Chemical weapons and their impact on humans. Types of chemical weapons, the history of their occurrence and destruction

On April 7, the United States struck missile attack at the Syrian Shayrat airbase in Homs province. The operation was a response to a chemical attack in Idlib on April 4, for which Washington and Western countries blame Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Official Damascus denies any involvement in the attack.

As a result chemical attack more than 70 people were killed, more than 500 were injured. This is not the first such attack in Syria and not the first in history. The largest cases of the use of chemical weapons are in the RBC photo gallery.

One of the first major cases of the use of chemical warfare agents occurred April 22, 1915, when German troops sprayed about 168 tons of chlorine on positions near the Belgian city of Ypres. The victims of this attack were 1100 people. In total, during the First World War, as a result of the use of chemical weapons, about 100 thousand people died, 1.3 million were injured.

In the photo: a group of British soldiers blinded by chlorine

Photo: Daily Herald Archive / NMeM / Global Look Press

During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War (1935-1936) Despite the ban on the use of chemical weapons established by the Geneva Protocol (1925), on the orders of Benito Mussolini, mustard gas was used in Ethiopia. The Italian military stated that the substance used during the hostilities was not lethal, however, during the entire conflict, about 100 thousand people (military and civilians) who did not have even the simplest means of chemical protection died from poisonous substances.

In the photo: Red Cross soldiers carry the wounded through the Abyssinian desert

Photo: Mary Evans Picture Library / Global Look Press

During the Second World War, chemical weapons were practically not used on the fronts, but were widely used by the Nazis to kill people in concentration camps. Hydrocyanic acid-based pesticide called "cyclone-B" was first used against humans in September 1941 in Auschwitz. For the first time, these deadly gas pellets were used September 3, 1941 600 Soviet prisoners of war and 250 Poles became victims, the second time 900 Soviet prisoners of war became victims. Hundreds of thousands of people died from the use of "cyclone-B" in Nazi concentration camps.

In November 1943 During the Battle of Changde, the Imperial Japanese Army used chemical and bacteriological weapons against Chinese soldiers. According to the testimonies of witnesses, in addition to the poisonous gases of mustard gas and lewisite, fleas infected with bubonic plague were thrown into the area around the city. The exact number of victims of the use of toxic substances is unknown.

Pictured: Chinese soldiers march through the ruined streets of Changde

During the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1971 American troops used a variety of chemicals to destroy vegetation to make it easier to find enemy units in the jungle, the most common of which was a chemical known as Agent Orange. The substance was produced according to a simplified technology and contained high concentrations of dioxin, which causes genetic mutations and oncological diseases. The Vietnamese Red Cross estimated that 3 million people were affected by the use of Agent Orange, including 150,000 children born with mutations.

Pictured: 12-year-old boy suffering from the effects of Agent Orange

March 20, 1995 members of the Aum Shinrikyo sect sprayed the nerve agent sarin on the Tokyo subway. As a result of the attack, 13 people were killed and another 6,000 were injured. Five members of the sect entered the carriages, lowered packages of volatile liquid onto the floor and pierced them with the tip of an umbrella, after which they left the train. According to experts, there could have been much more victims if the poisonous substance had been sprayed in other ways.

Pictured: Doctors treating passengers affected by sarin

November 2004 American troops used white phosphorus ammunition during the assault on the Iraqi city of Fallujah. Initially, the Pentagon denied the use of such ammunition, but eventually admitted this fact. The exact number of deaths from the use of white phosphorus in Fallujah is unknown. White phosphorus is used as an incendiary agent (it causes severe burns to people), but itself and its decay products are highly toxic.

Pictured: U.S. Marines escorting a captured Iraqi

The largest chemical attack in Syria since the standoff took place in April 2013 in Eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus. As a result of shelling with sarin, according to various sources, from 280 to 1,700 people died. UN inspectors were able to establish that surface-to-ground missiles with sarin were used in this place, and they were used by the Syrian military.

Pictured: UN chemical weapons experts collect samples

Chemical weapons are one of the three types of weapons of mass destruction (the other 2 types are bacteriological and nuclear weapon). Kills people with the help of toxins in gas cylinders.

History of chemical weapons

Chemical weapons began to be used by man a very long time ago - long before the Copper Age. Then people used a bow with poisoned arrows. After all, it is much easier to use poison, which will surely slowly kill the beast, than to run after it.

