Sulfur Mustard (Mustard Gas)

1. Sulfur Mustard(Mustard Gas) Kara McNerney & KirstiniaJurovich

2. What is it? • Sulfur mustard is a powerful irritant and blistering agent that damages the skin, eyes and respiratory tract. It also damages DNA, a vital component of cells in the body. • Adverse health effects caused by sulfur mustard depend upon the amount people are exposed to, the route of • exposure, and the length of time that people are exposed. • Because sulfur mustard vapor is heavier than air, it will settle in low-lying areas. Depending upon the severity of the exposure, • symptoms may not occur for two to 24 hours.

3. Detection • Skin: redness, itching, and eventually change to yellow and begin to blister • Eyes: irritation, pain, swelling, tearing, blindness • Respiratory tract: runny/bloody nose, sneezing, shortness of breath and coughing.

4. Cure • 5% of people die from mustard gas after seeking medical help • The most important factor is removing sulfur mustard from the body. Exposure to sulfur mustard is treated by giving the victim supportive medical care to minimize the effects of the exposure. Though no antidote exists for sulfur mustard, exposure is usually not fatal.

5. Lasting Effects • Exposure to sulfur mustard liquid is more likely to produce second- and third-degree burns and later • scarring than is exposure to sulfur mustard vapor. Extensive skin burning can be fatal. • • Extensive breathing in of the vapors can cause chronic respiratory disease, repeated respiratory • infections or death. • • Extensive eye exposure can cause permanent blindness. • • Exposure to sulfur mustard may increase a person’s risk for lung and respiratory cancer.

6. History • Sulfur mustard was used as a chemical weapon in World War I. Until recently, it was available for use in the treatment of a skin condition called psoriasis. Currently, it has no medical use.

7. Examples • Mustard Gas was first used by the German Army in September 1917. It was one of the most lethal of all the poisonous chemicals used during the war. It was almost odourless and took twelve hours to take effect. It was so powerful that only small amounts had to be added to high explosive shells to be effective. Once in the soil, mustard gas remained active for several weeks.

8. Case #1 Holocaust • For the frail, women, children there the destiny of death awaits them in the so call "shower". They were ordered to strip and hand all worthy possessions to the robust and bold men, the soldiers. With in the next few monuments, their life would be non-existent; they would die of a formidable death by enhailing mustard gas by the makers Bayer Aspirin. One may think this wasn't painful, but indeed it was very. After death other concentration camps citizens carry the deceased to the crematorium

9. Case #2 • It is generally assumed that gas was first used by the Germans in World War One. This is not accurate. The first recorded gas attack was by the French. • In August 1914, the French used tear gas grenades on the Germans. This was more an irritant rather than a gas that would kill. • It was used by the French to stop the unstoppable German army advancing throughout Belgium and France. • However, while the French were the first to use a gas against an enemy, the Germans had been giving a great deal of thought to the use of poison gas as a way of inflicting a major defeat on an enemy.

10. Sites • Briggs, Josh. "HowStuffWorks "How Mustard Gas Works"" Howstuffworks "Science" Howstuff Works Inc. Web. 19 Jan. 2011. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/mustard-gas>. • "CDC Sulfur Mustard (Mustard Gas) | Emergency Preparedness & Response." CDC Emergency Preparedness & Response Site. Web. 19 Jan. 2011. <http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/sulfurmustard/>.