The detection and identification of war gases : notes for the use of gas identification officers.

Date:
1943
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The detection and identification of war gases : notes for the use of gas identification officers. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    THE DETECTION AND IDENTIFICATION OF WAR GASES | He CHAPTER I.—THE WAR GASES: INTRODUCTORY. (1) General Considerations. cludes any chemical substance, whether solid, liquid, or gas, which is employed in war for its poisonous or irritant effects on the human body. Theoretically, all substances having such effects could be used as war gases, but in practice a number of other considerations enter. In addition the question of production—the substance must be relatively cheap and capable of practical and economical production from available raw materials. Again, it must have suitable physical and chemical properties—its vapour pressure, for example, must be sufficiently high to give effective concen- trations under ordinary conditions, and it must be comparatively stable and or other agents. that during the war of 1914-18 some three to four thousand substances were examined as to their suitability for use as war gases. Of these, however, only about 54 were ever actually used in the field: and of these again, only I2 were in active use at the end of that war. A few substances have since _ been suggested as possibilities, but the number still remains reasonably small. (2) Classification. _ The war gases differ considerably in physical properties and chemical nature, and the only reasonably satisfactory way of classifying them is according to the effects which they produce on the human body. On this basis the gases are divided into four groups according to whether their predominant action is on the lungs, the eyes, the nose, or the skin. The Lung Irntanis, also known as Choking gases or Asphyxiants (Suffo- lethal. They irritate the throat and lungs, causing coughing and difficulty in breathing, and in severe cases give rise to acute pulmonary oedema. The most important members of this group are chlorine, phosgene, diphosgene and chloropicrin. The Eye Irntants, more commonly known as Tear gases or Lachrymators, act, as their name implies, on the eyes, causing intense smarting and a profuse flow of tears, but without normally effecting any permanent damage. The members of this group are, for the most part, aromatic halides, halogenated ketones, or halogenated esters, typical examples being xylyl bromide (German T-Stoff), bromacetone (German B-Stoff), ethyl iodoacetate (K.S.K.), and the more recent bromobenzyl cyanide (B.B.C.), and chloracetophenone (C.A.P.). The Nose Irritants, also known as Sternutators or Sneezing gases, give rise to intense pain in the nose, throat and chest, accompanied by nausea and mental depression. As with the tear gases, the effect is only temporary, though the symptoms develop slowly and may continue for some hours after exposure to the gas. The members of this group are aromatic arsenical derivatives, known for simplicity by their code letters, D.A., D.C., and D.M. Lhe Skin Irritants, also termed Blister gases or Vesicants, exert an aggres- sive action on all parts of the body with which they come into contact—eyes, in severe cases deep and extensive blistering. Their effect, moreover, is more or less delayed—a circumstance which makes them doubly dangerous; no
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