The first toxins were extracted from plants - a person received it from varieties of the acocanthera plant. This poison causes cardiac arrest.

With the advent of civilizations, prohibitions began on the use of the first chemical weapons, but these prohibitions were violated - Alexander the Great used all the chemicals known at that time in the war against India. His soldiers poisoned water wells and food stores. AT ancient greece used the roots of ground earth to poison wells.

In the second half of the Middle Ages, alchemy, the forerunner of chemistry, began to develop rapidly. Acrid smoke began to appear, driving away the enemy.

First use of chemical weapons

The French were the first to use chemical weapons. This happened at the beginning of the First World War. They say safety rules are written in blood. Safety rules for the use of chemical weapons are no exception. At first, there were no rules, there was only one piece of advice - when throwing grenades filled with poisonous gases, it is necessary to take into account the direction of the wind. There were also no specific, tested substances that were 100% killing people. There were gases that did not kill, but simply caused hallucinations or mild suffocation.

April 22, 1915 German armed forces mustard gas was used. This substance is very toxic: it severely injures the mucous membrane of the eye, respiratory organs. After the use of mustard gas, the French and Germans lost about 100-120 thousand people. And during the entire First World War, 1.5 million people died from chemical weapons.

In the first 50 years of the 20th century, chemical weapons were used everywhere - against uprisings, riots and civilians.

The main poisonous substances

Sarin. Sarin was discovered in 1937. The discovery of sarin happened by accident - a German chemist Gerhard Schrader tried to create more strong chemical from agricultural pests. Sarin is a liquid. Acts on the nervous system.

Soman. Soman was discovered by Richard Kunn in 1944. Very similar to sarin, but more poisonous - two and a half times more than sarin.

After the Second World War, the research and production of chemical weapons by the Germans became known. All research classified as "secret" became known to the allies.

VX. In 1955, VX was opened in England. The most poisonous chemical weapon created artificially.

At the first sign of poisoning, you need to act quickly, otherwise death will occur in about a quarter of an hour. Protective equipment is a gas mask, OZK (combined arms protective kit).

VR. Developed in 1964 in the USSR, it is an analogue of the VX.

In addition to highly toxic gases, gases were also produced to disperse crowds of rioters. These are tear and pepper gases.

In the second half of the twentieth century, more precisely from the beginning of 1960 to the end of the 1970s, there was a flourishing of discoveries and developments of chemical weapons. During this period, gases began to be invented that had a short-term effect on the human psyche.

Chemical weapons today

Currently most of chemical weapons is prohibited by the 1993 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction.

The classification of poisons depends on the danger posed by the chemical:

• The first group includes all the poisons that have ever been in the arsenal of countries. Countries are prohibited from storing any chemicals from this group in excess of 1 ton. If the weight is more than 100g, the control committee must be notified.
• The second group is substances that can be used both for military purposes and in peaceful production.
• The third group includes substances that are used in large quantities in industries. If the production produces more than thirty tons per year, it must be registered in the control register.

First aid for poisoning with chemically hazardous substances

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

Poisonous substances, their classification

poisonous substances- this is chemical compounds, which have certain toxic and physical and chemical properties that ensure, during their combat use, 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, warheads of missiles, aviation bombs, pouring aviation 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. AT peaceful purposes they are mainly used in agriculture to control weeds, to remove leaves from vegetation in order to speed up the ripening of fruits and to 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 will be formed. chemical damage(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 people, farm animals and plants.

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 on long time persistent agents;
• defeat of people large areas for a long time after the use of OV;
• 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". AT 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 a type of weapon of mass destruction, the main principle of which is the impact toxic substances on the environment and humans. Types of chemical weapons are subdivided according to the types of destruction of biological organisms.

Chemical weapons - the history of creation (briefly)

The first similarity of chemical weapons was used even before our era, by the Greeks, Romans and Macedonians. Most often it was used during the siege of fortresses, which forced the enemy to surrender or die.

In the 15th century, the Turkish army used on the battlefields a semblance of chemical weapons, which consisted of sulfur and oil. The resulting substance disabled enemy armies and gave a significant advantage. Further, in the 18th century, artillery shells were created in Europe, which, after hitting the target, emitted poisonous smoke that acts on the human body like a poison.

