Around the world, a large number of people die every year as a result of inhalation of toxic gases found in various fields of activity.
These gases are found not only in industrial conditions, but also in nature: they are often odorless, colorless, and cannot be detected by human senses. What makes them all the more dangerous is that inhaling these substances can often cause pulmonary and heart failure. In addition, gases are also used as weapons.
Toxic natural gases
The most common toxic gases found in the oil and gas industry are sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S), carbon monoxide (CO), benzene (C 6 H 6 ) and inert gases such as nitrogen (N) and dioxide carbon (CO 2 ). Toxic gases can be life threatening at low concentrations, and several others are toxic. For example, H 2 S, widespread in the oil and gas industry, is characterized by a pungent smell of rotten eggs. This is considered a serious hazard, as it neutralizes oxygen and causes choking. Toxic gases can also be flammable, which means that detection becomes very important to protect against property damage. In most cases, this is often overlooked as a serious danger. In addition to inhalation, industrial gases lead to industrial fires and explosions.
In addition, carbon monoxide is a danger to humans. It is a product of the burning of organic substances, and if there is more than 1.2% in the air, carbon monoxide is fatal.
Chemical weapon
Events in the world of recent years have led to a revival of interest in chemical weapons. It is often called the bomb for the poor, it requires relatively small investments, and can cause serious psychological and physical consequences and destruction.
Deadly Gases: List
As a rule, the list of these toxic substances is most conveniently compiled based on the toxicological effects they have.
- The group of nerve gases is represented by sarin and VX.
- For leukemia include lewisitis, mustard.
- Choking gases are represented by phosgene, chlorine, diphosgene.
- To tear include bromobenzyl cyanide, chloroacetophenone.
- The group of gases of general effect is represented by hydrocyanic acid, chlorocyanine.
- Annoying include adamsite, CR, CS.
- To psychotomimetic - BZ, LSD-25.
The most affordable substance
Chlorine is a gas that is an easily accessible industrial chemical used for peaceful purposes, including as a bleach for paper and fabric, for the production of pesticides, rubber and solvents, as well as for the destruction of bacteria in drinking water and pools. This is a great example of a dual-use chemical. Despite its dual nature, the use of chlorine as a chemical weapon is still prohibited by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
Chlorine gas is yellow-green in color and has a strong odor similar to bleach. Like phosgene, it is a choking agent that interferes with breathing and damages body tissues. It can be easily pressurized and cooled to a liquid state so that it can be transported and stored. This deadly gas spreads quickly and stays close to the ground because it is heavier than air. Although it is less deadly than other chemicals, it is very dangerous because it is easy to manufacture and mask.
Almond Bitter
Hydrocyanic acid gas also has two uses: in chemical production and as a poisonous substance. However, the low resistance and lack of cumulative properties led to the fact that its use as a chemical weapon was discontinued. Another name for this substance is hydrogen cyanide. It has a characteristic smell of bitter almonds. Causes tissue hypoxia and damage to the central nervous system, acute heart failure and cardiac arrest.
Most toxic gas: VX
VX refers to organophosphorus compounds and is classified as a nerve agent because it affects the transmission of nerve impulses. It has no smell or taste in its pure form and looks like a brownish oily liquid.
Developed in the UK in the early 1950s, this deadly gas is especially effective because it is a constant agent: as soon as it is released into the atmosphere, it slowly evaporates. Under normal weather conditions, the VX can remain for several days on the surface, while in very cold conditions it can last for months. VX vapors are heavier than air.
VX is also a fast acting agent. Symptoms may appear only a few seconds after exposure. These include salivation, narrowing of the pupils and chest tightness. Like other nerve agents, VX acts on an enzyme (acetylcholinesterase), which acts as a “switch” of the body to glands and muscles. Death is caused by suffocation or heart failure. The lethal concentration of gas, depending on whether it is inhaled or falls on the skin, is 70-100 μg / kg.
GB poison gas
This substance is better known as sarin. In September 2013, the UN confirmed that a chemical weapon attack using specially designed missiles that spread sarin gas to rebels in a suburb of the Syrian capital occurred a month earlier. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that this is the most significant confirmed use of chemical weapons against civilians since Saddam Hussein used it in Halabja in 1988.
Sarin gas is a volatile but toxic nerve agent based on phosphorus. One drop the size of a pinhead is enough to quickly kill an adult. This colorless, odorless liquid retains its state of aggregation at room temperature, but quickly evaporates when heated. Once released, it spreads rapidly in the environment. As with VX, symptoms include headache, salivation and secretion of tears, followed by gradual muscle paralysis and possible death.
Zarin was developed in 1938 in Germany when scientists studied pesticides. The cult of Aum Shinrique used it in 1995 in the Tokyo subway. Although the attack caused massive panic, it killed only 13 people because the agent was sprayed in liquid form. To maximize losses, sarin should not only be a gas, but also its particles should be small enough so that they can be easily absorbed through the mucous membrane of the lungs, but heavy enough so that they do not exhale.
The most popular poison gas
Mustard gas (mustard gas), also known as gray mustard, got its name from the smell of rotten mustard or garlic and onions. It belongs to the group of blistering agents that act on the eyes, respiratory tract and skin, first as an irritant, and then as a poison for body cells. When the skin is exposed, it reddens and burns for several hours before large blisters appear that cause severe scarring and pain. The eyes will swell, watery, and a few hours after exposure, blindness is possible. When inhaled or swallowed, this deadly gas causes sneezing, hoarseness, coughing up blood, abdominal pain, and vomiting.
However, exposure to mustard gas is not always fatal. When it was first used in World War I, it killed only 5% of the exposed people. Because of its properties, it became a popular chemical weapon that was used in both world wars, during the civil war in Yemen and the Iran-Iraq war.
Along with terrible physical effects, mustard gas is chemically stable and very persistent. Its vapors are more than six times heavier than air and remain on the ground for several hours. This made it especially useful for poisoning enemy trenches. It remains toxic for one or two days under moderate weather conditions and from weeks to months in very cold conditions. Moreover, resistance can be increased by thickening the agent: dissolving it in non-volatile solvents. This creates significant problems for protection, decontamination and treatment.
The probability of its use forces the enemy troops to wear full protective equipment, thereby reducing their effectiveness. But protective equipment does not always work. For example, gas masks are often not enough. During the Iran-Iraq war, mustard gas leaked through masks when young Iranian beards, required to be worn, disrupted the masks. Mustard gas also easily penetrates clothing, shoes or other materials.
Most dangerous substance
To this day, phosgene gas is considered one of the most dangerous of the existing types of chemical weapons. It was first used in combination with gaseous chlorine on December 19, 1915, when Germany dumped 88 tons of gas onto British troops, leaving 120 people dead and 1,069 injured. During the First World War, it accounted for 80% of all chemical deaths. Although not as toxic as sarin or VX, it is much easier to make, which makes it more affordable.
Phosgene is an industrial chemical used in plastics and pesticides. It is a choking agent that acts on lung tissue. The first likely symptoms, such as coughing, choking, chest tightness, nausea, and sometimes vomiting, occur a few minutes after exposure.
At room temperature, it is almost a colorless, albeit deadly, gas that smells of freshly cut grass in low concentrations. It does not ignite and evaporates when heated, which makes it volatile. But its vapor density is more than three times the density of air, which means that it will linger in low-lying areas, including trenches.