Free Essay Nerve Agents: Tabun, Sarin, and Soman IV

Jeeerr · Uploaded by **Jeeerr** on Mar 19, 2005

Nerve Agents: Tabun, Sarin, and Soman IV

Now imagine that you are on a beach code-named OMAHA during World War II. As you travel inland from the beach, suddenly you see your commanding officer on the ground; he is dead but not from a bullet wound. After you take a few steps away from him you start to shake, very hard, then all of a sudden everything goes BLACK, into oblivion. You have just been a victim of one of the most deadly gases ever developed before or after World War II. Even though nerve agents were never used in World War II, if they had the outcome might have been very different. The creation and little known facts about nerve agents, like Tabun, Sarin, and Soman are very interesting. The development of, and original usage of the first nerve agent, proves very enlightening. This is an in depth look at some of the deadliest nerve agents ever created.

Dr. Gehard Schrader, who was a pesticide specialist, in Leverkusen, Germany at the I.G. Farbindurstrie laboratory created the first nerve agent(“Chemistry of GA”). Schrader first created what he called Tabun on December 23, 1936(“Short History”). About one year later Schrader and his assistant started showing symptoms of meiosis, the contraction of the pupils of the eye, and they also had some shortness of breath. It was later said Schrader was lucky to escape with his life. On the more scientific side, the chemical structure contains five different atoms and they are seven carbons, eleven hydrogen, two nitrogen, two oxygen and phosphorus. What is unique is phosphorus is the center of the molecular structure(“Chemistry of GA”). The American classification of Tabun is GA; all nerve agents of this origin are called the G-series nerve agents. Schrader sent a sample of GA to the chemical warfare department in 1937,as for told in a Nazi decree in 1935, after his close call (“Short History”).

Dr. Gerhard Schrader also created the second nerve agent in1938 at an undisclosed location in Germany(“Short History”). I was not able to find any information on its effects suffered by a person that has been exposed to Sarin. Sarin like Tabun has five atoms four carbon, ten hydrogen, fluorine, two oxygen and phosphorus, the chemical structure has phosphorus as the center(“Short History”). As there is no known use of Sarin in wartime, it is speculated that Sarin was used in a town during the Iran-Iraqi war of the late 80’s. Terrorists did used Sarin for the first time on March 20, 1995(“Short History”). The terrorist group was the Aum Shinrkyo, they released Sarin in an attack on the Tokyo subway, which resulted in the death of seven and injured 5,500(“Chemistry of GB”). The American classification of Sarin, as the second G agent, is GB.
The third nerve agent is Soman IV, the deadliest of them all. Soman was created in 1944 toward the end of World War II. The discoverer of Soman IV was Richard Kuhn(“Short History”). Soman IV is compromised of seven carbon, sixteen hydrogen, fluorine, two oxygen and phosphorus(“Chemistry of GD”). The American classification of Soman IV is GD. The effects of GD on the human body are that with a dosage of 350 milligrams per seventy kilograms of tissue will kill you in less than fifteen minutes(“Turner”). This occurs because of the blockage of an enzyme called Acetylclinesterase (AChE). If the body doesn’t get AChE the shutdown of involuntary muscular movements, examples the heart stops, lungs stop passing oxygen to the blood, and you die of suffocation(“Turner”). Using base solutions of Na2CO2, NaOH, and KOH can do the decontamination of Soman IV and other G agents, but this cannot be done after aging has occurred(“Chemistry of GD”). Aging is a process that occurs when a nerve agent reaches the air. Soman IV unlike other nerve agents ages faster. Soman IV takes a couple of minutes while others take hours(“Turner”). After aging you are dead no matter what.
Although Tabun has been discontinued Sarin and Soman IV have remained the leading nerve agents since World War II. Until recently almost all nerve agents have been discontinued, or put out of service. The three nerve agents spoken about here were Tabun, Sarin and Soman IV, with the creation, the development and the little known facts about nerve agents thrown in. The scary thing about these nerve agents is what happened September 11, 2001 to the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. This new war will begin against the terrorist of the world is frightening because we know that they will have no hesitation in using these chemical weapons. One of our goals as Americans has got to be to stop the production and the distribution of these weapons to the terrorist groups of the world.

Sources Cited
“Chemistry of GA (Tabun).” Mitretek.org. Mitretek Systems. 2001.
<http://www.mitretek.org/mission/envene/chemical/agents/tabun.html>.

“Chemistry of GB (Sarin).” Mitretek.org. Mitretek Systems. 2001.
<http://www.mitretek.org/mission/envene/chemical/agents/sarin.html>.

“Chemistry of GD (Soman).” Mitretek.org. Mitretek Systems. 2001.
http://www.mitretek.org/mission/envene/chemical/agents/soman.html>.

“A Short History of the Development of Nerve Gases.” Mitretek.org. Mitretek Systems.
2001.<http://www.mitretek.org/mission/envene/chemical/history/nerve_history.html