DUSTY AGENTS IMPLICATIONS FOR CHEMICAL WARFARE PROTECTION

File: 970107_apr96_decls13_0006.txt
Page: 0006
Total Pages: 22

Subject: DUSTY AGENTS IMPLICATIONS FOR CHEMICAL WARFARE PROTECTION       

Unit: XVIII CORPS 

Parent Organization: ARCENT      

Box  ID: BX000047

Folder Title: CHEMICAL INFORMATION                                                                            

Document Number:          5

Folder Seq  #:         35





                                           CONFIDENTIAL
              AsT-266OZ-055-88
              27 January 1988                                    pop


              demonstrated that 80'& by weight load-       (U) The Germans preferred to use
              ings of mustard on a dry powder car-         carrier dusts with a7ents that were
              rier could be achieved.        Extensive     difficult to volatilize.     A nitrogen
              dusty agent work was conducted by            mustard (HN3) was found to be as
              the German Wehrmacht during World            effective in killing mice when ad-
              War 11 at Spandau.       This CW dust        sorbed on dust as in the,vapor phase
              work, which evaluated numerous car-          (LCt5O -    1200 mg,mia/mO).       Hi-her
              rier materials and agents, suggested         concentrations    of  the    impreg;:ted
              that   vesicants   were    particularly      dust produced a lower LCt5O, down to
              effective in the dust form and yield-        400 mg,min/m3 when the OUsty a,.enr-
              ad the first evidence of the effec-          concentration was 800 mg/m.
              tiveness   of   finely   divided     dust
              against protective     clothing.      The    (U) The Germans did not prefer sul-
              Germans   were   also    the   first   to    fur mustard (H) on a carrier dust
              propose   the use of nerve agents            because the only advantage they saw
              adsorbed on dust.       The extent of        was that the dusty R could be used
              this German work has only recently           at lower temperatures than neat ii.
              been rediscovered in the West.               They were    much more      enthusiastic
                                                           about   the   use   of  other     sulfur-
              What azents are most effective in a          coutainiag mustards such as T-must--rA-
    dusty form? (U)                              (I) and sesqui-musrard (Q).         These
                                                           agents are much more effective than
              (C)    Experiments    conducted    during    H and, because of their low volatil-
              "orld War II in both Germany and the         ity, are best disseminated by the
              United States showed that vesicant           dust method.    Volunteer subjects who
              (blister)   aerosols    were   effective     were exposed to 675 mg/m3 of Q ad-
              both through inhalation and through          sorbed on dust for 10 minutes (Ct -
              percutaneous (skin) contact.     One of      6750 mg,min/m3)     suffered    erythema
              the advantages of World '.;at II era         and small blisters that took days to
              data is that it includes many direct         h-nl.   The technical personnel who
              human     toxicological    evaluations.      were carrying out the tests and were
              ilierefore, no extrapolation needs to        protected by well-fittiao. and cota-
              be made from animal data or from com-        plate skin protection (according to
              puter models to estimate what would          the Germans) suffered from severe
              be effective against human beings.           erythema and oedema and, in some
              The agents either work or they don't.        cases, massive vesication.        Similar
                                                           tests were carried out with T at a
              (U) After investigating the use of           concentration     of  177   mg/m3     for
              imoregnated dusts at their Spandau           10 minutes.   Vesication occurred af-
              'a
              . cility, the Germans concluded that         ter 24 hours.    Workers wearing pro-
              nonvolatile vesicant agents are par-         tective clothing were again affected.
arly effective     They,found that
              concentrations of S;o mg/m' of a ves-        (U)   During World War II, workers at
              icant agent (not identified) and rel-        the University of Chicago Toxicology
              atively short periods of exposure are        Laboratory (UCTL) investigated the
              sufficient to severely affect even           effect of partir-le size upon the
              troops wearing complete protective           vesicancy of UN3 and T on hit-an sub--
              clothing.                                    jects.   HN3 vapor produced erythema


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                                                                   DOD
                                             CONFIDENTIAL

Document 22 f:/Week-15/BX000047/CHEMICAL INFORMATION/dusty agents implications for chemical warfare p:010297184311120
Control Fields 17
File Room = apr96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-15
Box ID = BX000047
Unit = XVIII CORPS
Parent Organization = ARCENT
Folder Title = CHEMICAL INFORMATION
Folder Seq # = 35
Subject = DUSTY AGENTS IMPLICATIONS FOR CHEMICAL WARFARE P
Document Seq # = 5
Document Date =
Scan Date =
Queued for Declassification = 01-JAN-1980
Short Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Long Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Permanent Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Non-Health Related Document = 01-JAN-1980
Declassified = 02-JAN-1997