The arms race has always been occurring, as people endlessly compete to have more power and better weapons. This century great leaps in technology have been made, explosives and bombs have been the main weapon of development. However the problem with bombs is that they destroy everything they hit, not only do they destroy the designated target but also everything else around it. This renders the land and buildings in the hit zone useless, and causes more damage than is necessary. This problem especially arises when the targets are human, and you only want to destroy them. The answer to this problem was biological and chemical weapons. Lethal gases such as Sarin gas are used throughout the world in a new age of biological and chemical warfare. Though illegal they are still being used in terrorist attacks and wars today. These weapons are more commonly known in the scientific world as nerve agents or nerve gases of which there are over 2000 varieties, but they are only one type of chemical warfare. They were discovered completely by accident in 1930 by a chemist called Dr. Gerhard Schrader who worked for a company called “IG Farben”, he discovered nerve agents while trying to create a more effective insecticide. What he came across was Tabun, an enormously toxic organophosphate compound. Organophosphates kill insects and humans by jamming the nervous system, which is why he was using it to try and develop an insecticide. After two more years of development he created an even stronger gas Sarin.

History

The first real use of nerve agents was during World war one on April 22, 1915. During the battle of Ypres, the Germans utilised nerve agents for the first time ever for war purposes. They unleashed a deadly new gas called “chlorine gas”(CL2) on the British and French in a trail run. It was estimated that this new blistering agent cost over 5000 lives. In retaliation to this attack the allies experimented with their own chemical and biological weapons. They came up with a new more lethal form of chlorine gas, “Mustard Gas”. Mustard gas consists mainly of chlorine in a gaseous form, when contact is made with a victim’s body or it is inhaled, it returns back to into its liquid form, “Hydrochloric acid”. The result is an extremely bad blistering and reddening of the skin and if inhaled will do the same damage to the lungs, internal and external bleeding were results of this. Because Mustard gas dissolves easily in water, moist parts of the body are the worst affected. The eyes are particularly susceptible, and the gas burns the corneas of the eyes leaving the victim blind. It usually took around 5 to 6 weeks to die, during which time the pain was excruciating. The sufferer would often have to be strapped to the bed, and complain in tiny whispers that their throats were melting inwards and they knew they would die. The chemical formula for Mustard gas is: CL-CH2-CH2-S-CH2-CH2-CL. As you can evidently see hydrochloric acid (Hcl) can clearly be derived from this. During world war one it is believed that poison gas was responsible for over 900,000 injuries and 100,000 deaths. During the period in between world war one and two Sarin gas had been invented but its chemical formula had yet to be released to the world. The use of chemical and biological weapons during world war one clearly unnerved the scientific world. The Geneva protocol was set up to prohibit the use of any such weapons again, it did not however ban the production of such weapons. Countries began to produce many different varieties of chemical gases, especially during world war two. At this time Dr. Gerhard Schrader was working on Sarin gas with three other pioneer chemists in “IG Farben”. During the two years that followed Schrader’s discovery Tabun, they managed to create an even deadlier, potent chemical nerve gas, “SARIN”. They name “SARIN” came from their names, using the first letter of each of their last names, Schrader, Ambros, Rudriger, and van der linde. There are however many other names for this nerve agent:

• GB
• Zarin
• Phosphonofluoridic acid, methyl-, isopropyl ester
• Phosphonofluoridic acid, methyl-, 1- methylethyl ester
• Isopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate
• Isopropyl ester of methylphosphonofluoridic acid
• Methylisoproposfluorophosphine oxide
• Isopropyl Methylfluorophosphonate
• O-Isopropyl Methylisopropoxfluorophosphine oxide
• O-Isopropyl Methylphosphonofluoridate
• Methylfluorophosphonic acid, isopropyl ester
• Isoproposymethylphosphonyl flouride

In June 1939 the chemical formula for Sarin gas was sent to the chemical warfare division of the German army. Germany began to produce the gas in pilot plants in, Munster Lager, Spandau, and Luneberg heath. And it was manufactured in building 144 in Dyernfurth. When Hitler rose to power in Nazi Germany, Sarin gas was on full scale production. Up to ten tons of a liquid form of Sarin was produced during World War, but barely any of it was used. In fact no chemical weapons were used in world war two at all because countries feared devastating retaliations in kind. The main use for chemical weapons during world war was to gas people to death in extermination camps. After world war two sarin gas was barely ever used again though countries still produced huge amounts of it to appear powerful. Because more and more of it was produced it was easier for accidents to happen and terrorists to get their hands on. In 1968 in the USA a phantom fighter plane accidentally released VX poison gas over Utah killing over 6,000 sheep. After that the president banned the use of chemical weapons in the USA and didn’t allow any planes, vehicles or guns to be loaded with it. In 1972 at Fort Greely 50 deer died after canisters of Sarin gas released their contents in a lake. Most recently, and probably the worst use of Sarin ever, was in 1995 in a Tokyo metro station. Terrorists emptied canisters of the gas into the crowded station resulting in dozens of injuries and eight deaths. The reason many more didn’t die was because it was an impure form of the agent, had it been purer thousands could have died.

What is Sarin gas

Other nerve gases

Tabun: Tabun was the first Nerve gas to be discovered. Its effects are identical with its cousins, but it disappears soon after it is released meaning it has less time to infect.

Soman: This is near identical to Sarin but it cannot be counteracted easily with Pralidoxime.

Cyanide: This works in a completely different way to the other nerve agents. It binds the iron in the respiration system causing suffocation. It can be counteracted by administering oxygen and nitrates.

Effects

Protection and decontamination

After exposure to most nerve gases, there is very little time for decontamination and treatment. Sarin gas actually takes one of the longest times to kill out of the major nerve gases. Still, it takes 15 minutes, which is not a lot of time. Sarin gas is combated in a similar way a Tabun with Atropine and Pralidoxime chloride (3-PAMC1). Pralidoxime chloride (3-PAMC1) reactivates the enzyme the nerve gas shuts down, this has to be injested early on otherwise it can be useless. Strangely Atropine is a poison in itself causing dizziness, staggering, a sense of suffocation, rash’s and wide pupils. However these effects are nothing as they are counteracting death. Muscular relaxants are also used to stop spasms and relax the body. Household bleach can be used to decontaminate clothing and also the actual person if there are no other means possible.

Conclusion