What is mustard gas?

War is always terrible and terrible. But some weapons are so cruel that they are banned by all conceivable international conventions in the sphere of combat operations. The latter include mustard gas, better known as mustard gas.

Physico-chemical characteristics

This warfare agent has the formula (Cl-CH ₂ CH ₂ ) 2S. Yperite refers to skin-blasting agents, completely destroys the lungs by inhaling 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 tinge appears. It is believed that mustard gas got its name because of a specific smell, similar to the aroma of fresh seeds of this plant, but a few survivors often recall the smell of horse radish.

"Baptism of fire"

For the first time, military applications were recorded in the First World War, when the German side fired shells with mustard Russian troops. It happened under the town of Ypres (Belgium) in 1917.

In the case of the first combat use, about 2.5 thousand people were poisoned, 87 of them died. English chemists quickly managed to make mustard gas at home, but it was only a year later that it was produced, and only two months later, a truce was signed.

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

Why is it so dangerous?

The substance immediately acquired extremely bad reputation even among German troops. To begin with, the mustard gas (before passing to the gaseous state, of course) evaporates very slowly. The territory that was contaminated by it, for several days, is deadly dangerous to all living things.

But much worse than the action that it has on the human body.

Affecting effect

Since mustard gas has a blistering effect, the skin is the first to strike. On the skin quickly formed huge bubbles, filled with yellowish sultry and pus. Affected people go blind, they have increased tearing, hypersalivation (increased salivation), and pain in the sinuses of the nose. When a dispersion suspension enters the digestive tract, severe diarrhea, nausea, and spasmodic pain in the stomach develop.

Yperite is very cunning even in that even if it gets into the body of its average dose, symptoms can manifest only after 12 hours or even after 24 hours. If the concentration and exposure time were higher, then the manifestations are observed after a couple of hours.

An example of combat effectiveness

English Major-General White in 1918 accompanied a group of wounded and victims of mustard fighters in an ambulance train. Arriving at the next station, they had 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 took it in a hurry, 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 get serious eye damage. Fortunately, it managed to be cured, but it took three (!) Months. Just think about it: a couple of drops a man was out of action for several months. What can we say about the cases when the soldiers were at the very center ...

Mortality

It is generally believed that mustard gas (mustard gas) leads to a fatal outcome not in 100% of cases. Often, the victims recover, although it takes a very long time. However, "recovery" can be called with great stretch, since many remain huge scars for the rest of their lives. A considerable part of the victims are soon faced with the problem of suddenly emerging chronic diseases.

If vapors of yperite even in insignificant concentrations get into the body of a pregnant woman, then (with the exception of late terms), it is almost 100% likely to give birth to a child with genetic defects, deficiencies in mental and physical development.

The abscesses that form on the human skin as a result of the effects of mustard gas are treated very, very badly. The survivors often have to amputate the affected limbs, as the huge festering ulcers begin to threaten the development of gangrene, poison the human body with the products of decay.

In the case of inhaling the vapor of mustard gas, death almost always comes (90%), because the lungs decompose almost instantly, and if someone survives, then for the rest of his life he will remain disabled.

Factors affecting the effectiveness of mustard gas

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

At a temperature of only 14 degrees Celsius mustard quickly freezes. Unfortunately, special additives were soon developed, with the addition of which this warfare agent becomes much more stable. And the resistance to freezing increases so much that it can be used even in countries with a very cold climate.

In particular, not long before the suppression of mustard gas, a mixture was developed that allows it to be used successfully even in the Arctic. The mechanism of action is simple: shells with a toxic substance explode, after which the smallest drops 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 rapidly and quickly causes poisoning.

Given that the mustard gas of the times of World War I is still poisonous, the contaminated terrain in a cold climate will generally remain dangerous for many decades.

Remote consequences

Alas, but even this the consequences of poisoning with mustard do not end. The fact is that this toxic substance rudely damages the human DNA. Soldiers, subjected to a chemical attack near Iprom, killed not all. Some of them returned home, many of them at a reproductive age. The percentage of deformities and genetic diseases in their children and grandchildren is many times higher than usual.

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

Current state of affairs

As we have already said, the effect of using mustard gas has so shocked the world community that in those years there began to be voices about its complete prohibition. This theme was raised both in the League of Nations and in the UN, which became its successor. It was only after the endless bureaucratic squabbles that the Second World War began, and then the adoption of appropriate decisions was repeatedly sabotaged.

And only in 1993, almost 100 years after the first military use of mustard gas, it, like all other chemical warfare agents, was completely banned. At present, the remnants of chemical weapons are disposed of worldwide. In particular, not long ago the territory of Syria left the last mustard gas. The poison will soon be completely recycled.