Characteristics of chemical warfare agents. Purpose and combat properties of chemical weapons

One of the means of mass destruction is chemical weapons. Poisonous substances that are used in this case are intended to harm human health. They penetrate the body through the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, skin, with food or water.

These drugs can cause great harm even in small doses. Therefore, penetration through a small wound into the body is already capable of leading to serious consequences. Poisonous substances are obtained by simple methods, which are known to any chemist, while expensive raw materials are not required at all.

The Germans were the first to use chemical weapons in 1914-1918, at that time the First World War was going on. The chlorine they used caused significant damage to the enemy army.

Chemical warfare agents are capable of putting the army out of action for a long time, therefore, analyzing the use of these drugs by Germany, most states began to prepare for the use of chemical agents in upcoming military events.

This training necessarily included providing people with personal protective equipment, as well as various exercises that explain how to behave in the event of a chemical attack.

At present, the danger comes not so much from the use of chemical weapons as from accidents occurring at various chemical plants. During such extreme situations, poisoning can occur.

To know how to protect yourself from them, you need to navigate in their varieties and understand the features of the impact on the human body.

Classification of toxic substances

There are many varieties of chemicals, depending on the criterion that is taken as the basis for classification.

If we consider the goal that the enemy sets for himself, using OV, then they can be divided into the following categories:

• Deadly.
• Disabling for a while.
• Annoying.

If we focus on the speed of exposure, then toxic substances are:

• Fast acting. It only takes a few minutes to cause death or serious injury.
• Slow acting. They have a latency period.

All chemicals have a different period during which they can be dangerous to humans. Depending on this, they are:

• Persistent. Dangerous after using for some time.
• Unstable. After a few minutes, the danger subsides.

The classification of toxic substances according to their physiological effects on the body may look like this:

• General poisonous.
• Substances of skin and blister action.
• Nerve poisons.
• OV suffocating action.
• psychochemical substances.
• Annoying.
• Toxins.

The damaging effect of poisonous substances

Chemicals can be in different states, so they have different ways of penetrating the body. Some get in through the respiratory tract, and there are some that seep through the skin.

Chemical warfare agents have a different damaging effect, which depends on the following factors:

1. Concentrations.
2. Density of infection.
3. Fortitude.
4. toxicity.

Poisonous substances can be spread by air masses over long distances from the place of their application, while endangering people who do not have protective equipment.

Detection of OM can be done not only with the help of special equipment. Despite the fact that the characteristics of toxic substances are different, and they all have their own properties and characteristics, there are some common signs that indicate their presence:

• Clouds or fog appear at the site of the rupture of ammunition.
• There is a strange smell that is not typical for this area.
• Respiratory irritation.
• A sharp decrease in vision or its complete loss.
• Plants wither or change color.

At the first sign of a danger of poisoning, it is necessary to urgently use protective equipment, especially if they are nerve agents.

Substances of skin and blister action

The penetration of these substances is carried out through the surface of the skin. In the vapor state or in the form of an aerosol, they can enter the body through the respiratory system.

The most common drugs that can be attributed to this group are mustard gas, lewisite. Mustard is a dark oily liquid with a characteristic odor reminiscent of garlic or mustard.

It is quite resistant, on the ground it can last up to two weeks, and in winter for about a month. Able to affect the skin, organs of vision. In a state of vapor penetrates into the respiratory system. The danger of these substances lies in the fact that their action begins to appear some time after infection.

After exposure, ulcers may appear on the skin, which do not heal for a very long time. If you deeply inhale the agents of this group, then inflammation of the lung tissue begins to develop.

Nerve agents

This is the most dangerous group of drugs that has a lethal effect. Poisonous nerve agents have an irreparable effect on the human nervous system.

Using substances of this category, it is possible to incapacitate a large number of people in a short time, since many simply do not have time to use protective equipment.

Nerve agents include:

• Sarin.
• Soman.
• VX.
• Herd.

Most people are familiar with only the first substance. Its name appears most often in the lists of OV. It is a clear, colorless liquid with a slight pleasant odor.

If this substance is used in the form of a mist or in a vapor state, then it is relatively unstable, but in a drop-liquid form, the danger persists for several days, and in winter for weeks.

Soman is very similar to sarin, but more dangerous to humans, as it acts several times stronger. Without the use of protective equipment, survival is out of the question.

The nerve agents VX and Tabun are low volatile liquids with a high boiling point and are therefore more persistent than sarin.

Asphyxiants

By the name itself, it becomes clear that these substances affect the organs of the respiratory system. Well-known drugs from this group are: phosgene and diphosgene.

Phosgene is a highly volatile, colorless liquid with a slight smell of rotten apples or hay. It is able to act on the body in a vapor state.

The drug belongs to slow-acting substances, it begins its effect after a few hours. The severity of the lesion will depend on its concentration, as well as on the state of the human body and the time spent in the contaminated area.

General toxic drugs

Chemically toxic substances from this group penetrate the body with water and food, as well as through the respiratory system. These include:

• Hydrocyanic acid.
• Cyanogen chloride.
• Carbon monoxide.
• Phosphorous hydrogen.
• Arsenic hydrogen.

With a lesion, the following symptoms can be diagnosed: vomiting appears, dizziness, a person may lose consciousness, convulsions, paralysis are possible.

Hydrocyanic acid smells like almonds, it is found in small quantities even in the seeds of some fruits, for example, in apricots, therefore it is not recommended to use fruits with stones for compote.

Although this fear may be in vain, because hydrocyanic acid has its effect only in the vapor state. When it is affected, characteristic signs are observed: dizziness, a metallic taste in the mouth, weakness and nausea.

Substances irritating

Irritating toxic substances can affect a person only for a short time. They are not fatal, but can cause temporary loss or decrease in performance. They act mainly on the nerve endings located in the skin and mucous membranes.

Their action is manifested almost instantly after application. Substances of this group can be divided into the following varieties:

• Tear.
• Sneeze.
• Causing pain.

When exposed to substances of the first group, severe pain appears in the eyes, and an abundant release of lacrimal fluid begins. If the skin of the hands is tender and sensitive, then burning and itching may appear on it.

Sneezing poisonous substances of irritating action affect the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, which causes an attack of unrestrained sneezing, coughing, and pain behind the sternum appears. Since there is an effect on the nervous system, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle weakness can be noted. In severe cases, convulsions, paralysis and loss of consciousness are possible.

Substances that have a painful effect provoke pain, as from a burn, blow.

Psychochemicals

This group of drugs affects the nervous system and causes changes in the mental activity of a person. Blindness or deafness, fear, hallucinations may appear. Locomotor functions are disturbed, but such lesions do not lead to death.

The best-known representative of this category is BZ. When exposed to it, the following symptoms begin to appear:

1. Dry mouth.
2. The pupils become too wide.
3. The pulse quickens.
4. There is weakness in the muscles.
5. Decreased concentration and memory.
6. A person stops responding to external stimuli.
7. Hallucinations appear.
8. Complete detachment from the outside world.

The use of psychochemical means in wartime leads to the fact that the enemy loses the ability to make correct and timely decisions.

First aid for exposure to poisonous substances

Protection from chemicals may also be needed in peacetime. In case of emergencies at chemically hazardous sites, it is necessary to have personal protective equipment and transport on hand so that people can be taken out of the contaminated place.

Since the agents act rapidly, in such accidents many are seriously injured, and they require immediate hospitalization. What measures can be attributed to first aid:

1. The use of antidotes.
2. Careful treatment of all open areas of the body in case of contact with OM drops.
3. Put on a gas mask or at least a cotton-gauze bandage.
4. Remove the person from the lesion. This must be done first.
5. If necessary, carry out resuscitation measures.
6. Evacuation from the area of ​​infection.

First aid may vary depending on the poison. For example, if an irritant has been damaged, then the following must be done:

• Remove gas mask and uniform, if possible.
• Enter 1 ml of 2% promedol.
• Thoroughly rinse the mouth, eyes, skin of the hands and face with 2% sodium bicarbonate solution.
• If there is pain in the eyes, then it is necessary to drip a 2% solution of novocaine or atropine. You can put eye ointment on your eyelids.
• If a person suffers from cardiovascular diseases, then it is necessary to give him heart preparations.
• Treat the skin with a 5% solution of potassium permanganate and apply an anti-burn bandage.
• Take antibiotics for a few days.

Now there is special equipment and instruments that allow not only to determine the presence of toxic substances, to recognize them, but also to accurately determine their amount.

Poison Protection

If an accident occurs at a chemical enterprise, then the first task that should be faced is the protection of the population living near the place of emergency, as well as the employees of the enterprise.

The most reliable means for protecting mass use are considered to be shelters, which must be provided for at such enterprises. But poisonous substances begin their effect immediately, therefore, when chemicals are released, time passes by seconds and minutes, and assistance must be provided urgently.

All employees of the enterprise must be equipped with special breathing apparatus or gas masks. Now they are actively working on the creation of a new generation gas mask, which will be able to protect against all types of poisonous substances.

In chemical accidents, the speed of evacuation of people from the contaminated area is of great importance, and this is possible only if all these measures are clearly planned in advance, equipment for urgent evacuation is provided and is at the ready.

The population of nearby settlements should be notified in a timely manner of the danger of infection so that people take all necessary protective measures. Beforehand, it is necessary to conduct conversations in case of such situations, so that the population has an idea of ​​​​how to protect themselves from toxic substances.

Skin and digestive tract. The combat properties (combat effectiveness) of agents are determined by their toxicity (due to the ability to inhibit enzymes or interact with receptors), physicochemical properties (volatility, solubility, resistance to hydrolysis, etc.), the ability to penetrate the biobarriers of warm-blooded animals and overcome protective equipment.

Chemical warfare agents are the main damaging element of chemical weapons.

Classification

RH protection

The set of measures for protection against agents includes their indication or detection, degassing, disinfection, as well as the use of personal protective equipment (gas masks, insulating breathing apparatus, raincoats, suits made of rubberized fabric, together with filter-type skin protection, antidotes, protective creams, anti-chemical drugs ) and collective chemical protection.

History reference

The first combat use of OV took place during the First World War. The French were the first to use them in August 1914: they were 26-mm grenades filled with tear gas (ethyl bromoacetate). But the Allied stocks of ethyl bromoacetate quickly ran out, and the French administration replaced it with another agent, chloroacetone. In October 1914, German troops opened fire with shells partially filled with a chemical irritant against the British at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, however the concentration of gas achieved was barely noticeable. In February 1915, French troops began using chlorine rifle grenades. However, this method of combat use of poison gases was very ineffective and did not create a significant concentration of them on enemy positions. The experience of the Kaiser troops in the battles near the city of Ypres on April 22 was much more successful: the 4th German Army launched a counterattack on the Ypres ledge, preempting the Anglo-French troops that was being prepared, and occupied most of the ledge. On the first day of the fighting, the German troops used the spraying of chlorine from the cylinders installed in their forward positions, when the wind blew in the direction of the Anglo-French trenches, and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy in manpower, achieving the effect of mass destruction, thanks to which this case of combat use of OV became widely known. (Actually, this is the first experience of a fairly effective combat use of OV.)

In June 1916, chemical weapons were also widely used by the Russian troops during the Brusilov breakthrough. 76-mm shells with suffocating agents (chloropicrin) and general poisonous (phosgene, vensinite) charges showed their high efficiency in suppressing enemy artillery batteries (and in this case, the Austro-Hungarians).

The Geneva Protocol of 1925 was the first international legal act prohibiting the military use of weapons.

Historical reference taken from Deyne V. de, Ypres..., Liége, 1925.

Impressed by the combat use of warheads in the First World War, many states began feverish preparations for the mass use of warheads in future wars. The training included both equipping the troops with chemical protection equipment and measures to protect the civilian population. In the 1920s, a number of countries conducted regular exercises for the civilian population to act in conditions of a chemical attack. By the beginning of World War II, most of the advanced states came up with a developed system of chemical defense. For example, the paramilitary organization OSOAVIAKHIM was created in the USSR.

