Poison WW I gas found on university site
p2pnet news view | Off Topic:- A long time ago, I was a junior reporter on two weekly newspapers on the southeast coast of England. The sub-editor who mercilessly went through my copy was George, an alcoholic who made no secret of his affliction.
But what really made him stand out was the bright orange wig he wore, the black cheese-cutter hat which never left his head, and his strangely pale and blotchy skin.
His skin was ravaged and he’d lost all his hair because he’d served as a soldier during World War I when he became one of the millions of victims of mustard gas, a terrible weapon which left its wounded devastated.
“The sulfur mustards, of which mustard gas (1,5-dichloro-3-thiapentane) is [sic] a member, are a class of related cytotoxic, vesicant chemical warfare agents with the ability to form large blisters on exposed skin,” says the Wikipedia, from whence came the diagram on the right.
It goes on, “Pure sulfur mustards are colorless, viscous liquids at room temperature. However, when used in impure form as warfare agents they are usually yellow-brown in color and have an odor resembling mustard plants, garlic or horseradish, hence the name. Mustard gas was originally assigned the name LOST, after Lommel and Steinkopf, who first proposed the military use of sulfur mustard to the German Imperial General Staff.”
Now, residue in a vial found in a back yard in Northwest Washington has tested positive for the World War I blistering agent mustard, says the Washington Post.
Of course, land-mines, planted during various conflicts, are commonplace. And when the war is over, grass grows over them, or they’re covered in sand or otherwise hidden, and children playing where the bombs are buried have their legs blown off. If they’re lucky enough not to be killed.
But mustard gas in a back yard in Northwest Washington?
Yes, says the US Army Corps of Engineers, quoted in the story, going on:
“During World War I, the site of the discovery was a rural tract known as the American University Experiment Station, where the Army tested chemical weapons.
“The vacant property is now owned by the university.”
The, “small, dirt-encrusted vial, shaped like half of an hourglass, was about four inches tall,” says the Post. “Its seal was partially broken, and it was empty except for the residue, said Daniel Noble, project manager for the engineers’ cleanup of the area.”
The story adds:
“Noble said the cleanup at the site was halted after the vial was discovered, and the engineers are reassessing how and when work will continue. He said crews have been working at the property since 2007 and believed they were nearing the end of their efforts. Still, he said, finding the vial wasn’t entirely unexpected.
“In 2007 at the same site, workers found arsine, another chemical munition that Noble said never entered the arsenal; last year, a vomiting agent, called DA or Clark 1, was found. Experts have been scouring the neighborhood for buried munitions and chemicals since the 1990s.”
JN
Washington Post – Vial Used for Chemical Agent Mustard Is Uncovered, August 13, 2009
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August 14th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Another fine example of “military intelegence”, the dumb bastards didnt even clean up the area when they moved on.
The fact that the seal was broken only means that the mustard (and whatever else they left) has seeped into the
ground to poison people in other nice friendly ways. Just bloody great! Hell, at this rate we wont need embalming
when we die, it’ll already be done by contamination! (done ranting, flame on!)
August 15th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Are you sure it was not fond ant the Vivendi Universal corporate head quarter?
October 10th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
We reap what we sow it seems, lady luck seems to have stepped in this time but be certain there are facilities that match this dotted around the globe just waiting to be re-discovered and who knows what they hold.