Mustard gas and chemical attacks
Mustard gas, also known as sulfur mustard, is a highly toxic blistering agent that has been utilized in chemical warfare since its first deployment by Germany during World War I in 1917. This chemical weapon can be released through various means, such as artillery shells, bombs, or even water supplies, and its effects can spread over large areas, lingering for days depending on environmental conditions. The compound is classified as a vesicant, causing severe skin, respiratory, and ocular injuries, including painful blisters and potential long-term damage such as blindness and compromised immune function.
In the context of modern threats, the potential for terrorist organizations to use mustard gas against civilian populations has led to increased training for first responders worldwide. Despite the recognition of its dangers, mustard gas remains easier to produce than more advanced nerve agents, making it a more likely choice for such groups. The international community has made efforts to control the use of chemical weapons, with the Chemical Weapons Convention aiming for the destruction of existing stockpiles. However, the legacy of mustard gas highlights ongoing concerns regarding chemical attacks, necessitating awareness and preparedness to address potential incidents effectively.
Subject Terms
Mustard gas and chemical attacks
DEFINITION: Vesicant, or blister-causing, agent that has been used in chemical attacks against humans, most often during wartime.
SIGNIFICANCE: As the potential for terrorist chemical attacks on civilian targets has increased, first responders within local communities worldwide who are responsible for the safety of civilian populations are being trained in combating various chemical agents, including mustard gas.
When two chlorine atoms, eight hydrogen atoms, four carbon atoms, and one sulfur atom are combined in the right manner and under the right conditions, they create the highly toxic compound known as mustard gas. Mustard gas is part of a class of chemicals known as organohalogens, which combine with carbon and other elements. Well-known organohalogens include the agricultural chemical DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane), the war gas phosgene, and chlorofluorocarbons (or freons). The majority of both natural and synthetic organohalogens have little or no toxicity, but as an expression among chemists notes, “the dose makes the poison.”
Mustard gas, also known as sulfur mustard, is the most common agent associated with chemical warfare. Although mustard gas has been used most often during wartime, it became increasingly clear after 1995, when members of the Aum Shinrikyo religious movement perpetrated a sarin gas attack on a Tokyo subway train, that the use of chemical weapons by terrorist organizations is a real possibility. The Web site of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) includes several pages providing information on mustard gas, including how to detect an attack and how to respond to one. Nerve agents are more modern types of chemical weapons, but vesicant agents are much easier to produce than nerve agents; terrorists are thus much more likely to use vesicant agents than nerve agents in chemical attacks.
History
Mustard gas was first deployed as a weapon by Germany in 1917, during World War I. Approximately one month after its introduction to the battlefield, British casualties from just mustard gas were almost equal to all previous casualties resulting from the use of other gas chemical agents that German forces had been employing for several years. The next use of mustard gas was by the Italians during their attempt to conquer present-day Ethiopia in 1935. Since that time, mustard gas has remained much the same, and it is a weapon that is fairly easy to manufacture.
Mustard gas was also purportedly used during the Iran-Iraq War (1980–88), which saw the extensive use of chemical weapons. Since the international Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 went into force in 1997, stockpiles of mustard gas have been in the process of being systematically destroyed, at least by those countries that are signatories to the convention, including the United States and Russia.
How It Works
In a mustard gas attack, the agent is usually released through the air either by artillery shells or by bombs; the agent can also be deployed through water supplies. With strong winds, an air release of mustard gas can spread the agent over distances of several miles. In normal conditions, the gas will stay in the area for approximately two days, but in colder climates it can linger much longer.
When the gas is inhaled or ingested or comes into direct contact with the skin or eyes, it begins to cause irritation. The agent begins to attack the skin cells, causing severe irritation and damaging (deoxyribonucleic acid); it quickly penetrates the skin and assaults the organs within the body and damages the respiratory tract. It also can damage eyesight if the eyes are exposed. The accompanying blistering of the skin can be very painful and creates a high potential for infection. If the exposed person survives the initial exposure, the agent will continue to attack the body’s immune system, which can cause difficulty in dealing with any associated infections from the exposure.
Symptoms and Treatment
The effects of exposure to mustard gas are not normally recognized until a few hours after exposure. In the short term, exposure to the skin causes first red and itchy skin that rapidly changes to yellow blistering. In mild cases, eye exposure causes tearing, pain, irritation, and swelling. In high doses, mustard gas can cause temporary blindness, sensitivity to light, and severe pain in the eyes. If the mustard gas reaches the respiratory system, it can cause bleeding from the nose, sneezing, cough, sinus pain, shortness of breath, and possibly hoarseness. When it reaches the digestive tract, it can cause diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and fever. It can also cause second- and third-degree burns on the skin and permanent blindness.
No antidote exists to combat exposure to mustard gas. As a preventive measure, moving to higher ground is advisable during gas attacks because the gas is denser than air, and so it tends to settle in low-lying areas. Persons who have been exposed to the gas are normally hospitalized and given standard medical attention in an effort to reduce the effects of the agent. Any clothing they were wearing that has been exposed to mustard gas is removed, and their bodies are thoroughly rinsed with clean water. When victims’ eyes have been exposed, they need to be flushed for approximately seven minutes.
Detection
Mustard gas exposure is usually detected after the fact, when suspicions are raised by the appearance at hospitals of persons with the symptoms described above. In the United States, when doctors the presence of this chemical agent, they can send samples to the CDC to be analyzed against a database of chemical agents. Emergency first responders and law-enforcement agencies also have chemical monitoring equipment that can analyze the air for the presence or absence of specific chemical agents. These instruments use processes that vary from and spectrometry to photoionization and even the simple color-change method.
Bibliography
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Hammond, James W. Poison Gas: The Myths Versus Reality. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1999.
Taylor, C. L., and L. B. Taylor, Jr. Chemical and Biological Warfare. New York: Franklin Watts, 1992.
Rozei, Mina. "Islamic State Group Blamed for Chemical Attack in Syria." Arms Control Association, Apr. 2024, www.armscontrol.org/act/2024-04/news/islamic-state-group-blamed-chemical-attack-syria. Accessed 15 Aug. 2024.
Snyder, Alison. "Why Allegations of Chemical Weapons Use Are Hard to Investigate." Axios, 17 Mar. 2022, www.axios.com/2022/03/17/biological-chemical-weapons-forensics. Accessed 15 Aug. 2024.