Mustard gas or sulfur mustard are names commonly used for the organosulfur chemical compound bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide, which has the chemical structure S(CH2CH2Cl)2, as well as other species. In the wider sense, compounds with the substituents −SCH2CH2X or −N(CH2CH2X)2 are known as sulfur mustards or nitrogen mustards, respectively, where X = Cl or Br. Such compounds are potent alkylating agents, making mustard gas acutely and severely toxic. Mustard gas is a carcinogen. There is no preventive agent against mustard gas, with protection depending entirely on skin and airways protection, and no antidote exists for mustard poisoning.
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👉 Mustard gas in the context of WWI gas mask
A gas mask is a piece of personal protective equipment used to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Most gas masks are also respirators, though the word gas mask is often used to refer to military equipment (such as a field protective mask), the scope used in this article. Gas masks only protect the user from ingesting or inhaling chemical agents, as well as preventing contact with the user's eyes (many chemical agents affect through eye contact). Most combined gas mask filters will last around 8 hours in a biological or chemical situation. Filters against specific chemical agents can last up to 20 hours.
Airborne toxic materials may be gaseous (for example, chlorine or mustard gas), or particulates (such as biological agents). Many filters provide protection from both types.
In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Mustard gas
- 👉 Mustard gas in the context of WWI gas mask
- Mustard gas in the context of Chemical bombing of Sardasht
- Mustard gas in the context of Bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide
- Mustard gas in the context of Chemical burn
- Mustard gas in the context of Syrian chemical weapons program
- Mustard gas in the context of Iraq and weapons of mass destruction
Mustard gas in the context of Chemical bombing of Sardasht
On 28 June 1987, Iraq dropped mustard gas bombs on Sardasht, West Azerbaijan, Iran. In two separate bombing runs on four residential areas, the attack killed 130 people and injured 8,000. The gas attacks occurred during the Iran–Iraq War when Iraq frequently used chemical weapons against Iranian civilians and soldiers.
In 2006, a quarter of the town's 20,000 residents were still experiencing severe illnesses from the attacks. The film Walnut Tree (2020) was inspired by the event.
Mustard gas in the context of Bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide
Bis(2-chloroethyl)sulfide is the organosulfur compound with the formula (ClCH2CH2)2S. It is a prominent member of a family of cytotoxic and blister agents known as mustard agents. Sometimes referred to as mustard gas, the term is technically incorrect: bis(2-chloroethyl)sulfide is a liquid at room temperature. In warfare it was dispersed in the form of a fine mist of liquid droplets.
Mustard gas in the context of Chemical burn
A chemical burn occurs when living tissue is exposed to a corrosive substance (such as a strong acid, base or oxidizer) or a cytotoxic agent (such as mustard gas, lewisite or arsine). Chemical burns follow standard burn classification and may cause extensive tissue damage. The main types of irritant and/or corrosive products are: acids, bases, oxidizers and reducing agents, solvents, and alkylants. Additionally, chemical burns can be caused by biological toxins (such as anthrax toxin) and by some types of cytotoxic chemical weapons, e.g., vesicants such as mustard gas and Lewisite, or urticants such as phosgene oxime.
Mustard gas in the context of Syrian chemical weapons program
Syria's chemical weapons program began in the 1970s with weapons and training from Egypt and the Soviet Union, with production of chemical weapons in Syria beginning in the mid-1980s. Syria's chemical weapons program was the largest of any in the Middle East. For some time, Syria was believed to have the world's third-largest stockpile of chemical weapons, after the United States and Russia. Prior to September 2013 Syria had not publicly admitted to possessing chemical weapons, although Western intelligence services believed it to hold one of the world's largest stockpiles. In September 2013, French intelligence put the Syrian stockpile at 1,000 tonnes, including Yperite, VX and "several hundred tonnes of sarin". At the time, Syria was one of a handful of states which had not ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention. In September 2013, Syria joined the CWC (formally acceding on 14 October), and agreed to the destruction of its weapons, to be supervised by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), as required by the convention. A joint OPCW-United Nations mission was established to oversee the destruction process. Syria joined OPCW after international condemnation of the August 2013 Ghouta chemical attack, for which Western states held the Syrian government responsible (whilst Syria and Russia held the Syrian rebels of the Syrian civil war responsible) and agreed to the prompt destruction of its chemical weapons.
The destruction of Syria's chemical weapons that the Assad government had declared was completed by August 2014, yet further disclosures, incomplete documentation, and allegations of withholding part of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile since mean that serious concerns regarding chemical weapons and related sites in Syria remain. On 5 April 2017, the government of Syria allegedly unleashed a chemical attack that killed 70 civilians. A suspected chemical attack on Douma on 9 April 2018 that killed at least 49 civilians has been blamed on the Syrian Government.
Mustard gas in the context of Iraq and weapons of mass destruction
Iraq actively researched weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and used chemical weapons from 1962 to 1991, after which its chemical weapons stockpile was destroyed its nuclear and biological weapon programs halted, in accordance with the United Nations Security Council's Resolution 687. The Iraqi government Saddam Hussein was internationally condemned for its chemical attacks against Iranian and Iraqi Kurdish civilians and troops during the Iran–Iraq War. Saddam pursued extensive biological and nuclear weapons programs, but did not construct a nuclear weapon. After the Gulf War, the United Nations Special Commission located, confiscated, and destroyed large quantities of Iraqi chemical weapons and infrastructure; Iraq ceased its chemical, biological and nuclear programs.
During the Iran–Iraq War, known Iraqi chemical weapons attacks between 1983 and 1988 were estimated to have caused 50,000 immediate casualties to Iranian troops. Civilians were also targeted; between 3,200 and 5,000 people were killed in the Halabja massacre. The attacks were led by Ali Hassan al-Majid, using mustard gas and nerve agents. In the Gulf War, US bombing and post-war demolition of Iraqi chemical weapons facilities were concluded to be the primary cause of Gulf War syndrome, experienced by over 40% of US veterans.