Chemical Warfare & Nerve Agents

– Part I: The G Series

Today’s graphic looks again at the darker side of chemistry, after the
previous post on the various chemical agents used in World War 1. The
present day spectre of chemical warfare is largely concerned with nerve
agents, which come in two main groups; today’s post examines the G
series of nerve gases, including sarin, which has made the news in the past
year following its use on civilians in Syria.

The G series of nerve gases is so named due to their origin, with all
of them originally discovered in Germany in the 1930s and 40s. Their
discovery was actually a complete accident; Gebhardt Schraeder, a
German researcher, was investigating the potential use of

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organophosphates as pesticides in 1936 when he synthesised the first of
the G series nerve gases, tabun. He also played a part in the discovery of
sarin in 1938. The other member of the G series, soman and cyclosarin,
were discovered during the course of research funded by the German army
into the pharmacological action of tabun and sarin.

Despite being referred to generally as gases, all of the G series nerve

agents are clear, colourless liquids at room temperature, and are also
tasteless and odourless when completely pure. Impurities can lead to
yellow-brown colouration, however, as well as varying faint odours.
Although liquids, some of them are very volatile, meaning they can easily
escape from the surface of the liquid and become a vapour. Because of
this, we need to use two different methods to assess their lethality – one to
determine their potency when airborne, and one for their potency in cases
of skin contact.

For skin contact, the usual median lethal dose, or LD50,

nomenclature is used. This is the amount of the compound needed all at
once, per kilogram of body weight, to kill half of a test population.
Obviously, these are rough estimates from animal tests, and actual figures
for humans are likely to be variable. Using this as a measure, however,
sarin actually comes out as the least potent of the four compounds featured
here.

The other method we can use to assess lethality, and one that’s more
applicable to gases, is the median lethal concentration and time. This is
measured in milligram-minutes per cubic metre – that is, it takes into
account both the concentration of the gas and the length of exposure. At
higher concentrations, this implies that exposure to 100 milligrams of a
nerve gas per cubic metre for a minute would have the same lethality as
exposure to 50 milligrams of the gas per cubic metre for two minutes.
Generally, this relationship between concentration and time holds true,
though at lower concentrations it does not. Using this measure, cyclosarin
still comes out on top in terms of lethality, but it’s worth considering that it’s
around 70 times less volatile than sarin – hence sarin’s much more
frequent use when these chemical agents are deployed.

The G series nerve gases are classed as weapons of mass

destruction by the United Nations. In order to understand why that is, we
have to look no further than some of the horrific effects that they can have
on the human body. All of the gases in the series, regardless of their
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specific identity, act in much the same way. They all inhibit the breakdown
of the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. This chemical is responsible for
telling muscles to contract – when its breakdown is prevented, it prevents
muscles from relaxing, which can in turn lead to a range of other effects.

Symptoms of exposure to nerve gases are initially mundane. Those

affected may notice a runny nose, excess salivation and sweating, and
contracted pupils. These symptoms quickly escalate, however, to
constriction of the chest, difficulties in breathing, nausea and vomiting, and
loss of bowel control. This gradual loss of body function continues,
culminating in spasm and convulsions, and perhaps coma, before eventual
death due to respiratory failure. The effects of exposure last for a significant
amount of time, and even those lucky enough to survive do not necessarily
do so unscathed; they almost always suffer neurological damage.

Antidotes to nerve agents do exist, but they, too, are often

poisonous. Compounds that block acetylcholine receptors can be effective
at mitigating nerve agent poisoning, and for this reason the chemical
atropine is commonly used as a component of antidotes. Member of
another family of compounds called oximes are sometimes used in
conjunction with atropine; they work in a different manner, restoring the
enzyme that helps break down acetylcholine to working order.

Despite the international agreements prohibiting the uses of

dangerous gases in international warfare, the nerve agents have still seen
use in combat situations, even in recent years. In the war between Iraq &
Iran, which lasted from 1980 to 1988, Iraq used chemical weapons,
including mustard gas, but also tabun and cyclosarin. Outside of conflicts,
terrorists also released sarin into the Tokyo subway in 1995, killing 13
people and severely injuring 50.

Perhaps the most serious breach of international regulations

regarding nerve gases came last year in Syria, however. In five separate
incidents between March and August 2013, the use of sarin in civil war
conflicts was suspected, and the United Nations have confirmed that the
nerve agent was definitely used in three of these. An attack in Ghouta in
mid-August was the most devastating; whilst exact casualty figures aren’t
known, it’s estimated that as many as 1,700 civilians may have been killed
as a result of exposure to sarin.

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 Though the damage may be done, Syria has since destroyed its
stockpiles of sarin. The international regulations against the production and
stockpiling of the G series nerve agents remain, and the chemical
precursors to its synthesis are controlled, but due to their effectiveness and
potency, it seems likely that their shadow will always loom over modern
warfare.

References & Further Reading

 Nerve agents – Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical

Weapons
 Sarin: the deadly history – The Guardian
 Chemical warfare agents: nerve agents – F R Sidell & others

http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/10/07/nerveagentsp
art1/