Nevertheless, in the entire history of wars and local conflicts after the First World War, the use of combat agents was episodic and, moreover, not massive. The main reason for this was the relatively low effectiveness of the combat use of explosives as a means of mass destruction. The effectiveness of the use of OV in the First World War was largely exaggerated by the psychological shock of their use as a new, previously unknown weapon. The initial lack of means of protection against OV also had a strong effect. In the 1920s, military calculations showed [ ] , that the effect of the combat use of ammunition with explosive agents is much lower than the effect of the use of conventional ammunition (the number of enemy soldiers put out of action, for example, after an hour-long shelling of positions with chemical and high-explosive shells, was taken into account). Also, the effect of RH largely depends on factors such as weather (wind direction and strength, air humidity and temperature, atmospheric pressure, and so on). This makes the effect of the combat use of OV almost unpredictable. The storage of explosive ammunition is technically much more complicated than the storage of conventional ammunition. Disposal of damaged chemical munitions in the field is not possible. All these factors, plus the mass prevalence of effective means of protection, which has become the norm, have made the military use of weapons difficult and, with rare exceptions, pointless.

But the very presence of chemical weapons in service is a powerful psychological factor in influencing the enemy and deterring him from using his chemical weapons, forcing the armies to carry out large-scale anti-chemical defense measures. The effectiveness of the impact, for all its unpredictability, on an unprepared enemy (and even more so an unprepared civilian population) remains high. Moreover, the psychological effect exceeds the combat itself.

In addition to low combat effectiveness, the main deterrent is the sharply negative attitude of society towards the very fact of the combat use of any WMD, including chemical ones.

Designation

Substance	US Army cipher	The cipher of the Soviet army	Edgewood arsenal cipher
Mustard gas	H (unrefined) HD (distilled) VV (thickened)	R-5 (Zaikov mustard gas) VR-16 (thickened)	EA 1033
Phosgene	CG	R-10
Lewisite	L	R-43	EA 1034
Adamsite	DM	R-15	EA 1277
Sarin	GB	R-35	EA 1208 EA 5823 (binary)
Soman	GD	R-55	EA 1210
Herd	GA	R-18	EA 1205
Chinuclidil-3-benzylate	BZ	R-78	EA 2277

Classification of Warfare Agents (CW)

poisonous substances(OV) - toxic chemical compounds designed to defeat enemy personnel during hostilities and at the same time preserve material assets during an attack in a city. They can enter the body through the respiratory system, skin and digestive tract. The combat properties (combat effectiveness) of agents are determined by their toxicity (due to the ability to inhibit enzymes or interact with receptors), physicochemical properties (volatility, solubility, resistance to hydrolysis, etc.), the ability to penetrate the biobarriers of warm-blooded animals and overcome protective equipment.

Three generations of Combat OV (1915 - 1970s.)

First generation.

Chemical weapons of the first generation include four groups of poisonous substances:

1) OB blister action(persistent OM sulfur and nitrogen mustards, lewisite).
2) OB general toxic action(unstable RH hydrocyanic acid). ;
3) OB suffocating action(unstable agents phosgene, diphosgene);
4) OB irritant(adamsite, diphenylchlorarsine, chloropicrin, diphenylcyanarsine).

April 22, 1915, when the German army in the small Belgian town of Ypres used a chlorine gas attack against the Anglo-French troops of the Entente, should be considered the official date for the start of the large-scale use of chemical weapons (precisely as weapons of mass destruction). A huge, weighing 180 tons (from 6000 cylinders) poisonous yellow-green cloud of highly toxic chlorine, having reached the advanced positions of the enemy, struck 15 thousand soldiers and officers within minutes; five thousand died immediately after the attack. The survivors either died in hospitals or became disabled for life, having received silicosis of the lungs, severe damage to the organs of vision and many internal organs.

In the same year, 1915, on May 31, on the Eastern Front, the Germans used an even more highly toxic poisonous substance called "phosgene" (full carbonic acid chloride) against Russian troops. 9 thousand people died. May 12, 1917 another battle at Ypres.

And again, the German troops use chemical weapons against the enemy - this time a chemical warfare agent of skin - blistering and general toxic action - 2,2 dichlorodiethyl sulfide, which later received the name "mustard gas".

Other poisonous substances were also tested in the First World War: diphosgene (1915), chloropicrin (1916), hydrocyanic acid (1915). irritating effect - diphenylchlorarsine, diphenylcyanarsine.

During the years of the First World War, all the belligerent states used 125 thousand tons of poisonous substances, including 47 thousand tons - by Germany. About 1 ml of people suffered from the use of chemical weapons during the war. human. At the end of the war, the list of potentially promising and already tested agents included chloracetophenone (lachrymator), which has a strong irritating effect, and, finally, a-lewisite (2-chlorovinyldichloroarsine).

Lewisite immediately attracted close attention as one of the most promising chemical warfare agents. Its industrial production began in the USA even before the end of the World War; our country began to produce and accumulate lewisite reserves already in the first years after the formation of the USSR.

The end of the war only for a while slowed down the work on the synthesis and testing of new types of chemical warfare agents.

However, between the first and second world wars, the arsenal of lethal chemical weapons continued to grow.

In the 1930s, new poisonous substances of blistering and general toxic effects were obtained, including phosgenoxime and "nitrogen mustards" (trichlorethylamine and partially chlorinated derivatives of triethylamine).

Second generation.

A new group is added to the groups already known to us:

5) OB nerve action.

Since 1932, intensive research has been carried out in different countries on organophosphorus poisonous agents with a nerve-paralytic effect - second-generation chemical weapons (sarin, soman, tabun). Due to the exceptional toxicity of organophosphorus poisonous substances (OPS), their combat effectiveness increases dramatically. In the same years, chemical munitions were being improved. In the 50s, a group of FOVs called "V-gases" (sometimes "VX-gases") was added to the family of second-generation chemical weapons.

First obtained in the USA and Sweden, V-gases of a similar structure will soon appear in service in the chemical troops and in our country. V-gases are ten times more toxic than their "brothers in arms" (sarin, soman and tabun).

Third generation.

A new, sixth group of poisonous substances is being added, the so-called "temporarily incapacitating"

6) p sycho-chemical agents

In the 1960s and 1970s, third-generation chemical weapons were developed, which included not only new types of poisonous substances with unforeseen mechanisms of destruction and extremely high toxicity, but also more advanced methods of their use - cluster chemical munitions, binary chemical weapons, etc. R.

The technical idea of ​​binary chemical munitions is that they are equipped with two or more initial components, each of which can be non-toxic or low-toxic substance. During the flight of a projectile, rocket, bomb or other ammunition to the target, the initial components are mixed in it with the formation of a chemical warfare agent as the final product of the chemical reaction. In this case, the role of a chemical reactor is performed by ammunition.

In the post-war period, the problem of binary chemical weapons was of secondary importance for the United States. During this period, the Americans forced the equipping of the army with new nerve agents, but since the beginning of the 60s, American specialists have again returned to the idea of ​​​​creating binary chemical munitions. They were forced to do this by a number of circumstances, the most important of which was the lack of significant progress in the search for poisonous substances with ultra-high toxicity, i.e., poisonous substances of the third generation.

In the first period of the implementation of the binary program, the main efforts of American specialists were directed to the development of binary compositions of standard nerve agents, VX and sarin.

Along with the creation of standard binary 0V, the main efforts of specialists, of course, are focused on obtaining more efficient 0V. Serious attention was paid to the search for binary 0V with the so-called intermediate volatility. Government and military circles explained the increased interest in work in the field of binary chemical weapons by the need to solve the problems of the safety of chemical weapons during production, transportation, storage and operation.

An important stage in the development of binary munitions is the actual design development of projectiles, mines, bombs, missile warheads and other means of application.

The main problem of classification.

A wide variety of 0V in terms of classes of chemical compounds, properties and combat purpose naturally necessitates their classification. It is practically impossible to create a single, universal classification of 0V, and there is no need for this. Specialists of various profiles take the most characteristic properties and features of 0V from the point of view of this profile as the basis for the classification, therefore, a classification compiled, for example, by medical service specialists, turns out to be unacceptable for specialists developing means and methods for the destruction of warfare or operational-tactical foundations for the use of chemical weapons.

Over the relatively short history of chemical weapons, the division of OM according to various criteria has appeared and still exists. There are known attempts to classify all 0V by active chemical functional groups, by persistence and volatility, by the serviceability of means of application and toxicity, by methods of degassing and treating the affected, by pathological reactions of the body caused by 0V. At present, the so-called physiological and tactical classifications of 0B are most widely used.

Physiological classification.

Physiological classification, as well as all others, is very conditional. On the one hand, it allows you to combine into a single system for each group of measures for degassing and protection, sanitization and first aid. On the other hand, it does not take into account the presence of side effects in some substances, sometimes representing a great danger to the affected person. For example, the irritating substances PS and CN can cause severe lung damage, up to death, and DM causes a general poisoning of the body with arsenic. Although it is accepted that the intolerable concentration of irritating substances should be at least 10 times lower than the lethal one, in real conditions of the use of agents this requirement is practically not observed, as evidenced by numerous facts of the severe consequences of the use of police substances abroad. Some 0V in terms of their effect on the body can be simultaneously assigned to two or more groups. In particular, substances VX, GB, GD, HD, L have an unconditionally general poisonous effect, and substances PS, CN have an asphyxiating effect. In addition, from time to time new 0Bs appear in the arsenal of chemical weapons of foreign states, which are generally difficult to attribute to any of the six groups mentioned. tactical classification.

Tactical classification subdivides 0B into groups according to combat purpose. In the US Army, for example, all 0V is divided into two groups:

Deadly(according to American terminology, lethal agents) - substances intended for the destruction of manpower, which include agents of nerve paralytic, blistering, general poisonous and asphyxiating action;

Temporarily incapacitating manpower(in American terminology, harmful agents) are substances that allow solving tactical tasks to disable manpower for periods ranging from several minutes to several days. These include psychotropic substances (incapacitants) and irritants (irritants).

Sometimes a group of irritants, as substances that disable manpower for a period of time slightly exceeding the period of direct exposure to 0V and measured in minutes to tens of minutes, is allocated to a special group of police substances. Obviously, the goal here is to exclude them from the composition of combat 0V in the event of a ban on chemical weapons. In some cases, educational agents and formulations are allocated to a separate group.

The tactical classification of 0B is also imperfect. Thus, the group of lethal agents combines the most diverse compounds in terms of physiological action, and all of them are only potentially lethal, because the final result of the action of 0V depends on its toxicity, the toxodose that has entered the body and the conditions of use. The classification also does not take into account such important factors as the chemical discipline of manpower subjected to chemical attack, the availability of protective equipment, the quality of protective equipment, the state of weapons and military equipment. However, physiological and tactical classifications of 0B are used when studying the properties of specific compounds.

Quite often, tactical classifications of 0B are given in the literature, based on taking into account the speed and duration of their damaging effect, suitability for solving certain combat missions.

Distinguish, for example, high-speed and slow-acting agents, depending on whether they have a period of latent action or not. Fast-acting include nerve agents, general poisonous, irritating and some psychotropic substances, i.e. those that in a few minutes lead to death or to loss of combat capability (performance) as a result of a temporary defeat. Slow-acting substances include blistering, asphyxiating and certain psychotropic substances that can destroy or temporarily incapacitate people and animals only after a period of latent action lasting from one to several hours. This separation of 0B is also imperfect, because some slow-acting substances, when introduced into the atmosphere in very high concentrations, will cause damage in a short time, with practically no period of latent action.

Depending on the duration of the preservation of the damaging ability, agents are divided into short-term (unstable or volatile) and long-term (persistent). The damaging effect of the former is calculated in minutes (AC, CG). The action of the latter can last from several hours to several weeks after their application, depending on meteorological conditions and the nature of the terrain (VX, GD, HD). Such a subdivision of 0V is also conditional, since short-term 0V in the cold season often becomes long-term.

The systematization of 0V and poisons in accordance with the tasks and methods of their application is based on the isolation of substances used in offensive, defensive combat operations, as well as in ambushes or sabotage. Sometimes there are also groups of chemical means for destroying vegetation or removing leaves, means for destroying certain materials, and other groups of means for solving specific combat missions. The conditionality of all these classifications is obvious.

