Although Sarin has been around for a very long time its effects, while very deadly, have not been very well studied. It is a dangerous chemical that has had no other purpose or intention then killing people quickly and effectively.
Sarin is a clear, odorless, tasteless liquid that has been used in terrorist attacks all over the world. The main attacks carried out by the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo on the Tokyo Subway in 1995 and in the Iran-Iraq Conflict in the 80’s (Simpson, 2004). Although they only killed 12 people, more than 5,500 sought medical help (Sample, 2013). Sarin was never intended to help people once it was invented. It was discovered in the 30’s by the chemist it is named after, Schrader, Ambros, Gerhard Ritter, and van de Linde. …show more content…
It is just hard to make without killing yourself, there are more than a dozen recipes online and some of the major components such as rubbing alcohol and hydrogen are not very hard to come by, however one of the ingredients, methylphosphonyl dichloride, an organophosphate, which is used in the making of other nerve agents is also a Schedule 1 substance making it very hard to get (Sample, 2013). Sarin is a nerve agent. Nerve Agents are highly Toxic chemicals called organophosphates that poison the nervous system and disrupt bodily functions which are vital to survival, originally produced in a search for insecticides, but because of their toxicity, they were evaluated for military use (Emergency Preparedness, OSHA). Sarin attacks the nervous system, specifically Acetylcholinesterase which stops your muscle from contracting, causing many unwanted symptoms (Che, et al, 2012). Some of the immediate symptoms are fatigue, muscle weakness and twitching and paralysis, convulsions, loss of consciousness, coma and death (Simpson, 2004). Long-term symptoms can be a decrease in memory, eye symptoms, fatigue, muscle stiffness and headache, and blurred vision (Simpson, 2004). The LD50, or Lethal Dose 50%, for the inhalation of Sarin gas in Humans is 50 – 720 mg/m3 of air per minute, or about .5% of the air you breathe has to contain Sarin (Sharp, …show more content…
The pros of Sarin are that it is effective at its job and could have been necessary if the Cold War had escalated. However there are many more cons to the existence and use of Sarin, such as the fact that it is a very deadly and uncontrollable weapon, the seizures that it causes are horrible, and that anyone using it is breaking the Chemical Weapons Convention. Overall, Sarin is a harmful and uncontrollable substance, with no other use than to hurt people and all through treatments are starting to be researched it may take a very long time to be completed because of how controlled the substance
Sarin is a clear, odorless, tasteless liquid that has been used in terrorist attacks all over the world. The main attacks carried out by the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo on the Tokyo Subway in 1995 and in the Iran-Iraq Conflict in the 80’s (Simpson, 2004). Although they only killed 12 people, more than 5,500 sought medical help (Sample, 2013). Sarin was never intended to help people once it was invented. It was discovered in the 30’s by the chemist it is named after, Schrader, Ambros, Gerhard Ritter, and van de Linde. …show more content…
It is just hard to make without killing yourself, there are more than a dozen recipes online and some of the major components such as rubbing alcohol and hydrogen are not very hard to come by, however one of the ingredients, methylphosphonyl dichloride, an organophosphate, which is used in the making of other nerve agents is also a Schedule 1 substance making it very hard to get (Sample, 2013). Sarin is a nerve agent. Nerve Agents are highly Toxic chemicals called organophosphates that poison the nervous system and disrupt bodily functions which are vital to survival, originally produced in a search for insecticides, but because of their toxicity, they were evaluated for military use (Emergency Preparedness, OSHA). Sarin attacks the nervous system, specifically Acetylcholinesterase which stops your muscle from contracting, causing many unwanted symptoms (Che, et al, 2012). Some of the immediate symptoms are fatigue, muscle weakness and twitching and paralysis, convulsions, loss of consciousness, coma and death (Simpson, 2004). Long-term symptoms can be a decrease in memory, eye symptoms, fatigue, muscle stiffness and headache, and blurred vision (Simpson, 2004). The LD50, or Lethal Dose 50%, for the inhalation of Sarin gas in Humans is 50 – 720 mg/m3 of air per minute, or about .5% of the air you breathe has to contain Sarin (Sharp, …show more content…
The pros of Sarin are that it is effective at its job and could have been necessary if the Cold War had escalated. However there are many more cons to the existence and use of Sarin, such as the fact that it is a very deadly and uncontrollable weapon, the seizures that it causes are horrible, and that anyone using it is breaking the Chemical Weapons Convention. Overall, Sarin is a harmful and uncontrollable substance, with no other use than to hurt people and all through treatments are starting to be researched it may take a very long time to be completed because of how controlled the substance