STATUS OF USAMRDC CHEMICAL CASUALTY CARE

File: 970101_sep96_decls28_0018.txt
Page: 0018
Total Pages: 24

Subject: STATUS OF USAMRDC CHEMICAL CASUALTY CARE                        

Unit: OTSG        

Parent Organization: HSC         

Box  ID: BX003201

Folder Title: STATUS OF USAMRDC CHEMICAL CASUALTY CARE SUPPORT                                                

Document Number:       1001

Folder Seq  #:         67







                7.      KEY DEFINITIONS (See FM 8-285, Chapter 1 and Table 1-1)

                        CherrLical warfare agents may be classified as lethal if they are intended to cause
                death. Examples include cyanide and the nerve agents. Other agents may be classified
                as incapacitants, such as B7, or riot-control compounds such as tear gas, which are
                intended to cause a nonlethal effect.

                        Agents are also classified as persistent or nonpersistent, depending on their
                duration in the area. Sulfur mustard, a persistent agen4 has caused casualties many
                decades after its dispersion from the use of firewood harvested from World War I
                battlefields. Cyanide and the G class nerve agents are classed as nonpersistent agents.

                        Hot desert conditions can stron ly affect the persistency of chemical warfare
                agents. In general, the usual dividing line between rionpersistent and persistent agents is
                a duration of one day. The table below shows the effect of desert conditions on agent
                persistence after dispersion on vehicle surfaces coated with CARC (chemical agent
                resistant coating) paint, and on sand, at various temperatures. The identity between
                persistency times of mustard (HD), classed as a persistent agent, and the nerve agent
                GA, classed as a nonpersistent agent, illustrates the importance of knowing the
                environmental conditions where an agent is dispersed.


                     PERSISTENCY OF CHEMICAL AGENTS AT DIFFERENT TEMPERATURES

                                               CA,RC VEHICLES                             SAND

                        AGENT                 500 F      7r F      1100 F       500 F        770 F      1100 F

                  MUSTARD (HD)                12 hr       5 hr       1 hr      100 hr        27 hr        7 hr
    Tabun (GA)                  12 hr       5 hr       I hr      100 hr        27 hr        7 hr
                  Sarin (GB)                15 min      7 min      2 min         2 hr         1 hr     <  1 hr
                  GF                    Li     9 hr       4 hr       1 hr       93 hr        22 hr        5 hr

                        Rcfemnm: Me=gc CRDEC SMCCR-OPA, 05150OZ Sep 90, Penistency limcs of Chcmical Agcnts on CARC
                        Painted Vchicl" and Sand


                        Other useful definitions include those for Ct, ED50, LD50, LCt5O, and PR.

                        Ct is the product of a vapor concentration, for example in mg per cubic meter, times
                exposure time, for example in minutes. Over ordinary ranges of several minutes, equal Ct
                exposures produce equivalent biological effects for most compounds.




                                                                7

Document 24 f:/Week-36/BX003201/STATUS OF USAMRDC CHEMICAL CASUALTY CARE SUPPORT/status of usamrdc chemical casualty care:12249609312729
Control Fields 17
File Room = sep96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-36
Box ID = BX003201
Unit = OTSG
Parent Organization = HSC
Folder Title = STATUS OF USAMRDC CHEMICAL CASUALTY CARE SUPPORT
Folder Seq # = 67
Subject = STATUS OF USAMRDC CHEMICAL CASUALTY CARE
Document Seq # = 1001
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 = 24-DEC-1996