What is mustard gas?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-02 13:48

War is always terrible and terrible. But some types of weapons are so brutal that they are banned by every conceivable international convention in the field of warfare. The latter includes mustard gas, better known as mustard gas.

Physical and chemical characteristics

This chemical warfare agent has the formula (Cl-CH₂CH_{2)2S. Mustard belongs to the skin-abscesses, completely destroys the lungs when inhaled even relatively small amounts of gas. Perfectly penetrates the body through the skin, the rubber of standard gas masks is also permeable.}

The substance has no color, but in some cases a slight yellowish or greenish tint appears. It is believed that mustard gas got its name because of the specific smell, similar to the aroma of fresh seeds of this plant, but the few survivors more often remember the smell of horseradish.

Baptism of Fire

For the first time, combat use was recorded in the First World War, when the German side fired shells with mustard gas on Russian troops. It happened near the town of Ypres (Belgium) in 1917.

In caseThe first combat use was poisoned by about 2.5 thousand people, and 87 of them died. English chemists quickly managed to make mustard gas at home, but it took a year for production to start, and just two months after that, a truce was signed.

Note that the First World War went down in history as a period during which poisonous substances were used in gigantic quantities. Even in the Second World War they were spent much less. Just think: in just a couple of years of using mustard gas, about 12 thousand tons of this poison were poured on the heads of soldiers! Approximately 400,000 people received severe poisoning.

Why is he so dangerous

The substance immediately became extremely notorious even among the German troops. To begin with, mustard gas (before turning into a gaseous state, of course) evaporates very slowly. The territory that has been infected with it is deadly for several days for all living things.

But far worse is the effect it has on the human body.

Striking effect

Because mustard gas is blistering, the skin is the first to be hit. Huge blisters quickly form on the skin, filled with yellowish ichor and pus. Affected people become blind, they experience increased tearing, hypersalivation (increased salivation), and sinus pain. When a dispersion suspension enters the gastrointestinal tract, the strongestdiarrhea, nausea, and crampy stomach pains.

Mustard gas is also very insidious because even if an average dose of it enters the body, symptoms can appear only after 12 hours or even after a day. If the concentration and exposure time were higher, then manifestations are observed after a couple of hours.

Example of combat effectiveness

English Major General White in 1918 accompanied a group of wounded and mustard gas-affected soldiers in an ambulance train. Arriving at the next station, they were supposed to pick up another batch of wounded soldiers. One of the officers saw that the personal belongings of the victims had been forgotten on the platform, among which was binoculars in a leather case. He hurriedly took it, then hung it in his compartment and went to bed.

As it turned out later, a couple of drops of a poisonous substance remained on the case. During the night they evaporated. Even such an insignificant dose was enough for the officer to receive serious eye damage. Fortunately, he was cured, but it took three (!) months. Just think: from a couple of drops, a person was out of action for several months. What can we say about those cases when the soldiers found themselves in the very epicenter …

Lethality

It is generally accepted that mustard gas (mustard gas) is far from 100% fatal. Often the victims recover, although it takes a very long time. However, this can be called a “recovery” with a big stretch, since many have huge scars for the rest of their lives. Many of the victims insoon faces the problem of sudden onset of chronic diseases.

If a pair of mustard gas, even in negligible concentrations, enters the body of a pregnant woman, then (with the exception of late terms) she will almost 100% likely give birth to a child with genetic defects, deficiencies in mental and physical development.

Abscesses that form on human skin as a result of exposure to mustard gas are treated very, very poorly. Survivors often have to amputate the affected limbs, as huge festering ulcers begin to threaten the development of gangrene, poison the human body with decay products.

In the case of inhalation of mustard gas, death almost always occurs (90%), because the lungs decompose almost instantly, and if someone survives, they will remain disabled for the rest of their lives.

Factors affecting the effectiveness of mustard gas

Almost immediately after the start of the use of mustard gas, it was noticed that it works best in hot and dry weather. This is explained very simply: at high air temperatures, the rate of evaporation of a chemical warfare agent increases significantly, and sweaty skin becomes much more vulnerable to poison.

At just 14 degrees Celsius, mustard gas freezes quickly. Unfortunately, special additives were soon developed, with the addition of which this chemical warfare agent becomes much more stable. Moreover, resistance tofreezing is increased so that it can be used even in countries with very cold climates.

In particular, shortly before the prohibition of mustard gas, a mixture was developed that allows it to be successfully used even in the Arctic. The mechanism of action is simple: shells with a poisonous substance explode, after which the smallest droplets of poison settle on the clothes and weapons of the enemy. As soon as people enter a more or less warm room, it begins to evaporate intensively and quickly causes poisoning.

Given that WW1 mustard gas is still poisonous, contaminated areas in cold climates will generally remain dangerous for many decades to come.

Long-term effects

Alas, the consequences of mustard gas poisoning do not end there. The fact is that this toxic substance grossly damages human DNA. The soldiers who were chemically attacked near Ypres did not all die. Some of them returned home, and many of them were of reproductive age. The percentage of deformities and genetic diseases in their children and grandchildren was many times higher than usual.

Mustard gas is a powerful carcinogen and mutagen. Under Ypres, where it was first used, there is still an increased incidence of cancer.

The current state of affairs

As we have already said, the effect of the use of mustard gas shocked the world community so much that already in those years voices began to be heard about its complete ban. This topic was raised both in the League of Nations and in the UN, which became itssuccessor. But after endless bureaucratic squabbles, the Second World War began, and then the adoption of relevant decisions was repeatedly sabotaged.

And only in 1993, almost 100 years after the first combat use of mustard gas, it, like all other chemical warfare agents, was completely banned. Currently, all over the world, the remnants of chemical weapons are being disposed of. In particular, not so long ago the last mustard gas left the territory of Syria. Poison will be completely reworked soon.