Since the middle of the 19th century, many countries began to produce chemical weapons, the types of which have become an integral part of army ammunition, on an industrial scale. After the use of chemical weapons by the British Admiral Gokhran T., which included sulfur dioxide, caused a wave of indignation and the leadership of more than 20 countries condemned such an act en masse. The consequences of using such weapons were catastrophic.

In 1899, the Hague Convention was held, which formulated a ban on the use of any chemical weapons. But during the First World War, the German army used chemical weapons en masse, which led to many deaths.

After that, the production of gas masks began, which could provide protection from exposure to chemicals. Gas masks were used not only for people, but also for dogs and horses.

German scientists from 1914 to 1917 worked to improve the means of delivering chemicals to the enemy and methods of protecting the population from their effects. After the end of the First World War, all projects were curtailed, but protective equipment continued to be manufactured and distributed.

this year at the Geneva Convention a pact was signed banning the use of any poisonous substances

In 1925, the Geneva Convention was held , where all parties signed a pact banning the use of any poisonous substances. But in short, the history of chemical weapons continued with new force and work on the creation of chemical weapons only intensified. Scientists around the world created in laboratories many types of chemical weapons, which had many types of effects on living organisms.

During World War II, neither side dared to use chemicals. Distinguished only by the Germans, who actively "Zyklon B" in the concentration camps.

Zyklon B was developed by German scientists in 1922. This substance consisted of hydrocyanic acid and other additional substances, 4 kg of such a substance was enough to destroy up to 1 thousand people.

After the end of World War II and the condemnation of all the actions of the German army and command, countries around the world continued to develop different kinds chemical weapons.

A prime example of the use of chemical weapons is the United States, which used "Agent Orange" in Vietnam. The action of chemical weapons is based on dioxin, which was filled with bombs, it is extremely toxic and mutagenic.

The action of chemical weapons, the United States demonstrated in Vietnam.

According to the US government, their target was not people, but vegetation. The consequences of the use of such a substance were catastrophic in terms of death and mutation of the civilian population. These types of chemical weapons have caused mutations in humans that occur at the genetic level and are passed down from generation to generation.

Prior to the signing of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use and Storage of Chemical Weapons, the United States and the USSR were actively involved in the production and storage of these substances. But even after the signing of the ban agreement, repeated instances of the use of chemicals in the Middle East were revealed.

Types of chemical weapons and names

Modern chemical weapons have many types that differ in purpose, speed and impact on the human body.

According to the speed of maintaining damaging abilities, chemical weapons can be divided into several types:

• persistent- substances that include lewisite and mustard gas. Efficiency after the use of such substances can be up to several days;
• volatile- substances that include phosgene and hydrocyanic acid. Efficiency after the use of such substances is up to half an hour.

There are also types of poison gases, which are divided according to their use:

• combat- are used for the rapid or slow destruction of manpower;
• psychotropic (non-lethal)- used to temporarily disable the human body.

There are six types of chemicals, the division of which is based on the results of exposure to the human body:

Nerve weapon

This type of weapon is one of the most dangerous as it affects the human body. A type of such weapon is a gas that affects the nervous system and leads to death in any concentration. The composition of nerve weapons includes gases:

• soman;
• V – gas;
• sarin;
• herd.

The gas is odorless and colorless, which makes it very dangerous.

poison weapon

This type of weapon poisons the human body by means of exposure to the skin, after which it enters the body and destroys the lungs. It is impossible to defend against this type of weapon with conventional protection. The composition of poisonous weapons includes gases:

• lewisite;
• mustard gas.

General purpose poison weapons

They are deadly substances that have a rapid effect on the body. Poisonous substances, after application, instantly affect red blood cells and block the supply of oxygen to the body. The composition of poisonous substances of general action includes gases:

• cyanogen chloride;
• hydrocyanic acid.

Choke weapon

A choke weapon is a gas that, once applied, instantly reduces and blocks the oxygen supply to the body, which contributes to a long and painful death. Asphyxiating weapons include gases:

• chlorine;
• phosgene;
• diphosgene.

Psychochemical weapons

This type of weapon is a substance that has a psychotropic and psychochemical effect on the body. After application, the gas affects the nervous system, which causes short-term disturbances and incapacitation. Psychochemical weapons are endowed with a damaging effect, as a result of which a person has:

• blindness;
• deafness;
• incapacity of the vestibular apparatus;
• mental insanity;
• disorientation;
• hallucinations.