There is also a classification of chemical weapons by categories of serviceability. In the US Army, they are divided into groups A, B, C. Group A includes service chemical munitions, which at this stage most fully satisfy the tactical and technical requirements for them. Group B includes spare standard chemical munitions, which, according to the basic tactical and technical requirements, are inferior to samples of group A, but if necessary, can replace them. Group C combines weapons that are currently out of production, but may be in service until their stocks are used up. In other words, group C includes weapons equipped with obsolete poisonous substances.

The most common tactical and physiological classifications of OS.

Tactical classification:

According to saturated vapor pressure(volatility) are classified into:
unstable (phosgene, hydrocyanic acid);
persistent (mustard gas, lewisite, VX);
poisonous smoke (adamsite, chloroacetophenone).

By the nature of the impact on manpower on:
lethal: (sarin, mustard gas);
temporarily incapacitating personnel: (chloroacetophenone, quinuclidyl-3-benzilate);
irritant: (adamsite, Cs, Cr, chloroacetophenone);
educational: (chloropicrin);

By the speed of the onset of the damaging effect:
fast-acting - do not have a latent period (sarin, soman, VX, AC, Ch, Cs, CR);
slow-acting - have a period of latent action (mustard gas, Phosgene, BZ, lewisite, Adamsite);

Physiological classification

According to the physiological classification, they are divided into:
nerve agents: (organophosphorus compounds): sarin, soman, tabun, VX;

General toxic agents: hydrocyanic acid; cyanogen chloride;
blister agents: mustard gas, nitrogen mustard, lewisite;
OS, irritating the upper respiratory tract or sternites: adamsite, diphenylchlorarsine, diphenylcyanarsine;
suffocating agents: phosgene, diphosgene;
eye irritating agents or lacrimators: chlorpicrin, chloracetophenone, dibenzoxazepine, o-chlorobenzalmalondinitrile, bromobenzyl cyanide;
psychochemical agents: quinuclidyl-3-benzylate.

Poisonous substances (OV, BOV - nrk; synonym for chemical warfare agents - nrk) - highly toxic chemical compounds intended for use in war with the aim of destroying or incapacitating enemy manpower; adopted by armies in a number of capitalist states.

Poisonous substances are fast-acting- O. v., clinical signs of damage which appear a few seconds or minutes after their impact on the body.

Poisonous substances that temporarily incapacitate- O. v., causing reversible processes in the human body, temporarily preventing the performance of professional (combat) activities.

Delayed poisons- O. v., clinical signs of damage which appear after a latent period lasting several tens of minutes or more.

Poisonous substances of blistering action(syn.: vesicants, poisonous substances blistered skin - nrk) - O. v., the toxic effect of which is characterized by the development of an inflammatory-necrotic process at the site of contact, as well as a resorptive effect, manifested by dysfunctions of vital organs and systems.

Poisonous substances, skin-resorptive- O. v., capable of penetrating the body when it comes into contact with intact skin.

Poison nerve agents(syn.: nerve gases - nrk, toxic nerve agents) - high-speed O. v., the toxic effect of which is manifested by a violation of the functions of the nervous system with the development of miosis, bronchospasm, muscle fibrillation, sometimes general convulsions and flaccid paralysis, as well as dysfunction other vital organs and systems.

Poisonous substances are unstable(NOV) - gaseous or rapidly evaporating liquid O. v., the damaging effect of which lasts no more than 1-2 hours after application.

Poisonous substances of general poisonous action- O. v., the toxic effect of which is characterized by rapid inhibition of tissue respiration and the development of signs of hypoxia.

Poisonous substances police- temporarily incapacitating O. in. irritant and lachrymal effect.

Poisonous substances of psychotomimetic action(syn.: O. v. psychotic, O. v. psychotomimetic, O. v. psychochemical) - O. v., causing temporary mental disorders, as a rule, without pronounced disturbances in the activity of other organs and systems.

Irritant poisonous substances(synonymous poisonous substances sneezing) - high-speed O. century, the toxic effect of which is characterized by irritation of the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract.

Lacrimal poisons(syn. lacrimators) - high-speed O. century, the toxic effect of which is characterized by irritation of the mucous membranes of the eyes and nasopharynx.

Poisonous substances are persistent(OWL) - O. v., the damaging effect of which persists for several hours or days after application.

Asphyxiating poisonous substances- O. v., the action of which is characterized by the development of toxic pulmonary edema.

Poisonous substances organophosphorus(FOV) - O. century, representing organic esters of phosphoric acids; belong to O. in. nerve action.

Adamsite (DM) - An irritating chemical warfare agent. Yellow crystals (technical product has a dark green color). Melting point 195°C, sublimes at 410°C to form a stable aerosol. Poorly soluble in water and organic solvents, good in acetone. Chemically resistant, resistant to detonation and heating. Causes corrosion of iron and copper alloys.
Adamsite irritates the upper respiratory tract. The threshold concentration of the irritating effect of the aerosol is 0.0001 mg / l, intolerable - 0.0004 mg / l at an exposure of 1 min.
Protection against adamsite - gas mask. It was first synthesized by R. Adams at the end of the 1st World War. I did not find any practical application.

Soman (GD) - Warfare nerve agent. Colorless liquid with a slight smell of mowed hay. In many ways, it is very similar to sarin, but more toxic. The persistence of soman is somewhat higher than that of sarin.
The first signs of damage are observed at concentrations of about 0.0005 mg / l after a minute (narrowing of the pupils of the eyes, difficulty breathing). The average lethal concentration when acting through the respiratory system is 0.03 mg.min / l. The lethal concentration during resorption through the skin is 2 mg/kg. Protection against soman - gas mask and skin protection, as well as antidotes. First synthesized in Germany in 1944 for use as an OV.
All recommendations for protection against GB are equally applicable for protection against substance GD. It should only be borne in mind that GD substance poisoning is more difficult to treat due to the faster “aging” of phosphonylated acetylcholinesterase, which makes it difficult to reactivate it. A well-functioning gas mask with a carefully fitted front part and protective clothing reliably protect the respiratory organs, eyes and skin from exposure to steam, aerosol and GD droplets.
Neutralization of GD on the skin or clothing consists in the timely removal of visible drops with tampons and the treatment of the infected area with liquid from an individual anti-chemical package or an aqueous-alcoholic solution of ammonia. These activities must be carried out in a short time after contact with JB, before it is absorbed into the blood.
Ammonia-alkaline solutions are used to degas weapons and military equipment and surfaces of various objects (objects). Preferably, organic solvents are added to them, especially those which are themselves capable of easily reacting with GD to form non-toxic compounds (eg, monoethanolamine). Terrain and objects resistant to corrosion can be degassed with suspensions of calcium hypochlorites (HA), as well as alkali solutions.

Chemical names: methylphosphonic acid pinacolyl ester fluoride; pinacolyl ester of methylfluorophosphonic acid; fluoroanhydride 1, 2, 2-trimethylpropyl ester of methylphosphonic acid; .

Conditional names and ciphers: soman, GD (USA), trilon (Germany).

Despite the fact that the US Army and the armies of other NATO countries currently do not have chemical munitions equipped with methylfluorophosphonic acid pinacolyl ether, it is considered as a fast-acting lethal combat agent designed to destroy enemy manpower by contaminating the atmosphere with steam and fine aerosol, and also for fettering its actions due to contamination of the area and objects located on it with a drop-liquid substance.

Ammunition with soman is encoded with three green rings and marked with the inscription "GD GAS".

"Zyklon B" (German: Zyklon B) was the brand name for a commercial product of the German chemical industry used for mass murder in the gas chambers of death camps.

"Cyclone B" is hydrocyanic acid-impregnated granules of an inert porous carrier (diatomaceous earth, pressed sawdust). It also contains 5% odorant (bromoacetic acid ethyl ester), since hydrocyanic acid itself has a slight odor. In the post-World War I period, it was widely used in Germany as an insecticide. According to the manufacturer's data, the granules at room temperature evolved gas for two hours; at lower - longer.

"Zyklon B" was developed as a pesticide by Fritz Haber, winner of the 1918 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for inventing a process for the industrial production of ammonia by fixing atmospheric nitrogen (the Haber-Bosch process, see Nitrogen fertilizers) and "the father of German chemical weapons" in the First world war. Since 1911, he was the head of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institute for Physical Chemistry in Berlin, where he led the development of chemical warfare agents and methods for their application. Haber was a Jew by nationality, in 1933 he was forced to emigrate from Germany (however, a year later he died in Switzerland). Several members of his family died in the Nazi death camps, possibly poisoned by Zyklon B.

"Cyclone B" is still produced in the Czech Republic in Kolin under the brand name "Uragan D2".

Lewisite (L) - Combat Poisonous substances of blistering action, obtained from acetylene and arsenic trichloride.
Technical lewisite is a complex mixture of three organoarsenic substances and arsenic trichloride. It is a heavy, almost twice as heavy as water, oily, dark brown liquid with a characteristic pungent odor (some resemblance to the smell of geranium). Lewisite is poorly soluble in water, highly soluble in fats, oils, petroleum products, easily penetrates into various natural and synthetic materials (wood, rubber, polyvinyl chloride). Lewisite boils at temperatures above 190°C, freezes at -10 - -18°C. Lewisite vapor is 7.2 times heavier than air: the maximum vapor concentration at room temperature is 4.5 g/m3.
Depending on the time of year, weather conditions, topography, and the nature of the terrain, lewisite retains its tactical resistance as a chemical warfare agent from several hours to 2-3 days. Lewisite is reactive. It easily interacts with oxygen, atmospheric and soil moisture, burns and decomposes at high temperatures. The resulting arsenic-containing substances retain their "hereditary" trait - high toxicity.
Lewisite is classified as a persistent toxic substance, it has a general poisonous and blistering effect in any form of its impact on the human body. Lewisite also has an irritating effect on the mucous membranes and respiratory organs.
The general toxic effect of lewisite on the body is multifaceted: it affects the cardiovascular, peripheral and central nervous systems, respiratory organs, and the gastrointestinal tract.
The general poisoning effect of lewisite is due to its ability to disrupt the processes of intracellular carbohydrate metabolism. Acting as an enzyme poison, lewisite blocks the processes of both intracellular and tissue respiration, thereby preventing the ability to convert glucose into its oxidation products, which comes with the release of energy necessary for the normal functioning of all body systems.
The mechanism of the blistering action of lewisite is associated with the destruction of cellular structures. Lewisite has almost no dormant period; signs of damage appear within 3-5 minutes after it enters the skin or body. The severity of the injury depends on the dose or time spent in an atmosphere contaminated with lewisite.
Inhalation of lewisite vapor or aerosol primarily affects the upper respiratory tract, which manifests itself after a short period of latent action in the form of coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge. With mild poisoning, these phenomena disappear after a few days. Severe poisoning is accompanied by nausea, headaches, loss of voice, vomiting, general malaise. Shortness of breath, chest cramps are signs of very severe poisoning. The organs of vision are very sensitive to the action of Lewisite. Drops of this OM getting into the eyes leads to loss of vision after 7-10 days.
Staying for 15 minutes in an atmosphere containing lewisite at a concentration of 0.01 mg per liter of air leads to redness of the mucous eyes and swelling of the eyelids. At higher concentrations, there is a burning sensation in the eyes, lacrimation, eyelid spasms. Vapors of lewisite act on the skin. At a concentration of 1.2 mg / l, after one minute, redness of the skin, swelling is observed; at higher concentrations, blisters appear on the skin. The effect of liquid lewisite on the skin is even faster. With a density of infection of the skin in 0.05-0.1 mg / cm2, their reddening occurs; at a concentration of 0.2 mg/cm2, bubbles form. The lethal dose for humans is 20 mg per 1 kg of body weight.
When lewisite enters the gastrointestinal tract, profuse salivation and vomiting occur, accompanied by acute pain, a drop in blood pressure, and damage to internal organs. The lethal dose of lewisite when it enters the body is 5-10 mg per 1 kg of body weight.
Synthesis of sarin is carried out by esterification of isopropyl alcohol with methylphosphonic acid dichloride, while both alkali metal fluorides and methylphosphonic acid difluoroanhydride can be used as a source of fluorine:

