Soman
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| | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Gerhard Schrader |
| Discovered in | 1944 |
| Chemical Characteristics | |
| Chemical Name | O-Pinacolyl methylphosphonofluoridate |
| Chemical Family | Fluorinated organophosphorus compound |
| Chemical Formula | C7H16F02P |
| NFPA Rating |
|
| Boiling Point | 198 °C (388 °F) |
| Freezing/Melting Point | -42 °C (-107.6 °F) |
| Vapor Pressure | 0.40 mmHg at 25 °C |
| Vapor Density (Air=1) | 6.3 |
| Solubility in Water | Moderate |
| Specific Gravity (H2O = 1.0) | 1.022 at 25 °C |
| Appearance and Color | When pure, colorless liquid with fruity odor.With impurities, amber or dark brown,with oil of camphor odor |
Soman or GD (O-Pinacolyl methylphosphonofluoridate) is an extrememly toxic substance that is one of the world's most dangerous weapons of war. Because it fatally interferes with normal functioning of the mammalian nervous system, it is classified as a nerve agent. As a chemical weapon, it is classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations according to UN Resolution 687, and its production and stockpiling was outlawed by the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993. Soman was the third of the so-called G-series nerve agents discovered (along with GA (tabun), GB (sarin), and GF (cyclosarin)).
It is a volatile, corrosive and colourless liquid with a faint odour when pure, more commonly it is a yellow to brown color and has a stronger odour described as camphor. The LCt50 for Soman is 70 mg-min/m3 in humans. It is both more lethal and more persistent than sarin or tabun, but less than cyclosarin.
GD can be thickened for use as a chemical spray using an acryloid copolymer. It can also be deployed as a binary chemical weapon; its precursor chemicals are methylphosphonyl difluoride and a mixture of pinacolyl alcohol and an amine.
| Contents |
Effects of overexposure
The exact symptoms of overexposure are similar to those created by all nerve agents, and are described in more detail in that article. Tabun, like all nerve agents, is toxic even in minute doses. The number and severity of symptoms which appear vary according to the amount of the agent absorbed and rate of entry into the body. Very small skin dosages sometimes cause local sweating and tremors with few other effects. Tabun is about half as toxic as sarin by inhalation, but tabun in very low concentrations is more irritating to the eyes than sarin.
The effects of exposure appear much more slowly when tabun is absorbed through the skin rather then inhaled. Although lethal doses absorbed though the may result in death in 1 to 2 minutes, death may be delayed for 1 to 2 hours. Inhaled lethal dosages kill in 1 to 10 minutes, and liquid in the eye kills almost as rapidly. Most of what is known about lethal dosages are known from animal studies on monkeys.
Alternative names
Soman is occasionally referred to names other than soman or GD:
- Phosphonofluoridic acid, methyl-, 1, 2, 2-trimethylpropyl ester
- Pinacolyl methylphosphonofluoridate
- 1,2,2-Trimethylpropyl methylphosphonofluoridate
- Methylpinacolyloxyfluorophosphine oxide
- Pinacolyloxymethylphosphonyl flouride
- Pinacolyl methanefluorophosphonate
- Methylfluoropinacolylphosphonate
- Fluoromethylpinacolyloxyphosphine Oxide
- Methylpinacolyloxyphosphonyl flouride
- Pinacolyl methylfluorophosphonate
- 1,2,2,-Trimethylpropoxyfluoromethylphosphine oxide
History
Soman was discovered by Richard Kuhn in Germany in 1944, and represented the last wartime nerve agent discovery (GF was not found until 1949.) Soman was given the identifier GD post-war (GC was already in medical use) when the information relating to Soman was recovered by the Soviet Union from its hiding place in a mine.
| Lethal Agents |
|---|
| Blood Agents |
| Cyanogen chloride |
| Hydrogen cyanide |
| Blister Agents |
| Lewisite |
| Sulfur Mustard Gas (HD and THD, HT) |
| Nerve Agents |
| G-Agents |
| GA (tabun), GB (sarin) GD (soman), GF (cyclosarin) |
| V-Agents |
| VE, VG, VM, VX |
| Pulmonary Agents |
| Chlorine |
| Phosgene |
| Diphosgene |
| Non-lethal Agents |
| Incapacitating Agents |
| BZ / Agent 15 |
| Riot Control Agents |
| Pepper spray |
| Tear Gas |
References
- United States Senate, 103d Congress, 2d Session. (May 25, 1994). Material Safety Data Sheet -- Lethal Nerve Agents Somain (GD and Thickened GD). Retrieved Nov. 6, 2004.
