The Tokyo subway train compartment is packed. Some are office-going people, some are reading newspapers. Suddenly, something strange happens. One starts coughing, then another. The whole compartment is filled with coughing fits.
A young passenger notices that the lights inside the train are turning yellow. A strange, pale yellow glow. She is having trouble breathing. It feels like the air is getting heavier. She tries to open the window, but it doesn’t work. It’s a strange feeling. Within a short time, her eyelids start to tremble, and her body goes numb.
The horrific sarin gas attack that took place in the Tokyo subway in March 1995 is like that. That attack killed 13 people and sickened thousands. The young woman survived, but her experience tells us how terrible chemical weapons can be.
The use of chemical weapons on the battlefield or against civilians is prohibited by international law. Yet, from the Syrian war to the Russian war, this deadly weapon has repeatedly returned. But the question is, what harm do these poisonous gases do to the human body? How do they silently cause death?
Nerve Agent: Meet Yamadoot
When we talk about chemical weapons, the first name that comes to mind is sarin. It is called a nerve agent. During World War II, the Nazis discovered this terrible poison to make pesticides. VX or Novichok is also a poison of this type. They can enter the body in the form of gas or liquid. Even if they come into contact with the skin, death is certain!
But what does it do once it enters the body? Our body runs on the instructions of the brain. The brain sends signals to the muscles through the nerves, when to move the hands or when to breathe. This signal is sent by a chemical called acetylcholine. When the work is done, the body’s enzymes break down this chemical, so that the muscles can relax again.
Nerve agents render those enzymes useless. As a result, the signals sent by the brain are no longer stopped. The muscles continue to contract. The muscles of the chest and lungs become paralyzed. The person can no longer breathe. Foam starts coming out of the mouth, severe convulsions begin, and within a few minutes, death occurs due to suffocation.
Choking Agents: The Artificer of Death
The First World War is called the war of chemists. In 1915, the Germans first used chlorine gas. When the green-yellow gas was rushing towards the trenches with the wind, the soldiers did not realize what terrible death awaited them.
Chlorine and phosgene are called choking agents. Their function is to kill people by suffocating them. Whenever chlorine gas enters the nose or throat with inhalation, it mixes with the watery part of the body and turns into acid (hydrochloric acid). Simply put, this acid burns the inside of the body. The cells die, severe burning and coughing begin.
However, phosgene gas is even more deadly. Unlike chlorine, it does not react immediately. It silently moves deep into the lungs to the alveoli. Once there, it slowly destroys the lung cells. As a result, water starts accumulating inside the lungs. In scientific terms, this is called dry land drowning.
Chlorine, phosgene are called choking agents. Whenever chlorine gas enters the nose or throat with inhalation, it mixes with the watery parts of the body and turns into acid.