Sarin (GB) - Combat nerve agents. Causes damage with any type of exposure, especially quickly - with inhalation. The first signs of damage (miosis and shortness of breath) appear at a concentration of sarin in the air of 0.0005 mg/l (after 2 minutes). The mean lethal concentration when acting through the respiratory organs for 1 minute is 0.075 mg / l, when acting through the skin - 0.12 mg / l. The semi-lethal dose (at which 50% of individuals die) in contact with open skin is 24 mg / kg of body weight. The semi-lethal dose for oral (by mouth) administration is 0.14 mg/kg of body weight.
At room temperature, sarin is a colorless liquid with a faint smell of apple blossoms. Miscible with water and organic solvents in all respects. Its relatively high vapor pressure causes it to evaporate quickly (about 36 times faster than tabun, another nerve agent). In its gaseous state, sarin is also colorless and odorless.
Sarin, being an acid fluoride, reacts with nucleophiles that replace fluorine. Slowly hydrolyzes with water, easily reacts with aqueous solutions of alkalis, ammonia and amines (these reactions can be used for degassing). Typically, an 18% aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide is used to deactivate Sarin. Phenolates and alcoholates degas Sarin very easily (even when dry).
Thermally stable up to 100 °C, thermal decomposition is accelerated in the presence of acids.
Sarin belongs to the group of unstable agents. In drop-liquid form, the resistance of sarin can be: in summer - several hours, in winter - several days. The lifespan can be greatly reduced by the presence of impurities in the reagents used to synthesize Sarin.
As with other nerve agents, sarin targets the body's nervous system.
When motor and autonomic neurons are stimulated, the mediator acetylcholine is released into the intersynaptic space of the synapse, due to which the impulse is transmitted to the muscle or organ. In a physiologically healthy organism, after impulse transmission, acetylcholine is utilized by the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE), as a result of which the impulse transmission stops.
Sarin irreversibly inhibits the enzyme acetylcholinesterase by forming a covalent bond with the site of the enzyme where acetylcholine undergoes hydrolysis. As a result, the content of acetylcholine in the intersynaptic space is constantly growing, and impulses are continuously transmitted, maintaining all organs innervated by autonomic and motor nerves in an active state (state of secretion or tension) until they are completely exhausted.
The first signs of human exposure to sarin (and other nerve agents) are nasal discharge, chest congestion, and constriction of the pupils. Shortly thereafter, the victim has difficulty breathing, nausea and increased salivation. Then the victim completely loses control over the functions of the body, it vomits, involuntary urination and defecation occurs. This phase is accompanied by convulsions. Ultimately, the victim falls into a comatose state and suffocates in a fit of convulsive spasms, followed by cardiac arrest.
Short and long term symptoms experienced by the victim include: Location of impact
Signs and symptoms:
Local action: Muscarinic sensing systems
Pupils: Miosis, pronounced, usually maximal (pinpoint), sometimes unequal
Ciliary body: Headache in frontal part; pain in the eyes when focusing; slight blurred vision; sometimes nausea and vomiting Conjunctiva Flushing
Bronchial tree: Chest tightness, sometimes with prolonged dyspnoea, indicating bronchospasm or increased bronchial secretions; cough
Sweat glands: Sweating at the site of contact with liquid agents, Increased sweating
Striated muscles: Fasciculation at the site of fluid exposure
Resorptive action: Muscarinic sensing systems
Bronchial tree: Chest tightness, sometimes with prolonged dyspnoea, indicating bronchospasm or increased secretion; shortness of breath, mild chest pain; increased bronchial secretion; cough; pulmonary edema; cyanosis
Gastrointestinal tract: Anorexia; nausea; vomit; spastic pains in the abdomen; feeling of heaviness in the epigastric and retrosternal regions with heartburn and belching; diarrhea; tenesmus; involuntary defecation
Salivary glands: Increased salivation
Lacrimal glands: Increased lacrimation
Heart: Mild bradycardia
Pupils: Weak miosis, sometimes uneven; later - more pronounced miosis
Ciliary Body: Blurred vision
Bladder: Frequency of urge to urinate; involuntary urination
Nicotine sensitive systems: Striated muscles; Fast fatiguability; mild weakness; muscle twitching; fasciculation; convulsions; general weakness, including respiratory muscles, shortness of breath and cyanosis
Ganglia of the sympathetic nervous system: Paleness; periodic increase in pressure
Central nervous system: Dizziness; tense state; anxiety, nervous excitement; anxiety; emotional lability; excessive sleepiness; insomnia; nightmares; headache; tremor; apathy; withdrawal and depression; bursts of slow waves at increased voltage during the EEG, especially during hyperventilation; nap; difficulty concentrating; anamnestic reaction; confusion; slurred speech; ataxia; general weakness; convulsions; depression of the respiratory and circulatory centers with dyspnea, cyanosis and a drop in blood pressure.
Prevention is based on the appointment of a reversible anticholinesterase agent. Pyridostigmine is suggested in doses of 30 mg 3 times daily to inhibit approximately 30% of blood cholinesterase. In the case of severe poisoning, this 30% protected cholinesterase is spontaneously reactivated, and if the same phenomenon occurs at the cholinergic synapses, the victim will recover. (Re-inhibition of the enzyme can occur if the poison remains in the body and is available to bind to cholinesterases after pyridostigmine has been eliminated.)
Treatment of a person affected by sarin should begin as soon as the diagnosis is made. Immediate actions include urgent isolation of the victim from the damaging agent (contaminated area, contaminated air, clothing, etc.), as well as from all possible irritants (for example, bright light), treatment of the entire surface of the body with a weak alkali solution, or standard chemical protection. In case of contact with a toxic substance in the gastrointestinal tract - gastric lavage with a large amount of slightly alkaline water. Simultaneously with the above actions, the urgent use of the following antidotes is necessary:
Atropine, which is a blocker of M-cholinergic receptors, is used to stop the physiological signs of poisoning.
Pralidoxime, dipyroxime, toxogonine, HI-6, HS-6, HGG-12, HGG-42, VDV-26, VDV-27 - acetylcholinesterase reactivators, specific antidotes of organophosphorus substances that can restore the activity of the acetylcholinesterase enzyme if they are used during the first hours after poisoning.
Diazepam is a centrally acting anticonvulsant drug. The reduction in seizures was markedly reduced in the case of a delay in the start of treatment; 40 minutes after exposure, the reduction is minimal. Most clinically effective antiepileptic drugs may not be able to stop seizures caused by sarin.
In the field, it is necessary to immediately introduce athens or budaksin from a syringe tube (included in the AI-1 individual first-aid kit, which each mobilized soldier is equipped with), in case of their absence, 1-2 tarena tablets from the AI-2 first-aid kit can be used.
In the future, pathogenetic and symptomatic treatment is carried out, depending on the symptoms of the lesion that prevail in this victim.

According to foreign data, Sarin can be used as a two-component chemical weapon in the form of its two predecessors - methylphosphonic acid difluoride and a mixture of isopropyl alcohol and isopropylamine (Binary Sarin). In this case, isopropylamine binds hydrogen fluoride, which is formed during a chemical reaction.
According to the CIA, Iraq was trying to overcome the short lifespan of sarin in three ways:

The life of unitary (i.e., pure) Sarin can be extended by increasing the purity of precursors and synthesis intermediates, as well as by improving the manufacturing process.
Adding a stabilizer called tributylamine. This was later replaced by diisopropylcarbodiimide (di-c-di), which made it possible to store Sarin in aluminum containers.
Development of a binary (two-component) chemical weapon in which precursor substances are stored separately from each other in one projectile. In such a projectile, the actual mixing of the reagents and the synthesis of the CWA is carried out immediately before launch or already in flight. This approach is doubly beneficial, as it solves the problem of a short lifespan and significantly increases the safety during storage and transportation of ammunition.

Definition:

In the presence of hydrogen peroxide, sarin produces a peroxide anion capable of oxidizing many aromatic amines to colored diazo compounds.

Hydrocyanic acid is a strong poison of general toxic action, blocks cellular cytochrome oxidase, resulting in severe tissue hypoxia. Median lethal doses (LD50) and concentrations for hydrocyanic acid:
Blue acid (hydrogen cyanide, formic acid nitrile) HCN is a colorless, easily mobile liquid with a bitter almond odor. Strong poison. The HCN molecule is highly polar (= 0.96.10-29 Cm). Hydrogen cyanide consists of two types of molecules that are in tautomeric equilibrium (conversion of hydrogen cyanide to isocyanide), which is shifted to the left at room temperature:
The greater stability of the first structure is due to the lower values ​​of the effective charges of the atoms.
Anhydrous hydrocyanic acid is a highly ionizing solvent; electrolytes dissolved in it dissociate well into ions. Its relative permittivity at 25°C is 107 (higher than that of water). This is due to the linear association of polar HCN molecules due to the formation of hydrogen bonds.
Hydrocyanic acid is found in some plants, coke oven gas, tobacco smoke, and is released during the thermal decomposition of nylon, polyurethanes. Contents
At the moment, there are three most common methods for producing hydrocyanic acid on an industrial scale:
Andrusov method: direct synthesis from ammonia and methane in the presence of air and a platinum catalyst at high temperature:
BMA method (Blausure aus Methan und Ammoniak) patented by Degussa: direct synthesis from ammonia and methane in the presence of a platinum catalyst at high temperature:

When inhaling small concentrations of hydrocyanic acid, scratching in the throat, a bitter taste in the mouth, headache, nausea, vomiting, chest pain are observed. With an increase in intoxication, the pulse rate decreases, shortness of breath increases, convulsions develop, and loss of consciousness occurs. At the same time, there is no cyanosis (the oxygen content in the blood is sufficient, its utilization in the tissues is impaired).
When high concentrations of hydrocyanic acid are inhaled or ingested, clonic-tonic convulsions and an almost instantaneous loss of consciousness due to paralysis of the respiratory center appear. Death can occur within minutes.
Mice:
orally (ORL-MUS LD50) - 3.7 mg/kg
when inhaled (IHL-MUS LD50) - 323 ppm
intravenously (IVN-MUS LD50) - 1 mg / kg
Human, Minimum Published Lethal Dose (ORL-MAN LDLo)< 1 мг/кг
For the first time, hydrocyanic acid was used as a chemical warfare agent by the French army on July 1, 1916.
However, for a number of reasons, such as:
The use of gas masks with filters by the German army
Rapid drift of hydrocyanic acid gas from the battlefield by the wind
Subsequent use of hydrocyanic acid in this role has ceased.
In some countries, hydrocyanic acid is used in gas chambers as a poison in the execution of death sentences. This is done for reasons of minimum gas consumption. Death usually occurs within 4-10 minutes.

For the treatment of hydrocyanic acid poisoning, several antidotes are known, which can be divided into two groups. The therapeutic effect of one group of antidotes is based on their interaction with hydrocyanic acid to form non-toxic products. Such drugs include, for example, colloidal sulfur and various polythionates, which convert hydrocyanic acid into low-toxic thiocyanate, as well as aldehydes and ketones (glucose, dihydroxyacetone, etc.), which chemically bind hydrocyanic acid to form cyanohydrins. Another group of antidotes includes drugs that cause the formation of methemoglobin in the blood: hydrocyanic acid binds to methemoglobin and does not reach cytochrome oxidase. Methylene blue, as well as salts and esters of nitrous acid, are used as methemoglobin formers.
Comparative evaluation of antidotes: methylene blue protects against two lethal doses, sodium thiosulfate and sodium tetrathiosulfate - from three doses, sodium nitrite and ethyl nitrite - from four doses, methylene blue together with tetrathiosulfate - from six doses, amyl nitrite together with thiosulfate - from ten doses , sodium nitrite together with thiosulfate - from twenty lethal doses of hydrocyanic acid.

Mustard - Combat Poisonous substances of blistering action. Colorless liquid, with an odor of garlic or mustard. Technical mustard gas is a dark brown, almost black liquid with an unpleasant odor. Melting point is 14.5°C, boiling point is 217°C (with partial decomposition), density is 1.280 g/cm (at 15°C). Mustard gas is easily soluble in organic solvents - haloalkanes, benzene, chlorobenzene - as well as in vegetable or animal fats; solubility in water is 0.05%. While the solubility in absolute ethanol above 16°C is almost 100%, in 92% ethanol it barely reaches 25%.