The composition of psychochemical weapons mainly includes a substance - quinuclidyl-3-benzilate.

Poison-irritant weapon

This type of weapon is a gas that causes nausea, coughing, sneezing, and eye irritation when used. Such a gas is volatile and fast acting. Often, poison-irritant weapons or teardrops are used by law enforcement agencies.

The composition of poisonous-irritating weapons includes gases:

• chlorine;
• sulfurous anhydride;
• hydrogen sulfide;
• nitrogen;
• ammonia.

Military conflicts with the use of chemical weapons

The history of the creation of chemical weapons is briefly marked by the facts of its combat use on the battlefield and against the civilian population.

Types of chemical weapons for self-defense

There is a psycho-chemical type of weapon that can be used for self-defense. Such a gas causes minimal harm to the human body and is able to disable it for some time.

Question 3. Chemical weapons and their damaging factors. a brief description of OM and zones of chemical contamination.

Consideration this issue Let's start with the definition of chemical weapons.

Chemical weapon(CW) is one of the types of weapons of mass destruction, the damaging effect of which is based on the use of military toxic chemicals (BTCS).

Warfare toxic chemicals include toxic substances (S) and toxins, that have a damaging effect on the human body and animals, as well as phytotoxicants, which can be used for military purposes to destroy various types of vegetation.

Aircraft, rockets, artillery, engineering and chemical troops are used as means of delivering chemical weapons.

Military experts refer to the "advantages" of chemical weapons as the ability to selectively strike enemy manpower without destroying structures and material resources.

The use of chemical weapons can result in severe environmental and genetic consequences, the elimination of which will take a long time.

Affecting factors chemical weapons are different types of combat state of BTXV.

Types of combat state: steam; spray can; drops.

In combat states, the agents are capable of spreading downwind over long distances, penetrating military equipment, various shelters and retain their striking properties for a long time.

Signs of the use of agents

A white or slightly colored cloud of smoke, mist or steam is formed at the site of the explosion of ammunition filled with chemical warfare agents. In the case of the use of OM with the help of pouring devices, a quickly dissipating dark strip appears behind the aircraft, settling on the ground. On the surface of the earth, plants, buildings, OM settles in the form of oily drops, spots or smudges.

As a result of the spread of OM on the ground, zones of chemical contamination and foci of chemical damage are formed.

Chemical contamination zone includes the territory that was directly affected by the enemy's chemical weapons, and the territory over which the cloud contaminated with agents spread, as well as the site of the AHOV spill, and the territory over which the vapors of these substances with damaging concentrations spread. The boundaries of the zone are determined by the values ​​of the threshold toxic doses of toxic agents or hazardous chemicals and depend on the size of the area where chemical weapons are used, meteorological conditions, and terrain.

The site of chemical damage This is a territory within which, as a result of the impact of chemical weapons, mass destruction of people, farm animals, and plants occurred.

For the focus of chemical damage, as well as for the focus of nuclear damage, mass character and simultaneous occurrence of sanitary losses are characteristic.

Poisonous substances are classified in three directions: according to toxic manifestation; on combat mission; in terms of impact resistance.

I. According to toxic manifestation:

1. Nerve-paralytic action (sarin, soman, V-gases).

2. Skin blister action (iprtite, lewisite, trichlorotriethylamine).

3. Choking action (phosgene).

4. General toxic action (hydrocyanic acid, cyanogen chloride).

5. Psychochemical action (BZ /bee-zet/).

6. Irritant action /chloroacetophenone, adamsite, C-ES (CS), C-Ar (CR)/.

II. By combat mission:

1. Deadly - intended for fatal defeat or incapacitation of manpower for a long time (Skin blister, nerve agent, general poison, suffocating action).

2. Temporarily incapacitating (OV psychochemical action).

3. Irritant - affect the sensitive nerve endings of the mucous membranes of the eyes and upper respiratory tract(OV irritant action).

III. In terms of durability:

1. Persistent, the action of which lasts for several hours, days (VX, soman, mustard gas).

2. Unstable - the action persists for several tens of minutes after their penetration.

Currently, the territory of the Russian Federation has accumulated great amount chemical weapons. Its reserves are 40 thousand tons (both in the form of ammunition and in tanks).

