HLSS522Wk3

Like cyanide, many chemical choking agents play important roles in industry. Chlorine and ammonia are manufactured to refrigerate food, purify water, and synthesize common household products. But in World War I, German forces used chlorine gas during the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915. The attack led to over 10,000 casualties who were totally unprotected from this agent, although since then it has fallen into military disfavor because it is easy to detect, dissipates quickly, and can be easily protected against. More recently, during the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1993, Bosnian Muslim forces used 120-millimeter, chlorine-laden mortar rounds against Serbian combatants on at least three separate occasions. A dense, greenish gas at room temperature that is about 2.5 times heavier than air chlorine is relatively

Phosgene, first synthesized by British chemist John Davy in 1812, has since become important in the production of dyes and pesticides. However, it also emerged during World War I as an alternative to chlorine gas; it caused far less violent coughing and choking, which made it easier for the victim to inhale. While it was too heavy to spread effectively over a large area, a “white star” concoction consisting of a phosgene-chlorine mix later developed by military forces alleviated this problem somewhat. The North Yemen Civil War of 1962-1970 saw the use of phosgene-loaded bombs and artillery

CHEMICALS EXPOSURE

Alternately known as lung or pulmonary agents after the body systems that they affect, choking agents include a number of chemical compounds designed to impede normal breathing. These include gases such as chlorine, ammonia, phosgene, organohalides, and nitrogen oxides and have been widely used in a number of conflicts.

Choking/Lung/Pulmonary Agents

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