Due to some surface activity, it reduces the surface tension of water and to a small extent spreads over it in a thin layer, like an oil film. As a result of adding 1% high-molecular amine C22H38O2NH2, the spreading of mustard gas in water increases by 39%.

Mustard hydrolyzes very slowly with water, the rate of hydrolysis increases sharply in the presence of caustic alkalis, when heated and stirred.

Mustard gas reacts vigorously with chlorinating and oxidizing agents. Since this produces non-toxic products, the above reactions are used to degas mustard gas. With salts of heavy metals, mustard gas forms complex colored compounds; the detection of mustard gas is based on this property.

At ordinary temperatures, mustard gas is a stable compound. When heated above 170 °C, it decomposes to form foul-smelling poisonous products of various compositions. At temperatures above 500 °C, complete thermal decomposition occurs. Short-term heating even above 300 °C almost does not lead to the formation of decomposition products, so mustard gas is considered relatively resistant to detonation.

In relation to metals at ordinary temperature mustard gas is inert, it has almost no effect on lead, brass, zinc, steel, aluminum; When the temperature rises, the steel breaks down. Contaminated mustard gas, usually containing water and hydrogen chloride, corrodes steel. The resulting iron salts contribute to corrosion. Due to the gases released - hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide, ethylene and other decomposition products - the increase in pressure in closed containers, mines, bombs and shipping containers must be considered.

In the human body, mustard gas reacts with the NH groups of nucleotides that are part of DNA. This contributes to the formation of cross-links between DNA strands, due to which this section of DNA becomes inoperable.

Mustard gas affects the human body in several ways:

Man after poisoning with mustard gas:
Destruction of intercellular membranes;
Violation of carbohydrate metabolism;
"Tearing out" nitrogenous bases from DNA and RNA.

Mustard gas has a damaging effect in any way of penetration into the body. Lesions of the mucous membranes of the eyes, nasopharynx and upper respiratory tract appear even at low concentrations of mustard gas. At higher concentrations, along with local lesions, general poisoning of the body occurs. Mustard has a latent period of action (2-8 hours) and has a cumulative effect.

At the time of contact with mustard gas, skin irritation and pain effects are absent. Areas affected by mustard gas are prone to infection. Skin lesions begin with redness, which appears 2-6 hours after exposure to mustard gas. A day later, at the site of redness, small blisters are formed, filled with a yellow transparent liquid. Subsequently, the bubbles merge. After 2-3 days, the blisters burst and an ulcer that does not heal for 20-30 days is formed. If an infection gets into the ulcer, then healing occurs in 2-3 months.

When inhaled vapors or aerosol mustard gas, the first signs of damage appear after a few hours in the form of dryness and burning in the nasopharynx, then there is a strong swelling of the mucous membrane of the nasopharynx, accompanied by purulent discharge. In severe cases, pneumonia develops, death occurs on the 3-4th day from suffocation. Eyes are especially sensitive to mustard gas vapors. When exposed to mustard gas vapors on the eyes, there is a feeling of sand in the eyes, lacrimation, photophobia, then redness and swelling of the mucous membrane of the eyes and eyelids occur, accompanied by copious discharge of pus.

Eye contact with drip-liquid mustard gas can lead to blindness. If mustard gas enters the gastrointestinal tract, after 30-60 minutes, sharp pains in the stomach, salivation, nausea, vomiting appear, and then diarrhea (sometimes with blood) develops.

The minimum dose that causes the formation of abscesses on the skin is 0.1 mg/cm. Light eye damage occurs at a concentration of 0.001 mg / l and an exposure of 30 minutes. The lethal dose when acting through the skin is 70 mg / kg (latent period of action up to 12 hours or more). Lethal concentration when exposed through the respiratory system for 1.5 hours - about 0.015 mg / l (latent period 4 - 24 hours).

There is no antidote for mustard gas poisoning. Drops of mustard gas on the skin must be immediately degassed using an individual anti-chemical bag. Rinse the eyes and nose with plenty of water, and rinse the mouth and throat with a 2% solution of baking soda or clean water. In case of poisoning with water or food contaminated with mustard gas, induce vomiting, and then inject a gruel prepared at the rate of 25 g of activated carbon per 100 ml of water. Ulcers caused by droplets of mustard gas on the skin should be cauterized with potassium permanganate (KMnO4)

To protect the respiratory organs and skin from the action of mustard gas, a gas mask and special protective clothing are used, respectively. It should be noted that mustard gas has the ability to diffuse into complex organic compounds. Therefore, it should be remembered that OZK and a gas mask protect the skin to a limited extent. The time spent in the area affected by mustard gas should not exceed 40 minutes, in order to avoid the penetration of agents through protective equipment to the skin.

Phosgene - Combat poisonous substances Asphyxiating action. (carbonic acid dichloride) - a chemical substance with the formula COCl2, a colorless gas with the smell of rotten hay. Synonyms: carbonyl chloride, carbon chlorine. Contents

At ordinary temperatures, phosgene is a stable compound. When heated strongly, it partially decomposes into chlorine and carbon monoxide. Above 800 °C, it completely dissociates. The amount of decomposition products (poisonous) during the explosion is negligible, so it is possible to use phosgene in explosive ammunition.

When phosgene is stored in steel containers, for example, when exposed to mines for a long time, iron pentacarbonyl is formed. It is a reddish-yellow liquid. Heavier than phosgene, and photocatalytically decomposed in the light to form poisonous carbon monoxide. Phosgene is almost not hydrolyzed by water vapor, so the concentration of phosgene created in the air changes noticeably only after a long time. At high air humidity, the phosgene cloud may acquire a whitish sheen due to partial hydrolysis.

Reacts vigorously with ammonia:

COCl2 + 4NH3 &oho (NH2)2CO (urea) + 2NH4Cl

This reaction is used for express detection of phosgene leaks - a swab moistened with an ammonia solution in the presence of phosgene begins to noticeably emit white smoke.

Has a suffocating effect. Lethal concentration 0.01 - 0.03 mg / l (15 minutes). Contact of phosgene with lung tissue causes impaired alveolar permeability and rapidly progressive pulmonary edema. There is no antidote. Protection against phosgene - gas mask.

Phosgene is only poisonous if the vapors are inhaled. The first distinct signs of poisoning appear after a latent period of 4 to 8 hours; even periods of 15 hours were observed.

According to various sources, inhalation of phosgene at a concentration of 0.004 mg/l for 60-90 minutes does not lead to poisoning.

Exposure to an atmosphere containing up to 0.01 mg/l phosgene is possible for a maximum of 1 hour. In this case, susceptible people can already get mild poisoning. Concentrations of 0.022 mg/l are lethal after 30 minutes of exposure. In 50% of cases, poisoning by inhalation of 0.1 mg / l for 30-60 minutes leads to death. The remaining 50% of the survivors are long-term unfit for combat as a result of severe poisoning. Even with a short time of exposure to such concentrations, severe poisoning can occur, under certain circumstances ending in death.

A concentration of 1 mg/l at an exposure time of 5 minutes in 50-75% of cases of poisoning leads to death; lower concentrations (0.5-0.8 mg/l) lead to severe poisoning.

A concentration of 5 mg / l is lethal after 2-3 seconds.

Small concentrations of phosgene affect the taste sensation, for example, smoking a cigarette in air containing phosgene is unpleasant or even impossible.

The smell of phosgene is noticeable at a concentration of 0.004 mg / l, however, phosgene affects the olfactory nerve in such a way that in the future the sense of smell is dulled and even higher concentrations are no longer felt.

Toxic pulmonary edema, which occurs after inhalation of vapors of phosgene, diphosgene, triphosgene, appears only after a latent period of several hours. During this period, the poisoned person feels well, and, as a rule, is quite capable. Susceptible people develop a sweet, often nasty taste in the mouth at this time, and sometimes nausea and vomiting. In most cases, there is a slight urge to cough, perspiration and burning in the nasopharynx, slight disturbances in the rhythm of breathing and pulse.

After a latent period, there is a strong cough, shortness of breath, cyanosis of the face and lips.

Progressive pulmonary edema leads to severe suffocation, excruciating pressure in the chest, the breathing rhythm increases from 18-20 per minute (normal) to 30-50 per minute, in a crisis - up to 60-70 per minute. Convulsive breathing. Protein-containing edematous foamy and viscous fluid is sprayed from the alveoli and bronchioles into the wider airways, leading to difficulty and impossibility of breathing. The poisoned person expectorates large quantities of this fluid, often mixed with blood. With toxic pulmonary edema, up to about 0.5 of the total amount of blood in the body passes into the lungs, which, as a result, swell and increase in mass. While a normal lung weighs about 500-600 g, "phosgene" lungs weighing up to 2.5 kg have been observed.

Blood pressure drops sharply, the poisoned person is in the strongest excitement, breathes with noise, gasps for air, then death occurs.

There are also cases when the poisoned person avoids any unnecessary movement and chooses some most comfortable position to facilitate breathing. The lips of such poisoned people are gray, the sweat is cold and clammy. Despite suffocation, sputum is not separated from them. A few days later, the poisoned person dies.

Rarely, after 2-3 days, an improvement in the condition may occur, which after 2-3 weeks may result in recovery, but often complications as a result of secondary infectious diseases in this case lead to death.

At very high concentrations, pulmonary edema does not develop. The poisoned person takes deep breaths, falls to the ground, writhing and convulsing, the skin on the face turns from violet-blue to dark blue, and death occurs very quickly.

It was used in the First World War as a chemical warfare agent.

The volatility of phosgene is sufficient to reach toxic concentrations in winter. The durability at 20 °C is about 3 hours, in the summer months it is extremely low - no more than 30 minutes. Volatility at -20 ° C is 1.4 g / l, at +20 ° C - about 6.4 g / l. Due to normal meteorological influences, the actual concentration of phosgene in the air is less and hardly exceeds 1 g/l.

From a military point of view, of interest is the good solubility of phosgene in chloropicrin, mustard gas, aryl- and alkylchloroarsines, and in acid smoke generators --- silicon tetrachloride, tin, and titanium. Mixtures of phosgene with smoke generators were used during the First World War and were harvested in large quantities during the Second World War.
Military designations
German - Grunkreuz, D-Stoff.
English - PG-Mixture (mixed with chloropicrin).
American - CG.
French - Collongite (mixed with tin tetrachloride).

It is very active in many addition reactions, due to this it is actively used in organic synthesis (phosgenation). It is used to obtain a number of dyes. Polycarbonate, one of the important thermoplastics for engineering purposes, is obtained by the method of interfacial polycondensation of a solution of phosgene in methylene chloride with an alkaline solution of 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane in the presence of a catalyst.

Diphosgene - Combat poisonous substances of asphyxiating action. Trichloromethyl ester of chlorocarbonic acid. Mobile liquid, colorless, with a characteristic smell of rotten hay, smokes in air. Let's well dissolve in organic solvents (benzene, toluene, carbon tetrachloride, acetone), it is bad in water.

Highly toxic, suffocating and irritating.
The most common method is the light chlorination of methyl chloroformate obtained from phosgene and methanol:
When heated, it decomposes into two molecules of phosgene:
A valuable reagent in organic synthesis in the production of carbonates, isocyanates, is used to obtain phosgene in the laboratory.
Symptoms of phosgene or diphosgene poisoning: a painful cough, sputum mixed with blood, blue skin (cyanosis), pulmonary edema.

