Sarin, also known as GB, is part of a class of chemical weapons called G-series nerve agents that were developed during World War Two and were named for the German scientists who synthesized them. Other agents in the class include tabun, soman and cyclosarin.
At room temperature, G-series nerve agents are volatile liquids, with sarin being the most volatile. Sarin is a clear, colorless and tasteless liquid that has no odor in its pure form. It is made up of four common chemical compounds: dimethyl methylphosphonate, phosphorus trichloride, sodium fluoride and alcohol. Exposure usually occurs when the liquid form comes in contact with the skin or the agent is released as a vapor.
Sarin and other nerve agents may have been used in chemical warfare during the Iran-Iraq war in the s. The Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo used sarin in two attacks in Japan. In , the group released sarin gas in Matsumoto in central Japan, in a failed attempt to kill three judges.
In that attack, the group used a refrigerator truck to release the nerve agent and a wind dispersed the gas in a residential neighborhood. Eight people were killed and hundreds were hospitalized. No matter the name, all of these inventions were horrifying in their own special ways. These days, roughly 70 substances are classified as chemical weapons , and they can take the form of solids, gasses or liquids.
They are sub-categorized in groups named for the bodily systems they effect, such as blister agents, pulmonary agents, blood agents, vomiting agents or in sarin's case, nerve agents.
Sarin is not only exceptionally deadly, but it's cheap and easy to make. On the next page you'll read all about why sarin is such an effective chemical weapon.
Sarin is an entirely synthetic compound. It has exactly one use -- as a weapon in chemical warfare. It looks harmless enough. At room temperature, sarin is a colorless liquid. Left in an open container, it evaporates and quickly breaks apart, chemically speaking. This volatility means that sarin has a relatively short shelf life of only a few weeks or months depending on the quality of the ingredients used to make it. To prevent sarin from degrading before it's used, engineers may add stabilizing chemicals.
Alternately, they may build compartmentalized weapons that prevent the ingredients from mixing until the shell is launched towards its target. Along the flight path, the shell's spinning motion combines the interior chemicals, resulting in sarin gas, and then bursts in a plume that kills anyone nearby.
One chemical name for sarin is RS -Propanyl methylphosphonofluoridate, although the esoteric notation of the molecular compounds masks the true wretchedness of its effects. Ultimately, sarin is a series of chemicals that blocks an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase. Without this enzyme, your body basically overloads on a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine.
Too much acetylcholine and your muscles remain in a state of contraction and subsequently, extreme fatigue. This has a lot of eventual effects on the human body, but the one that causes death is respiratory failure , as the muscles that keep you breathing quickly become exhausted. It's a wretched way to die. Keep reading and you'll find ways to potentially survive a sarin attack. Sarin exposure happens in all sorts of ways. You might breathe it, eat it on contaminated food or drink it in poisoned water.
Your skin, especially mucus membranes like those around your eyes, may absorb it. Sarin is most commonly dispersed as an aerosol so that victims breathe it.
Depending on the amount of sarin you're exposed to, symptoms may vary. Typical telltale signs include constricted pupils, runny nose, drooling, watery eyes, headache, weakness, change in heart rate and vomiting. It takes very little sarin before exposure becomes evident.
A lethal dose via skin absorption may be as minuscule as a few droplets. Death can occur in less than a quarter of an hour. A massive dose can kill in just one minute. A milder level of exposure may not manifest itself through symptoms until nearly 20 hours later.
A lower exposure may not cause death, but victims may experience neurological problems for weeks after the event. Unluckier people may suffer permanent health problems, possibly to their respiratory or nervous systems.
If a person is fortunate enough to survive for more than a few minutes, there are antidotes available. Two antidotes are atropine and pralidoxime chloride. The latter must be administered within a few hours following exposure or it does very little good. Neither antidote is effective if they are given prior to sarin exposure.
Preventing exposure means wearing all-compassing personal protective equipment PPE. So in areas where sarin is anticipated, people must wear a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear CBRN suit paired with a self-contained breathing apparatus.
That means you're covered from head to toe against the worst of the worst Sarin is heavier than air, so it tends to settle in lower areas, such as valleys or even basements -- the places a lot of people would hide to escape conventional weapons like mortar shells or bullets. If there's no wind, it can hang in the air for six to eight hours before it fully dissipates. In most cases, though, the aerosolized particles tend to evaporate or disperse rather quickly. This is a good thing for anyone who happens to be in the targeted area.
But sarin's disappearing act complicates the efforts of experts who try to confirm the chemical's use and who deployed it. To confirm a sarin attack, investigators must immediately begin their search for clues or risk losing the trail altogether.
Within a few hours, the human body renders sarin itself nearly undetectable. Sarin originally was developed in in Germany as a pesticide. Sarin is a clear, colorless, and tasteless liquid that has no odor in its pure form. However, sarin can evaporate into a vapor gas and spread into the environment.
Sarin is also known as GB. Where sarin is found and how it is used Sarin is not found naturally in the environment. It is a man-made toxin. Sarin was used in two terrorist attacks in Japan in and How people can be exposed to sarin Following release of sarin into the air, people can be exposed through skin contact or eye contact.
They also can be exposed by breathing air that contains sarin. Sarin mixes easily with water. Following release of sarin into water, people can be exposed by touching or drinking water that contains sarin. Following contamination of food with sarin, people can be exposed by eating the contaminated food.
Because sarin vapor is heavier than air, it will sink to low-lying areas and create a greater exposure hazard there. How sarin works The extent of poisoning caused by sarin depends on the amount of sarin to which a person was exposed, how the person was exposed, and the length of time of the exposure. Symptoms likely will appear within a few seconds after exposure to the vapor form of sarin and within a few minutes to hours after exposure to the liquid form.
Exposed people may become tired and no longer be able to keep breathing. Sarin is the most volatile of the nerve agents. This means it can easily and quickly evaporate from a liquid into a vapor and spread into the environment.
People can be exposed to the vapor even if they do not come in contact with the liquid form of sarin. Because it evaporates so quickly, sarin presents an immediate but short-lived threat. Immediate signs and symptoms of sarin exposure People may not know that they were exposed because sarin has no odor. Exposure to large doses of sarin by any route may result in the following harmful health effects: Loss of consciousness Convulsions Paralysis Respiratory failure possibly leading to death Showing these signs and symptoms does not necessarily mean that a person has been exposed to sarin.
What the long-term health effects are Mildly exposed people usually recover completely. How people can protect themselves, and what they should do if they are exposed to sarin Recovery from sarin exposure is possible with treatment, but to be effective, the antidotes available must be used quickly. Therefore, the best thing to do is avoid exposure: Leave the area where the sarin was released and get to fresh air. Quickly moving to an area where fresh air is available is highly effective in reducing the possibility of death from exposure to sarin vapor.
If the sarin release was outdoors, move away from the area where the sarin was released. Go to the highest ground possible, because sarin is heavier than air and will sink to low-lying areas. If the sarin release was indoors, get out of the building.
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