Page 123 - American Survival Guide - October 2017

Imagine a committed “follower of the
‹ Bodies of victims of a suspected chemical attack on Ghouta, Syria, August 21, 2013 (Photo: Eyevine)
‹ A photo of a British mustard gas bomb used in World War I, circa 1915 (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) as “GB” (G series B). A person’s clothing
ASG_120-129_1710_CHEMICAL.indd
Prophet” boarding a subway in New York
with a small aerosol container holding
a few ounces of sarin nerve gas. This is
not fiction—for two reasons: al-Qaeda
has already declared its intent to kill
Americans in great numbers. Secondly,
the idea of using aerosols to dispense
poison gas has been featured on several
of its websites.
One needs to understand sarin very
clearly, because it could be used against
our own forces in the not-too-distant
future. It is an extremely toxic, colorless,
odorless gas that acts on the nervous
system. It falls in the same category of
substances as pesticides, also known
as “organophosphates”; and even small
IT WOULD BE
UNWISE TO
IGNORE THE
REALITY THAT
CHEMICAL
WEAPONS MIGHT
BE USED IN SOME
FUTURE CONFLICT.
amounts can cause death.
Because sarin acts on the nervous system,
it essentially disrupts all bodily functions.
The pupils shrink to pinpoints, the mouth
and lungs fi ll with saliva and bodily fl uid,
and the heart begins to slow. Blood
pressure, responsible for keeping a healthy
person lucid and conscious, decreases, and
the victim loses consciousness.
Victims might drown in their own
secretions, while bowels and bladder
spasm extremely painfully and empty out.
Some victims might experience seizures,
and death follows quickly and mercilessly.
There are numerous factors customarily
involved with the dissemination of
chemical weapons. As a nerve gas, sarin
has a high volatility (the ease with which
a liquid can be turned into gas). And, in its
purest form, it is estimated to be 26 times
deadlier than cyanide.
A single vaporous drop in the
atmosphere, once inhaled, will kill a
human within minutes. It is lethal if
skin contact is made with this chemical
weapon, which is sometimes referred to
123
[ASGMAG.COM] AMERICAN SURVIVAL GUIDE 123
123 7/17/17 1:53 AM