VX (VX) (eng. VX, wi-gas, V-Ex, substance of group F (Sweden), substance of group A (France), BRN 1949015, CCRIS 3351, EA 1701, (±)-S-(2- (Bis (1-methylethyl) amino) ethyl) O-ethyl methylphosphonothioate, HSDB 6459, Tx 60, O-ethyl-S-2-diisopropylaminoethyl methylphosphonate) is a nerve agent, one of the most toxic substances ever synthesized. , the most famous of the V-series agents.
Vi-X (VX) is a low-volatility, colorless liquid, odorless and does not freeze in winter. It dissolves moderately in water (5, in organic solvents and fats - well. It infects open water bodies for a very long period - up to 6 months. The main combat state is a coarse aerosol. VX aerosols infect surface layers of air and spread in the direction of the wind to a depth of 5 to 20 km, affect manpower through the respiratory system, exposed skin and conventional army uniforms, as well as infect the terrain, weapons and military equipment and open water. Armament and military equipment contaminated with VX drops pose a danger in summer for 1-3 days, in winter - 30-60 days.
A poisonous nerve agent. Damage symptoms: 1-2 minutes - constriction of the pupils; 2-4 minutes - sweating, salivation; 5-10 minutes - convulsions, paralysis, spasms; 10-15 minutes - death. When acting through the skin, the picture of the lesion is basically similar to inhalation. The difference is that the symptoms appear after a while (from several minutes to several hours). In this case, muscle twitching appears at the site of exposure to the OB, then convulsions, muscle weakness and paralysis. For humans, LD50 skin = 100 mcg/kg, orally = 70 mcg/kg. LCt100 = 0.01 mg.min/l, while the latency period is 5-10 minutes. Miosis occurs at a concentration of 0.0001 mg/l after 1 minute. It has a very high skin-resorptive toxicity compared to other phosphorus-containing poisonous substances. The skin of the face and neck is most sensitive to the action of VX. Skin application symptoms develop within 1-24 hours, however, if VX gets on the lips or damaged skin, the effect appears very quickly. The first sign of resorption through the skin may not be miosis, but small muscle twitches at the site of contact with VX. The toxic effects of VX through the skin can be enhanced by substances that are not themselves toxic but are capable of transporting the poison into the body. The most effective among them are dimethyl sulfoxide and N,N-dimethylamide of palmitic acid.
It infects open water bodies for a very long period - up to 6 months. The main combat state is a coarse aerosol. VX aerosols infect surface layers of air and spread in the direction of the wind to a depth of 5 to 20 km, infect manpower through the respiratory organs, exposed skin and ordinary army uniforms, and also infect the terrain, weapons and military equipment and open water bodies. VX is used by artillery, aviation (cassettes and pouring aircraft devices), as well as with the help of chemical land mines. Armament and military equipment contaminated with VX drops pose a danger in summer for 1-3 days, in winter - 30-60 days. Persistence of VX on the ground (skin-resorptive action): in summer - from 7 to 15 days, in winter - for the entire period before the onset of heat. Protection against VX: gas mask, combined arms protective kit, sealed objects of military equipment and shelters.
The affected person needs to put on a gas mask (if an aerosol or drop-liquid agent gets on the skin of the face, the gas mask is put on only after the face has been treated with liquid from the IPP). Introduce an antidote using a syringe tube with a red cap from an individual first-aid kit and remove the affected person from the contaminated atmosphere. If convulsions are not relieved within 10 minutes, re-introduce the antidote. The maximum allowable introduction of 2 doses of antidote. If this limit is exceeded, death occurs from the antidote. In case of respiratory arrest, perform artificial respiration. If the agent comes into contact with the body, immediately treat the infected areas with an IPP. If OM enters the stomach, it is necessary to induce vomiting, if possible, rinse the stomach with a 1% solution of baking soda or clean water, rinse the affected eyes with a 2% solution of baking soda or clean water. The affected personnel are delivered to the medical center.

Persistence of VX on the ground (skin-resorptive effect): in summer - from 7 to 15 days, in winter - for the entire period before the onset of heat. Protection against VX: gas mask, combined arms protective kit, sealed objects of military equipment and shelters.

At a concentration of 0.0001 mg / l VX causes constriction of the pupils (miosis) in a minute. The lethal concentration when acting through the respiratory system is 0.001 mg / l at an exposure of 10 minutes (the period of latent action is 5 - 10 minutes). The lethal concentration during resorption through the skin is 0.1 mg / kg. For Vx "a, skin-resorption activity is characteristic, while twitching of the skin is observed at the sites of its contact with OB. The latent period during resorption through the skin is 1-24 hours. There are antidotes, such as atropine.

Appeared in the 1950s as a result of a mistake (instead of a pesticide). VX is in huge quantities in the arsenals of both the United States and Russia.

VX gas is 300 times more toxic than phosgene (COCl2) used during World War I. It was created at the Chemical Defense Experimental Laboratories, Porton Down, UK, in 1952. Patent applications were filed in 1962 and only published in February 1974.
Chemically stable. The period of semi-hydrolysis at pH=7 and a temperature of 25 °C is 350 days. Nucleophilic reactions are greatly slowed down compared to Sarin. With acids and haloalkyls, it forms solid toxic ammonium salts, soluble in water, but not possessing skin-resorptive properties.
Chemical name: S-(2-NN-Diisopropylaminoethyl)-O-ethyl methylphosphonothiolate. Gross formula: C11H26NO2PS. Molecular weight 267.37. Colorless thick liquid (technical product has a color from yellow to dark brown). Tmelt = &hoo39 °C, high-boiling compound, not distilled at atmospheric pressure Tboil = 95-98°C (1 mm Hg), d4 (25 °C) = 1.0083. Volatility 0.0105 mg/l (25 °C). Vapor pressure at 25 °C = 0.0007 mmHg Art. Hygroscopic, sparingly soluble in water (about 5% at 20 °C), good in organic solvents.
The marking of ammunition in the US Army is three green rings and the inscription VX-GAS.
Degassed by strong oxidizing agents (hypochlorites).

Tabun is a nerve agent (NS). The lethal concentration of tabun in the air is 0.4 mg / l (1 min), when it comes into contact with the skin in liquid form - 50-70 mg / kg; at a concentration of 0.01 mg / l (2 min), tabun causes severe miosis (pupil constriction). A gas mask serves as protection against the herd.
Phosphoric acid cyanogen dimethylamide ethyl ester is an organophosphorus compound, a colorless mobile liquid with t. bale 220 °C, t pl & ho50 °C, poorly soluble in water (about 12, good in organic solvents. Content
Vigorously interacts with solutions of ammonia and amines, which is used for tabun degassing. Degassing products are poisonous because they contain salts of hydrocyanic acid.
Tabun was first obtained before the 2nd World War, but did not find combat use.

Chloracetophenone (CR, CS) C6H5COCH2Cl - A chemical warfare agent from the group of lachrymators - tear agents (irritating agents). It was used as a police tool to disperse demonstrators, capture criminals, etc. Currently, due to high toxicity, it is gradually being replaced by safer irritants - CS, CR, OC, PAVA.

Army codes: CN [am], O-Salz [German], CAP [eng], Grandite [fr], HAF, Bird cherry

Other chemical names: 1-Chloroacetophenone, 2-Chloro-1-phenylethanone, Chloromethyl phenyl ketone, 2-chloro-1-phenylethanone, Phenacylchloride, Phenylchloromethylketone, alpha-Chloroacetophenone

White crystals with the smell of bird cherry or flowering apple trees. The technical product has a color from straw yellow to gray. It is insoluble in water, but readily soluble in common organic solvents - chloroalkanes, carbon disulfide, aliphatic alcohols, ethers, ketones and benzene; in some CWAs, such as mustard gas, phosgene, chloropicrin and cyanogen chloride. Thermally stable, melts and distills without decomposition. Detonation resistant.

Despite its low volatility, chloroacetophenone vapors make terrain impassable without a gas mask. Solutions of chloroacetophenone, depending on the density of infection, local and meteorological conditions, can be persistent for hours and days. A solution of chloroacetophenone in chloropicrin mixed with chloroform (CNS recipe) is stable in the forest for 2 hours in summer, and even up to a week in winter; in open areas about 1 hour in summer and 6 hours in winter.

According to various estimates, chloroacetophenone is 3-10 times more toxic than CS.Concentration (mg/m&襫)
0.05 - 0.3 Minimum concentration causing mild eye irritation within 10 s
0.07 - 0.4 Slight irritation in the nose at the first breath
0.1 - 0.7 Odor Threshold
1.9 Concentration enough to wake a sleeper
20 - 50 ICt50 - concentration incapacitating 50% of the subjects (mg.min / m & 襫)
7,000 LCt50 — lethal mean concentration (pure aerosol, mg.min/m&襫)
14 000 LCt50 - average lethal concentration (grenades, mg.min / m & 襫)

Chloracetophenone is a typical lachrymator, the irritation of the respiratory tract is much less pronounced than with the defeat of CS and OS. Beginning of action after 0.5 & hoo2 min. The duration of the irritant action is 5-30 minutes. Symptoms gradually disappear after 1-2 hours. Staying in the CN cloud for more than 5 minutes. considered dangerous.
Eyes: Lachrymation and sharp pain. If solutions get into the eyes, it can cause burns and clouding of the cornea, visual impairment.
Respiratory tract: pinching in the nose, slight burning sensation in the throat, at high concentrations - discharge from the nose, sore throat, difficulty breathing, coughing are possible.
Skin: Irritant, burn-like effect with blistering. Works best on damp skin. Contrary to popular belief, chloroacetophenone is a much stronger skin irritant than CS. Skin application of just 0.5 mg CN for 60 min. causes erythema in all subjects. (for CS - at least 20 mg).
Military application. The most effective use of chloroacetophenone in the form of an aerosol. It is used in grenades, aerosol generators (including knapsacks), smoke bombs, etc.
Application by law enforcement agencies. The units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation have at their disposal various types of Cheryomukha, Drift grenades and a Cheryomukha-10M aerosol dispenser containing chloroacetophenone.
Use by civilians. In the Russian Federation, the maximum permitted content of chloroacetophenone in a gas cartridge is 80 mg, in gas cartridges - 100 mg. Imported samples can contain up to 230 mg of chloroacetophenone per cartridge. The color marking of the cartridge is blue, blue. Currently, it is almost completely ousted from the market by self-defense equipment based on CS, CR, OC.
To protect against damage by vapors or aerosol of chloracetophenone, it is enough to wear a gas mask.
Definition: The Russian military chemical reconnaissance device (VPKhR) is able to detect chloroacetophenone at a concentration of 0.002-0.2 mg/l.
For degassing, heated water-alcohol solutions of sodium sulfide are used.

KOV- Poisonous substances of psychotomimetic action. Psychotomimetic agents are a large group of chemically heterogeneous substances capable of causing noticeable changes in the psyche in the form of acute psychoses in small doses. Changes in the psyche after a single exposure to psychotomimetic drugs can last from several minutes to several days and vary from loss of coordination to complete mental breakdown.

Chinuclidil-3-benzylate(eng. BZ - bi-zet) - anticholinergic 3-quinuclidyl ether of benzyl acid. It is a psychotropic chemical warfare agent.
QNB, EA 2277 (USA), T2532 (UK), CS 4030, 3-quinuclidinyl benzylate, 3-quinuclidyl ester of diphenyloxyacetic acid, 3-quinuclidyl ester of diphenylglycolic acid, 1-aza-bicyclo(2.2.2)octan-3-ol benzylate; "agent buzz" CAS: 13004-56-3 (C21H23NO3.HCl).
Chinuclidyl-3-benzilate is a colorless crystalline substance with a boiling point of more than 300C, used in the form of aerosols. The damaging effect is manifested when it penetrates through the respiratory system, through the gastrointestinal tract and directly into the blood. Duration of action fluctuates depending on a dose within 1 - 5 days.

LSD - 25 (DLK) is a white crystalline substance with a boiling point of about 85C. In terms of toxicity, it surpasses all substances of this group. Mental disorders are observed with any method of administration of the substance, either immediately (intravenously) or after 30-40 minutes. The maximum effect falls on a period of 1.5 - 3 hours, duration 4 - 8 hours, sometimes more.

In the clinic of lesions with psychotomimetic substances, 3 types of disorders are distinguished: a) vegetative disorders; b) mental disorders; c) somatic disorders.