In 1997 Russia ratified Convention on the prohibition of the development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons and on their destruction.

There are the following methods for the destruction of chemical weapons: simple transfer to the atmosphere; open burning; field neutralization; landfill disposal; flooding in the ocean.

The convention also says that methods such as burning chemical weapons in the open air and flooding them into the ocean should not be used.

It should be noted that promising methods for the destruction of chemical weapons have been developed in Russia - these are methods of neutralization:

followed by incineration on site or at another facility;

with subsequent oxidation in the environment humid air and biological treatment;

followed by oxidation with water in the supercritical state;

followed by biological treatment.

These methods were first used back in 1987 at the Shihan test site. With their help, over 10 years, 4,000 munitions with a total mass of poisonous substances of 280 tons were destroyed.

Question 4. AHOV, their classification, damaging concentrations and toxodoses.

Currently, about 7 million substances, compounds, products and semi-products artificially created by man are known. Of these, 60-70 thousand hazardous substances are in direct contact with humans. They are in the ground, air, water, often in quantities significantly exceeding the MPC.

AHOV(emergency chemically hazardous substance - a hazardous chemical substance (OHV) used in industry and agriculture, in the event of an accidental release (spill) of which infection may occur environment in concentrations affecting a living organism (toxodose) (GOST R22.9.05-95).

AHOV classification

All available emergency chemically hazardous substances can be classified in the following areas: according to the degree of danger; by impact resistance; by toxic manifestation; on state of aggregation.

Let's take a closer look at each of these areas.

1. According to the degree of danger

2. According to the durability of the impact

Fortitude - the ability of a chemical to maintain a damaging effect on the ground for a certain period of time.

The resistance of chemicals depends on the following factors:boiling point; its volatility; viscosity; aggregate state.

Volatility - the ability of a substance to go into a vapor state.

3. According to toxic (toxicological groups).

Toxicity - the ability of AHOV to inflict damage to a person of varying degrees at certain doses.

Characteristics of AHOV

4. According to the state of aggregation.

According to the state of aggregation, all hazardous chemicals can be divided into three classes.

5. According to the method of entry into the body

Features of AHOV in the provision of PHC

High toxicity and short latent period - make it difficult to provide first aid.

The main characteristics of AHOV

The main characteristics (parameters) of AHOV should include the degree of concentration of AHOV (potential hazard) and toxodose ( real danger). One of them - concentration - determines the amount of hazardous substance per unit volume (mgm 3 ; mg/l).

Other - toxodose - determines the amount of a substance, when it enters the body, a certain toxic effect occurs. This takes into account exposure.

exposition - time spent in the contaminated area.

In this regard, the unit of measurement of toxodose during inhalation is mg * min / m 3 (mg * min / l) or mg * s / m 3(amount of substance per unit volume), and with contact action (skin damage) - g/cm 3 or g/kg.

Concentration and toxodose, in turn, are subdivided into a number of other quantitative characteristics, which are given in the form of the following scheme:

Overview of the most common AHOV

The most common representatives of hazardous chemicals that we meet in everyday life and working conditions include “chlorine” and “ammonia”.

H L O R

It is used: for water disinfection, as a bleaching agent, as a detergent with a bleaching effect, for obtaining insecticides, in the production of glycerin, for chlorinating roasting of non-ferrous metal ores and for other purposes.

Chlorine is a greenish yellow gas, with a strong irritating odor. The boiling point and pour point are -34.1 o C and -101 o C, respectively. lower floors, basements, various recesses, low places, tunnels, passages, wells.

Toxic: MPC = 1 mg / m 3. Limiting damaging concentration - PPC \u003d 10 mg / m 3 (irritation). Lethal concentration - SC = 2500 mg / m 3 (within 5 minutes). Toksodoz striking - 0.6 mg * min / l (annoying), lethal toxodose - 6.0 mg * min / l. Density 3.2 kg/m 3 . Chlorine is highly soluble in water (150 tons of water are needed to neutralize 1 ton).

It is a strong oxidizing agent, in the presence of moisture it is activated and easily affects metals, causing corrosion.

When chlorine is damaged, there is a sharp pain in the sternum, dry cough, vomiting, shortness of breath, pain in the eyes, and lacrimation. Possibly impaired coordination.

