Key facts about sarin - lethal nerve gas that kills in minutes

Key facts about sarin – lethal nerve gas that kills in minutes: HumSub.TV

Key facts about sarin – lethal nerve gas that kills in minutes: HumSub.TV: The United States believes the Syrian government employed a sarin-like nerve agent in Tuesday´s deadly attack in the country´s northwest. Here are the key facts about sarin, which was discovered in Nazi Germany.

Originally conceived as a pesticide, sarin was used by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein´s regime to gas thousands of Kurds in the northern town of Halabja in 1988.

Inhaled or absorbed through the skin, the gas kills by crippling the respiratory center of the central nervous system and paralyzing the muscles around the lungs.

The combination results in death by suffocation, and sarin can contaminate food or water supplies, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Images from the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun showing victims suffering convulsions, breathing problems and foaming at the mouth have shocked the world. Initial analysis on victims brought to Turkey for treatment suggests they were exposed to sarin.

Symptoms of exposure to the agent include nausea and violent headaches, blurred vision, drooling, muscle convulsions, respiratory arrest and loss of consciousness, the CDC says.

“Sarin is 26 times more deadly than cyanide gas. Just a pinprick-sized droplet will kill a human,” according to the World Health Organization.

Nerve agents are generally quick-acting and require only simple chemical techniques and inexpensive, readily available ingredients to manufacture.

Inhalation of a high dose — say 200 milligrams of sarin — may cause death “within a couple of minutes,” with no time even for symptoms to develop, according to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Exposure through the skin takes longer to kill and the first symptoms may not occur for half an hour, followed by a quick progression.

Even when it does not kill, sarin´s effects can cause permanent harm — damaging a victim´s lungs, eyes and central nervous system.

Heavier than air, the gas can linger in an area for up to six hours, depending on weather conditions.

The most notorious sarin attack occurred in the Kurdish city of Halabja in March 1988.

As many as 5,000 people were killed and 65,000 injured when the Iraqi military attacked using a combination of chemical agents that included sarin, mustard gas and possibly VX, a nerve agent 10 times more powerful than sarin.

It is thought to have been the worst-ever gas attack targeting civilians.

A cult also used the odorless, paralyzing agent in two attacks in Japan in the 1990s.

The Aum Supreme Truth cult released it in the Tokyo subway in March 1995, killing 13 people and injuring 6,000 others. The cult also used the nerve agent in an attack the year before in the Japanese city of Matsumoto, killing seven.

The name sarin comes from the chemists who discovered it by chance: Schrader, Ambros, Ruediger et Van der Linde. The scientists had been trying to create stronger pesticides but the formula was then taken up by the Nazi military for chemical weapons.

Key facts about sarin – lethal nerve gas that kills in minutes: HumSub.TV

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HumSub TV is Pakistan’s leading forwarding-thinking, edutainment channel, aimed at promoting and upholding peace, interfaith harmony and social responsibility within Pakistan through informative and insightful programmes and documentaries; analytical interviews on issues pertaining to social, economic, legal and environmental set-up; dedicated shows to canvass and thereby promote the culture and heritage of Pakistan and in-depth coverage of national and international news.

HumSub TV is the first channel and thus a pioneer within its own right that mainly focuses on emphasising the “Rights” as well as the “Obligations” of the citizens in light of the Constitution of Pakistan, numerous International declarations signed by the Government and various laws that have been promulgated over the years but are not in the knowledge of the common citizen.
HumSub TV also aims to enter into bilateral agreements with other countries to promote not only their culture, heritage and tourism, but also their educational and medical facilities.
Following the successful launch of HumSub TV’s head office in Blue Area, Islamabad; the bureau office has been set up in Lahore.

Vision
To project positive image building of Pakistan and inculcate nationalism, as per the vision of the founder of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

Mission
HumSub TV is resolute about the promotion of a pluralistic, inclusive and egalitarian society in Pakistan where all citizens are allowed to contribute to promote interfaith harmony, peace and collective wisdom in the social, political and economic development of Pakistan and to encourage critical and lateral thinking in the society. HumSub TV strives to make a positive contribution to this end.

HumSub TV’s Theme
HumSub TV, Pakistan’s first EDUTAINMENT Channel, has been set up for not only those audience residing in Pakistan or overseas but the international community on the whole. The vision of the channel is to project positive image building of Pakistan and inculcate nationalism as per the vision of the founder of the nation.

HumSub TV strives to make a positive contribution to this end by promoting pluralism, inclusiveness and egality in Pakistan and give voice to the suppressed. It endeavors to act as a positive catalyst for social change and Pakistani nationalism. It envisions providing a platform for airing critical and lateral thinking and collective wisdom by inviting positive minded intellectuals and opinion forming individuals for the promotion of interfaith harmony and peace in the social, political and economic development of Pakistan.

Whereas the channel airs upbeat edutainment programmes, it, nonetheless, has the primary objective of countering negative anti-Pakistan regional and international propaganda as well as advancing fundamental rights as encapsulated in the Constitution of Pakistan.

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