Bee Zet (BZ) When BZ is affected, the phase of vegetative disorders is extremely pronounced: pupils are dilated, dry skin and mucous membranes, redness of the face, tachycardia up to 140-150 per minute, extrasystole, tremor;
- the phase of mental disorders is associated with a sharp psychomotor agitation, aggression, uncontrollability, delusions and hallucinations of a frightening nature, followed by the development of amnesia for these events;
- the phase of somatic disorders is represented by severe changes in the form of renal and hepatic insufficiency, paresis and paralysis of the limbs, complete deafness, blindness, loss of smell, which can last from several days to several weeks.
With increasing dose, individual differences in the nature of psychosis from various psychotomimetics are erased.
Urgent care:
- respiratory protection with a gas mask;
- isolation, removal of weapons, fixation to a stretcher (if necessary, since those affected by psychotomimetic agents pose a danger to others);
- the use of an antidote - aminostigmine 0.1% 1ml intramuscularly;
- if necessary - symptomatic agents: valerian, validol, valocordin, caffeine, magnesium sulfate;
- evacuation.

New generation - Substances that can be used in a combat situation.

There are many groups of substances that have attractive military properties. Often the assignment of a substance to one or another group is very conditional and is carried out according to the primary purpose of the action on the object.

Deadly
Substances of this group are intended for the destruction of enemy manpower, domestic and farm animals.

GABA agonists (convulsive poisons) are highly toxic substances, usually of a bicyclic structure. Relatively simple in structure, stable to hydrolysis. Examples: bicyclophosphates (tert-butyl bicyclophosphate), TATS, flucibenes, arylsilatranes (phenylsilatrane).
Bronchoconstrictors are bioregulators. They have a bronchoconstrictive effect, leading to death from respiratory failure. Examples: leukotrienes D and C.
Hyperallergens (nettle poisons) are a relatively new group of toxic substances. A feature of the action is the sensitization of the body, followed by the provocation of an acute allergic reaction. The main disadvantage is the effect of the second dose - the first time it enters the body, it has a much weaker effect than when it is repeated. Examples: phosgenokim, urushiols.
Cardiotoxins are substances that selectively affect the heart. Examples: cardiac glycosides.
Blistering agents are substances used by the military since World War I. They are standard poisonous substances. Significantly less toxic than organophosphates. The main military advantage is the delay in the lethal effect with a crippling effect; this requires the enemy to spend forces and means to provide medical care to the injured. Examples: sulfur mustard, sesquimetal, oxygen mustard, nitrogen mustards, lewisite.
Nerve agents - organophosphates in this group cause death by any route of ingestion. Highly toxic (high toxicity in contact with the skin is especially attractive). They are used as standard poisonous substances. Examples: Sarin, Soman, Tabun, VX, aromatic carbamates.
Systemic poisons (general toxic) - simultaneously affect many systems of the body. Some of them were in service with various countries. Examples: hydrocyanic acid, cyanides, fluoroacetates, dioxin, metal carbonyls, tetraethyl lead, arsenides.
Toxins - substances with extremely high toxicity with a wide variety of symptoms of damage. The main disadvantages of natural toxins, from a military point of view, are a solid state of aggregation, inability to penetrate the skin, high price, instability to detoxification. Examples: tetrodotoxin, palytoxin, botulinum toxins, diphtheria toxin, ricin, mycotoxins, saxitoxin.
Toxic alkaloids are substances of various structures produced by plants and animals. Due to their relative availability, these substances can be used as toxic agents. Examples: nicotine, coniine, aconitine, atropine, C-toxiferin I.
Heavy metals are inorganic substances capable of causing fatal injuries, both acute and chronic. They have more ecotoxic significance, as they persist in the natural environment for a long time. Examples: thallium sulfate, mercury chloride, cadmium nitrate, lead acetate.
Asphyxiants are long-known standard poisonous substances. Their exact mechanism of action is unknown. Examples: phosgene, diphosgene, triphosgene.

crippling
Substances of this group provoke a long-term illness that can cause death. Some researchers also include blistering substances here.

Causing neurolatyrism - cause a specific lesion of the central nervous system, leading to the movement of animals in a circle. Examples: IDPN.
Carcinogenic - a group of substances provoking the development of cancerous tumors. Examples: benzapyrene, methylcholanthrene.
Hearing impaired - used to damage a person's hearing apparatus. Examples: antibiotics of the streptomycin group.
Irreversible paralyzing - a group of substances that cause demyelination of nerve fibers, which leads to paralysis of various extent. Examples: tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate.
Eye-affecting - cause temporary or permanent blindness. Example: methanol.
Radioactive - give acute or chronic radiation sickness. They can have almost any chemical composition, since all elements have radioactive isotopes.
Supermutagens are substances that provoke the occurrence of genetic mutations. They can also be included in various other groups (often, for example, highly toxic and carcinogenic). Examples: nitrosomethylurea, nitrosomethylguanidine.
Teratogens are a group of substances that cause deformities in the development of the fetus during pregnancy. The purpose of military use may be genocide or to prevent the birth of a healthy child. Examples: thalidomide.

Non-lethal
The purpose of the use of substances of this group is to bring a person into an incompetent state or create physical discomfort.

Algogens are substances that cause severe pain when in contact with the skin. Currently, there are compositions for sale for the self-defense of the population. They often also have a lachrymal effect. Example: 1-methoxy-1,3,5-cycloheptatriene, dibenzoxazepine, capsaicin, pelargonic acid morpholide, resiniferatoxin.
Anxiogens - cause an acute panic attack in a person. Examples: cholecystokinin type B receptor agonists.
Anticoagulants - reduce blood clotting, causing bleeding. Examples: superwarfarin.
Attractants - attract various insects or animals (for example, stinging, unpleasant) to a person. This can lead to a panic reaction in a person or provoke an insect attack on a person. They can also be used to attract pests to enemy crops. Example: 3,11-dimethyl-2-nonacosanone (cockroach attractant).
Malodorants - cause the removal of people from the territory or from a certain person due to the aversion of people to the unpleasant smell of the area (person). Either the substances themselves or the products of their metabolism can have an unpleasant odor. Examples: mercaptans, isonitriles, selenols, sodium tellurite, geosmin, benzcyclopropane.
Causing pain in the muscles - cause severe pain in the muscles of a person. Examples: thymol amino esters.
Antihypertensive drugs - greatly lower blood pressure, causing orthostatic collapse, as a result of which a person loses consciousness or the ability to move. Example: clonidine, canbisol, analogues of platelet activating factor.
Castrators - cause chemical castration (loss to reproduction). Examples: gossypol.
Catatonic - cause the development of catatonia in the affected. Usually attributed to the type of psychochemical toxic substances. Examples: bulbocapnin.
Peripheral muscle relaxants - cause complete relaxation of skeletal muscles. Can cause death due to relaxation of the respiratory muscles. Examples: tubocurarine.
Central muscle relaxants - cause relaxation of skeletal muscles. Unlike peripheral ones, they affect breathing less and their detoxification is difficult. Examples: myorelaxin, phenylglycerin, benzimidazole.
Diuretics - cause a sharp acceleration in the emptying of the bladder. Examples: furosemide.
Anesthesia - cause anesthesia in healthy people. So far, the use of this group of substances is hampered by the low biological activity of the substances used. Examples: isoflurane, halothane.
Truth drugs - cause a state in people when a person cannot consciously tell a lie. Currently, it has been shown that this method does not guarantee the complete truthfulness of a person and their use is limited. Usually these are not individual substances, but a combination of barbiturates with stimulants.
Narcotic analgesics - in doses higher than therapeutic have an immobilizing effect. Examples: fentanyl, carfentanil, 14-methoxymethopone, etorphine, athin.
Memory Disorders - Causes temporary memory loss. Often toxic. Examples: cycloheximide, domoic acid, many anticholinergics.
Antipsychotics - cause motor and mental retardation in humans. Examples: haloperidol, spiperone, fluphenazine.
Irreversible MAO inhibitors are a group of substances blocking monoamine oxidase. As a result, when eating foods high in natural amines (cheeses, chocolate), a hypertensive crisis is provoked. Examples: nialamide, pargyline.
Will suppressors - cause a violation of the ability to make independent decisions. They are substances of different groups. Example: scopolamine.
Prurigens - cause intolerable itching. For example: 1,2-dithiocyanoethane.
Psychotomimetic drugs - cause psychosis, which lasts for some time, during which a person cannot make adequate decisions. Example: BZ, LSD, mescaline, DMT, DOB, DOM, cannabinoids, PCP.
Laxatives - cause a sharp acceleration in the emptying of the contents of the intestine. With prolonged action of drugs in this group, exhaustion of the body may develop. Examples: bisacodyl.
Tear substances (lachrymators) - cause severe lacrimation and closure of the eyelids in a person, as a result of which a person temporarily cannot see what is happening around and loses combat effectiveness. There are standard-issue poisonous substances used to disperse demonstrations. Examples: chloroacetophenone, bromoacetone, bromobenzyl cyanide, ortho-(CS).
Sleeping pills - cause a person to fall asleep. Examples: flunitrazepam, barbiturates.
Sternitis - cause indomitable sneezing and coughing, as a result of which a person can throw off a gas mask. There are regular OV. Examples: adamsite, diphenylchlorarsine, diphenylcyanarsine.
Tremorgens - cause convulsive twitches of skeletal muscles. Examples: tremorine, oxotremorine, tremorogenic mycotoxins.
Photosensitizers - increase the sensitivity of the skin to the sun's ultraviolet rays. When exposed to sunlight, a person can get painful burns. Examples: hypericin, furocoumarins.
Emetics (vomit) - cause a gag reflex, as a result of which being in a gas mask becomes impossible. Examples: apomorphine derivatives, staphylococcal enterotoxin B, PHNO.

Chemical weapon is one of the types. Its damaging effect is based on the use of military toxic chemicals, which include toxic substances (OS) and toxins that have a damaging effect on the human and animal body, as well as phytotoxicants used for military purposes to destroy vegetation.

Poisonous substances, their classification

poisonous substances- these are chemical compounds that have certain toxic and physico-chemical properties, which ensure, when they are used in combat, the defeat of manpower (people), as well as the contamination of air, clothing, equipment and terrain.

Poisonous substances form the basis of chemical weapons. They are stuffed with shells, mines, missile warheads, aerial bombs, pouring aircraft devices, smoke bombs, grenades and other chemical munitions and devices. Poisonous substances affect the body, penetrating through the respiratory system, skin and wounds. In addition, lesions can occur as a result of the consumption of contaminated food and water.

Modern toxic substances are classified according to the physiological effect on the body, toxicity (severity of damage), speed and durability.

By physiological action toxic substances on the body are divided into six groups:

• nerve agents (also called organophosphates): sarin, soman, vegas (VX);
• blistering action: mustard gas, lewisite;
• general toxic action: hydrocyanic acid, cyanogen chloride;
• suffocating action: phosgene, diphosgene;
• psychochemical action: Bi-zet (BZ), LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide);
• irritant: si-es (CS), adamsite, chloroacetophenone.

By toxicity(severity of damage) modern toxic substances are divided into lethal and temporarily incapacitating. Lethal toxic substances include all substances of the first four listed groups. Temporarily incapacitating substances include the fifth and sixth groups of physiological classification.

By speed poisonous substances are divided into fast-acting and slow-acting. Fast-acting agents include sarin, soman, hydrocyanic acid, cyanogen chloride, ci-es, and chloroacetophenone. These substances do not have a period of latent action and in a few minutes lead to death or disability (combat capability). Substances of delayed action include vi-gases, mustard gas, lewisite, phosgene, bi-zet. These substances have a period of latent action and lead to damage after some time.

Depending on the resistance of damaging properties After application, toxic substances are divided into persistent and unstable. Persistent toxic substances retain their damaging effect from several hours to several days from the moment of application: these are vi-gases, soman, mustard gas, bi-zet. Unstable toxic substances retain their damaging effect for several tens of minutes: these are hydrocyanic acid, cyanogen chloride, phosgene.

Toxins as a damaging factor of chemical weapons

toxins- these are chemical substances of protein nature of plant, animal or microbial origin, which are highly toxic. Characteristic representatives of this group are butulic toxin - one of the strongest deadly poisons, which is a waste product of bacteria, staphylococcal entsrotoxin, ricin - a toxin of plant origin.

The damaging factor of chemical weapons is the toxic effect on the human and animal body, the quantitative characteristics are the concentration and toxodose.

