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VX is an odorless and tasteless [13] [14] chiral organophosphorous chemical with a molecular weight of 267.37 g/mol. [15] Under standard conditions it is an amber-coloured liquid with a boiling point of 298 °C (568 °F), and a freezing point of −51 °C (−60 °F). [16]
Nerve agents are generally colorless and tasteless liquids. Nerve agents evaporate at varying rates depending on the substance. None are gases in normal environments. The popular term "nerve gas" is inaccurate. [1] Agents Sarin and VX are odorless; Tabun has a slightly fruity odor and Soman has a slight camphor odor. [2]
Of the critical three agents, mustard is the least lethal while VX is the most lethal. Mustard is a blistering agent that works to destroy different substances with cells of living tissue. Effects of exposure typically appear within a day. While acute mortality is low, death can occur from long term complications. [18]
Regular breathing and internal hemorrhaging are inconsistent with nerve agent exposure, [7] and "no other animals of any type, including cows, horses, dogs, rabbits, or birds, appeared to have suffered any ill effects, a circumstance that was hard to explain if VX had in fact caused the sheep deaths." [5]
A chemical weapon agent (CWA), or chemical warfare agent, is a chemical substance whose toxic properties are meant to kill, injure or incapacitate human beings.About 70 different chemicals have been used or stockpiled as chemical weapon agents during the 20th century, although the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has an online database listing 35,942 chemicals which ...
As a nerve gas, sarin in its purest form is estimated to be 26 times more deadly than cyanide. [17] The LD 50 of subcutaneously injected sarin in mice is 172 μg/kg. [18] Sarin is highly toxic, whether by contact with the skin or breathed in. The toxicity of sarin in humans is largely based on calculations from studies with animals.
The major nerve gases are the G agents, sarin (GB), soman (GD), tabun (GA), and the V agents such as VX. The original agent, tabun, was discovered in Germany in 1936 in the process of work on organophosphorus insecticides. Next came sarin, soman and finally, cyclosarin, a product of commercial insecticide laboratories prior to World War II.
After the conclusion of World War II, U.S. military researchers obtained formulas for the three nerve gases developed by the Nazis—tabun, soman, and sarin.. In 1947, the first steps of planning began when Dr. Alsoph H. Corwin, a professor of chemistry at Johns Hopkins University [4] [5] wrote the Chemical Corps Technical Command positing the potential for the use of specialized enzymes as so ...