First health care

The victim must be put on a gas mask and taken out of the danger zone. Remove outer clothing and, if necessary, perform artificial respiration (“mouth-to-mouth”). Should be inhaled 0.5% solution drinking soda (because chlorine is an oxidizing agent). Surface treatment of exposed skin and mucous membranes are treated 2% solution drinking soda. Give plenty of fluids (tea, coffee, warm water with soda). Provide peace and warmth.

Protection

At concentrations up to 2500 mg/m 3 both civilian and industrial gas masks can be used to protect against chlorine. Civil gas masks (GP-5; GP-7) were originally intended to protect against chlorine (1914-1916). At low concentrations, they provide reliable protection for about 40 minutes. In the presence of additional cartridges, the protection time increases (DPG-1 - 80 minutes; DPG-3 - 100 minutes; PZU - 30-50 minutes).

At high concentrations or near the spill site (accident site), only insulating protective equipment (IP-4M; IP-5; KIP-7; KIP-8, etc.) is used.

A M M I A K

Ammonia is a colorless gas with a characteristic pungent odor (ammonia). The boiling and pour points are -33.4 o C and -77.8 o C, respectively.

Ammonia is transported in liquid form, under a pressure of 6-8 bar. In the event of an accident (depressurization), it boils up and easily turns into a gas due to the low boiling point. Lighter than air by 1.7 times. With isothermia (inversion), it remains in the form of a cloud for a long time. During convection, the cloud quickly dissipates.

Ammonia is used in production nitric acid, soda, urea, hydrocyanic acid, fertilizer production, fabric dyeing, mirror silvering, and so on.

It is most widely used as a refrigerant (as a working substance of refrigeration machines).

Poisonous: MPC \u003d 20 mg / m 3, (the smell is felt ... 40 mg / m 3). At concentrations of 40-80 mg / m - there is a sharp irritation of the eyes, upper respiratory tract, there is headache. AUC \u003d 100-200 mg / m 3, SC \u003d 1500-1700 mg / m 3 ( exposure time 30-60 minutes). Throat irritation ..... 0.28. Eye irritation ....... 0.49. Cough......................... 1.2.

Toxodoses:

striking - 15 mg * min / l;

lethal - 100 mg * min / l.

It dissolves well in water: one volume of water absorbs about 700 volumes of ammonia (at t = 20 O С). 10% ammonia solution is known as ammonia, and 20 percent is like ammonia water. Has alkaline properties (close to alkalis).

Flammable and even explosive (at K=16-28% and t=18 o C). A mixture of ammonia and chlorine is also explosive.

Signs of poisoning: breathing is difficult; pain, lacrimation; nausea, vomiting; lack of coordination, delusional state.

Contact with liquid may cause burns, frostbite, ulcers.

First aid

Put on a gas mask and take the victim out of the danger zone, ensure the flow of fresh air. Remove outer clothing and restrictive breathing. Useful inhalation of warm water vapor (with the addition of acetic, citric, boric acid) and drinking warm milk.

If the presence of ammonia vapor in the stomach is established, then vomiting should be induced.

Rinse the affected areas of the skin and mucous membranes of the eyes with water or a 2% solution of boric acid. With sharp pains in the eyes - drip 1-2 drops of a 1% solution of novocaine. In addition, it is useful to put lotions on the affected areas of the skin. - from a 5% solution of acetic or citric acid. If burns occur, apply a sterile dressing. Keep the victim calm and warm. Transport in lying position. It is forbidden to do artificial respiration by pressing on the chest (because with pulmonary edema, tissues become fragile and mechanical impact on the chest may damage lung tissues).

It is possible to perform artificial respiration using the “mouth-to-mouth” method.

ACRYLIC NITRIL (NAC)

NAC is a colorless, volatile liquid with bad smell. Soluble in water. Vapors are heavier than air. They accumulate in low areas of the surface, basements, tunnels. Fire and explosion hazard. Poisonous when taken orally. Harmful by inhalation. Vapors cause irritation of mucous membranes and skin. Contact causes burns to skin and eyes. Works through intact skin. On combustion, forms toxic gases. Available death when inhaled.

Signs of poisoning: headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, sweating, palpitations, decrease in body temperature, weakening of the pulse, convulsions, loss of consciousness, redness and burning of the skin.