To defeat various types of vegetation, toxic chemicals - phytotoxicants are intended. For peaceful purposes, they are used mainly in agriculture to control weeds, remove leaves of vegetation in order to accelerate the ripening of fruits and facilitate harvesting (for example, cotton). Depending on the nature of the impact on plants and the intended purpose, phytotoxicants are divided into herbicides, arboricides, alicides, defoliants and desiccants. Herbicides are intended for the destruction of herbaceous vegetation, arboricides - tree and shrub vegetation, algicides - aquatic vegetation. Defoliants are used to remove leaves from vegetation, while desiccants attack vegetation by drying it out.

When chemical weapons are used, just as in an accident with the release of OH B, zones of chemical contamination and foci of chemical damage will be formed (Fig. 1). The zone of chemical contamination of agents includes the area of ​​application of agents and the territory over which a cloud of contaminated air with damaging concentrations has spread. The focus of chemical destruction is the territory within which, as a result of the use of chemical weapons, mass destruction of people, farm animals and plants occurred.

The characteristics of infection zones and foci of damage depend on the type of poisonous substance, means and methods of application, and meteorological conditions. The main features of the focus of chemical damage include:

• defeat of people and animals without destruction and damage to buildings, structures, equipment, etc.;
• contamination of economic facilities and residential areas for a long time with persistent agents;
• the defeat of people over large areas for a long time after the use of agents;
• the defeat of not only people in open areas, but also those in leaky shelters and shelters;
• strong moral impact.

Rice. 1. Zone of chemical contamination and foci of chemical damage during the use of chemical weapons: Av - means of use (aviation); VX is the type of substance (vi-gas); 1-3 - lesions

As a rule, the vaporous phase of the OM affects the workers and employees of the facilities who find themselves in industrial buildings and structures at the time of a chemical attack. Therefore, all work should be carried out in gas masks, and when using agents of nerve paralytic or blistering action - in skin protection.

After the First World War, despite the large stocks of chemical weapons, they were not widely used either for military purposes, let alone against the civilian population. During the Vietnam War, the Americans widely used phytotoxicants (to fight the guerrillas) of three main formulations: "orange", "white" and "blue". In South Vietnam, about 43% of the total area and 44% of the forest area were affected. At the same time, all phytotoxicants turned out to be toxic for both humans and warm-blooded animals. Thus, it was caused - caused enormous damage to the environment.

Chemical weapons are called military means, the damaging effect of which is based on the use of the toxic properties of toxic substances (S).

Chemical agents include toxic chemical compounds intended for inflicting massive damage to manpower during their combat use. Some agents are designed to destroy vegetation.

WAs are able to strike manpower with high efficiency over large areas without destroying material assets, penetrate cabins, shelters and structures that do not have special equipment, retain their damaging effect for a certain time after their use, infect the area and various objects, have a negative psychological impact on personnel. In the shells of chemical munitions, toxic substances are in a liquid or solid state. At the moment of application, they, being released from the shell, turn into a combat state: vaporous (gaseous), aerosol (smoke, fog, drizzle) or liquid drop. In the state of vapor or gas, OM is fragmented into individual molecules, in the state of fog - into the smallest drops, in the state of smoke - into the smallest solid particles.

The most common tactical and physiological classifications of OS (Fig. 4).

In tactical classification, toxic substances are divided into:

1. According to saturated vapor pressure (volatility) on:

• unstable (phosgene, hydrocyanic acid);
• persistent (mustard gas, lewisite, VX);
• poisonous smoke (adamsite, chloroacetophenone).

2. By the nature of the impact on manpower on:

• lethal (sarin, mustard gas);
• temporarily incapacitating personnel (chloroacetophenone, quinuclidyl-3-benzilate);
• irritant: (adamsite, chloroacetophenone);
• educational: (chloropicrin);

3. By the speed of the onset of the damaging effect on:

• fast-acting - do not have a latent period (sarin, soman, VX, AC, Ch, Cs, CR);
• slow-acting - have a period of latent action (mustard gas, Phosgene, BZ, Louisite, Adamsite).

Rice. 4. Classification of poisonous substances

In the physiological classification (according to the nature of the effect on the human body), toxic substances are divided into six groups:

1. Nerve.
2. Skin blister.
3. General poisonous.
4. Suffocating.
5. Annoying.
6. Psychochemical.

To nerve agents (NOV) include: VX, Sarin, Soman. These substances are colorless or slightly yellowish liquids that are easily absorbed into the skin, into various paints, rubber products and other materials, and are easily collected on fabrics. The lightest of the NOVs is sarin, so its main combat state when used is steam. In the vapor state, sarin causes damage mainly through the respiratory system.

Sarin vapors can also penetrate the human body through the skin, and the lethal toxodose is 200 times higher than when the vapors are inhaled. In this regard, the defeat of manpower protected by gas masks by sarin vapors in the field is unlikely.

OV VX has low volatility, and its main combat state is a coarse aerosol (drizzle). OV is designed to defeat manpower through the respiratory organs and unprotected skin, as well as for long-term contamination of the area and objects on it. VX is several times more toxic than sarin when exposed through the respiratory organs and hundreds of times when exposed through the skin in drop form. A drop of VX in a few mg on open skin is enough to inflict a fatal defeat on a person. Due to the low volatility of VX, contamination of the air with its vapors by evaporation of droplets that have settled on the soil will be insignificant. In this regard, the defeat of VX pairs of manpower protected by gas masks in the field is practically impossible.

HOVs are quite resistant to water, so they can infect stagnant water bodies for a long time: sarin for up to 2 months, and VX for up to six or more.

Soman in its properties is intermediate between sarin and VX.

When a person is exposed to small toxodoses of NOV, visual impairment is observed due to constriction of the pupils of the eyes (miosis), difficulty in breathing, and a feeling of heaviness in the chest. These phenomena are accompanied by severe headaches and can last for several days. When exposed to the body of lethal toxodosis, there is a strong miosis, suffocation, profuse salivation and sweating, a feeling of fear, vomiting, attacks of severe convulsions, loss of consciousness. Often death occurs from respiratory and cardiac paralysis.

To blister skin agents primarily refers to distilled (purified) mustard gas, which is a colorless or slightly yellowish liquid. Mustard gas is easily absorbed into various paints, rubber and porous materials. The main combat state of mustard gas is drop-liquid or aerosol. Possessing great resistance, mustard gas is capable of creating dangerous concentrations over contaminated areas, especially in summer, it is capable of infecting water bodies, but is poorly soluble in water.

Mustard gas has a multilateral damaging effect. When acting in drop-liquid, aerosol and vapor states, it causes not only damage to the skin, but also general poisoning of the nervous and cardiovascular systems when absorbed into the blood. A feature of the toxic effect of mustard gas is that it has a period of latent action. Skin lesions begin with redness, which appears 2-6 hours after exposure. A day later, at the site of redness, small blisters are formed, filled with a yellow transparent liquid. After 2-3 days, the blisters burst, and ulcers are formed that do not heal for 20-30 days. When inhaled vapors or aerosols of mustard gas, the first signs of damage appear after a few hours in the form of dryness and burning in the nasopharynx. In severe cases, pneumonia develops. Death occurs in 3-4 days. Eyes are especially sensitive to mustard gas vapors. When exposed to vapors, there is a feeling of clogging of the eyes with sand, lacrimation and photophobia, then eyelid edema occurs. Eye contact with mustard gas almost always results in blindness.

General toxic agents disrupt the activity of many organs and tissues, primarily the circulatory and nervous systems. A typical representative of general toxic agents is cyanogen chloride, which is a colorless gas (at a temperature< 13°С — жидкость) с резким запахом. Хлорциан является быстродействующим ОВ. Он устойчив к действию воды, хорошо сорбируется пористыми материалами. Основное боевое состояние – газ. Ввиду хорошей сорбируемости обмундирования необходимо учитывать возможность заноса хлорциана в убежище. Хлорциан поражает человека через органы дыхания и вызывает неприятный металлический привкус во рту, раздражение глаз, чувство горечи, царапанье в горле, слабость, головокружение, тошноту и рвоту, затруднение речи. После этого появляется чувство страха, пульс становится редким, а дыхание – прерывистым. Поражённый теряет сознание, начинается приступ судорог и наступает паралич. Смерть наступает от остановки дыхания. При поражении хлорцианом наблюдается розовая окраска лица и слизистых оболочек.

To suffocating include agents that affect human lung tissue. This is, first of all, phosgene, which is a colorless gas (at temperatures below 80C - liquid) with an unpleasant smell of rotten hay. Phosgene has low resistance, but since it is heavier than air, at high concentrations it is able to "flow" into the cracks of various objects. Phosgene affects the body only through the respiratory organs and causes pulmonary edema, which leads to a disruption in the supply of air oxygen to the body, causing suffocation. There is a period of latent action (2-12 hours) and cumulative. When phosgene is inhaled, there is a slight irritation of the mucous membrane of the eyes, lacrimation, dizziness, cough, chest tightness, nausea. After leaving the infected area, these phenomena disappear within a few hours. Then suddenly there is a sharp deterioration in the condition, there is a strong cough with copious sputum, headache and shortness of breath, blue lips, eyelids, cheeks, nose, increased heart rate, pain in the heart, weakness, suffocation, fever up to 38-390C. Pulmonary edema lasts for several days and is usually fatal.

To annoying agents include CS-type agents, chloroacetophenone, and adamsite. All of them are solid state agents. Their main combat state is aerosol (smoke or fog). OS cause irritation of the eyes, respiratory organs, and differ from each other only in terms of effects on the body. At low concentrations, CS is simultaneously a strong irritant to the eyes and upper respiratory tract, and at high concentrations it causes burns to exposed skin. In some cases, paralysis of the respiratory system, heart and death occurs. Chloracetophenone, acting on the eyes, causes severe lacrimation, photophobia, pain in the eyes, convulsive compression of the eyelids. If it comes into contact with the skin, it can cause irritation, burning. Adamsite when inhaled after a short period of latent action (20-30 s) causes burning in the mouth and nasopharynx, chest pain, dry cough, sneezing, vomiting. After leaving the contaminated atmosphere or putting on a gas mask, the signs of damage increase within 15-20 minutes, and then slowly subside within 1-3 hours.

All of these irritating agents were widely used by the US Army during the Vietnam War.

To psychochemical OS include substances that act on the nervous system and cause mental (hallucination, fear, depression, depression) or physical (blindness, deafness, paralysis) disorders.

These include, first of all, BZ - a non-volatile substance, the main combat state of which is an aerosol (smoke). OB BZ infects the body through the respiratory or gastrointestinal tract. When contaminated air is inhaled, the action of the agent begins to appear after 0.5–3 hours (depending on the dose). Then within a few hours there is a rapid heartbeat, dry skin, dry mouth, dilated pupils and blurred vision, staggering gait, confusion and vomiting. Small doses cause drowsiness and reduced combat capability. In the next 8 hours, numbness and inhibition of speech occurs. The person is in a frozen pose and is not able to respond to a change in the situation. Then comes the period of excitation up to 4 days. It is characterized by increased activity in the affected person, fussiness, disorderly actions, verbosity, difficulty in perceiving events, contact with him is impossible .. This lasts up to 2-4 days, then there is a gradual return to normal.

All chemical munitions have approximately the same device and consist of a body, an explosive agent, an explosive device and an explosive charge. For the use of HE, the enemy can use aerial bombs, artillery shells, pouring aircraft devices (VAP), as well as ballistic, cruise missiles (UAVs). It is believed that with their help it is possible to transfer a significant amount of toxic substances to the target and at the same time maintain the surprise of the attack.

Modern aviation has exceptionally great potential for the use of RW. An important advantage of aviation lies in the possibility of transferring a large amount of explosives to targets located in the rear. Aviation means of chemical attack include chemical aerial bombs and pouring aviation devices - special tanks of various capacities (up to 150 kg).

Artillery weapons (cannon, howitzer and rocket-propelled chemical munitions) are usually loaded with sarin and VX gases. Multi-barreled rocket launchers, which compare favorably with conventional artillery, can also be used to deliver OM.

In addition, chemical bombs and aerosol generators are used. Chemical bombs burrow into the ground and camouflage themselves. They are intended to infect the area - roads, engineering structures, passages after the withdrawal of their troops. Aerosol generators are used to infect large volumes of air.