadly chemical weapons used during the First World War. When the gas is released into the air, victims smell something like pepper and pineapple and then taste a metallic taste in their mouth. This is followed by a burning sensation in the throat and chest, affecting the respiratory system, eyes and skin. Once chlorine gas reaches the lungs, it reacts with moisture to form hydrochloric acid, which burns from the inside.
This gas is arguably less dangerous than sarin or mustard gas because it can be filtered out with gas masks, but few civilians have them on hand. It was used in the Iraq War in 2007, against Kurdish forces in Iraq in 2015, and the Syrian government allegedly used it in the form of barrel bombs and missiles as recently as January and February of this year .
Mustard gas
Like chlorine gas, mustard gas ( or sulfur mustard gas ) is a chemical weapon developed during World War I trench warfare. The substance is a cytotoxic and vesicant chemical and therefore causes blistering on both the skin and lungs of its victims. This chemical is also mutagenic and carcinogenic, which means it can cause genetic mutations as well as cancer. Victims rarely experience immediate symptoms, so many are unknowingly exposed to high doses and may feel completely normal at first. The substance readily penetrates into common clothing fabrics such as wool and cotton, making it difficult to protect the skin.
After exposure, victims smell mustard, garlic, or horseradish. They soon begin to feel intense itching and skin irritation for the next 24 hours. Gradually, these irritated areas turn into chemical burns, and the victims develop blisters filled with yellow liquid ( here is the least graphic photo I could find ). These burns can range from first-degree burns to fatal third-degree burns. If your eyes are open during an attack, blindness is possible.
Technically, mustard gas isn’t even a gas; it is a thin mist of liquid droplets exiting the device (be it artillery shells, bombs, rockets, or overhead spray from aircraft), very similar to sarin. These pure sulfur mustards are actually colorless liquids, but when used in chemical warfare, the “gas” appears to be a sickening yellow-brown – hence the name. Mustard gas was most commonly used during World War I, but has since been used in attacks in Britain, Spain, France, China and throughout the Middle East, including the Syrian civil war .
Agent 15
Agent 15, or 3-quinuclidinylbenzylate (NATO code “BZ”) , is an odorless, non-lethal “psychochemical” or hallucinogenic nerve agent used by the military to disable targets. “Agent 15” is the name of the alleged Iraqi military brand of the substance. When inhaled or swallowed, it affects the central nervous system, causing abrupt changes in mental status and delirium . An overdose of a substance can be fatal. The disturbing film Jacob’s Ladder is based on the long-term effects of a chemical agent.
In recent years, Syrian contacts have suggested that Agent 15 was used in the attack on Homs , but there was not enough evidence to support it. Agent 15 was also allegedly used in the 2013 attack on Guta .
VX agent
This synthetic chemical compound is considered the most deadly nerve agent known to man, but is rarely used. Agent VX, or ” poisonous agent x “, is extremely toxic and kills very quickly. When administered by direct spray or food or water poisoning, victims experience severe convulsions, followed by loss of consciousness, paralysis, and finally death. The best way to describe its action is as a “human pesticide” which gradually tires and tires. strangulation of the body.
The substance is completely odorless and tasteless, resembles an oily yellowish-brown liquid. Perhaps the worst thing about this substance is that it evaporates very slowly, so it remains in the environment in which it was used. The known use of the substance is small – more of a secret murder weapon than a weapon of mass destruction – but more recently it was used to assassinate Kim Jong Nam , the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.