PART B - BLOOD AND CHOKING AGENTS
1.
Blood and choking agents primarily enter the body through the
respiratory system.
These agent are nonpersistent agents.
They are
normally effective only against personnel not wearing protective masks and
clothing.
The standard protective mask gives adequate protection against
field concentrations of blood agents. Impermeable protective clothing and
the mask is needed when liquid AC is handled. Blood agents produce their
effects by interfering with normal utilization of oxygen within the body.
Inhalation is the usual route of entry. Hydrogen cyanide (AC) and cyanogen
chloride (CK) are the important agents in this group.
Cyanogen chloride
also acts as a choking agent. These agents can be dispersed by artillery or
mortar shells, rockets, aircraft spray, and bombs.
a. Blood Agent (AC). Blood agent AC (Hydrogen Cyanide) is a colorless,
highly volatile liquid. It is highly soluble and stable in water. It has a
faint odor, like peach kernels or bitter almonds, and sometimes cannot be
detected even in lethal concentrations.
AC is less persistent than other
blood agents.
The central nervous system, particularly the respiratory
center, is especially susceptible to AC, and respiratory failure is the
usual cause of death. In high concentrations, the amount of AC inhaled in a
few breaths may be enough to cause immediate death without anatomical
changes. After exposure to lower concentrations, there may be small areas
of hemorrhage and softening in the brain which are more pronounced in
delayed deaths. Death from AC leaves the blood well oxygenated and the skin
has a pink color similar to that seen in carbon monoxide poisoning.
2-9
CM3404
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