1-Chloro-2-[(2-chloroethyl)sulfanyl]ethane (Mustard gas, sulfur mustard)

Sulfur mustard is a cruel and highly debilitating chemical weapon that was deployed to devastating effect on the battlefields of World War 1, initially by the Germans and later also by Allied forces. Commonly referred to as mustard gas due to its strong odor reminiscent of mustard or horseradish, its primary impact is as a skin irritant that creates large, extremely painful fluid-filled blisters on exposed skin, which it affects quickly and severely as sulfur mustard dissolves readily in fat.

Symptoms do not show immediately but often up to 24 hours after initial exposure, so victims would often receive much higher doses than expected, especially as sulfur mustard is a persistent agent that contaminates clothing and equipment and can continue to poison others that come in contact with affected materials days or weeks later. Fabric clothing provides little or no protection as the particles pass through easily. In addition to the blistering and pain, those who survived exposure were also at risk of cancer and inflammation from DNA mutations.

Sulfur mustard is listed as a Schedule 1 controlled substance under the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993; its use is prohibited in warfare and signatory nations may not possess more than 1 tonne of it for research, medical/pharmaceutical or defense testing purposes only.

(4R,4aR,5R,6S,7S,8S,8aR,10S,12S)-2-azaniumylidene-4,6,8,12-tetrahydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)-2,3,4,4a,5,6,7,8-octahydro-1H-8a,10-methano-5,7-(epoxymethanooxy)quinazolin-10-olate (Tetrodotoxin, TTX)

A common staple of modern horror and science fiction/fantasy media are the undead human corpses known as zombies, which find their origins in Haitian folklore as the “zombi” or “zonbi” that serve as mindless drudges to the will of a sorcerer. The sorcerer or “bokor” in the traditional Vodou religion is a necromancer, who supposedly can place a living person under a spell, turning them into a zombi using a combination of deliriant drugs such as datura, and a powerful nerve agent called tetrodotoxin, in powdered form.

TTX is a highly dangerous neurotoxin that acts to block the passage of sodium ions into the neurons, preventing them from carrying nerve signals and effectively stopping the muscles from being able to move in response to nerve inputs. This paralysis extends to all voluntary muscles including the diaphragm and the muscles between the ribs, thus shutting down breathing often with fatal results.
There is no specific antidote for human use, but if the dosage is sufficiently mild and the patient survives for 24 hours after exposure, recovery is possible with little or no lasting damage.

If this looks confusing, that’s because it is. However, the modeling is accurate.

chemtats:

Hydridonitridocarbon (Hydrogen cyanide, hydrocyanic acid)

Hydrogen cyanide, also called Prussic acid, is a weakly acidic, extremely poisonous and flammable substance that has found use in industries such as gold and silver mining and electroplating, and the production of nylon and useful organic compounds. In gaseous form it is a highly effective and dangerous toxin, killing living creatures by preventing cells from processing ATP, which results in a coma with seizures, lack of breathing and heart failure. Concentrated exposure is almost always fatal, but if the dose is sufficiently low, antidotes can be administered and survival is possible, though often with significant nerve damage.

Hydrogen cyanide was tried out as a chemical weapon during World War 1, but was deemed ineffective in the field due to it requiring high concentrations to affect humans (200 to 2000 parts per million), which was made more difficult by the fact that HCN is lighter than air and so floated away from the battlefield. The body also metabolizes cyanide fairly quickly into thiocyanate, which is only 1% as toxic as cyanide, though this process and subsequent flushing of the toxin takes time and simply does not suffice for concentrations of more than 3mg per liter of blood, which is fatal.

Day 25 – Manganese

chemistry-official:

In the fourth Period and seventh Group, manganese is a ferromagnetic alloy, which means it is used to produce magnetic properties.

Manganese is the element that causes the violet color in natural amethyst minerals, as well as amethyst glass.

Like many elements, manganese is needed in the body, in this case it helps us utilize vitamin B1.

Again, like other elements, manganese can be toxic when there is a high exposure.

Around 90% of manganese is mines for the sole use in steel production.

Day 11 – Sodium

chemistry-official:

This one is for all you salty people out there!

In the third Period, first Group, Sodium is in a lot of compounds we see every day, such as table salt, baking soda, and compounds that help the nervous system like sodium borate.

When mixed with water, Sodium creates a huge exothermic reaction, releasing Hydrogen gas at high speeds due to proton repulsion.

In 2013, a teen chugged a bottle of soy sauce and went into a coma because of a sodium overdose. He turned out all right, luckily!

Most street lamps emit their yellow glow because of a combination of neon (our last element) and sodium.

Pure sodium at room temperature is a solid, but is extremely soft, you can cut it with an knife. Just make sure the knife is dry first!!

Day 17 – Chlorine

chemistry-official:

In the third Period and the seventeenth Group, chlorine is everywhere in our lives, and not just in pools! It’s also found in medications and tap water, along thousands of other things.

Chlorine isn’t all good though, when it’s in its gaseous form it can be extremely toxic.

Chlorine was first thought to be a oxygen compound when isolated, and it was a number of years later until they found it was a separate element.

Most poisonous frogs have a chlorine compound in their skin that makes them poisonous, in large doses, even to humans.

Chlorine looks yellowy green when in its gaseous form, and was used for chemical warfare in World War One.

Molecule of the Day – Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)

moleculeoftheday:

Dimethyl sulfoxide (C₂H₆OS), also known as DMSO, is a colourless liquid that is commonly used as a reactant and solvent in laboratories and in the chemical industry.

It is classified as a polar aprotic solvent, and is capable of dissolving a range of both polar and non-polar compounds, and even ionic substances as well. Being an aprotic solvent, it cannot form hydrogen bonds with and stabilise nucleophiles, causing their nucleophilicity to be enhanced. As a result, S_N2 reactions are preferred in such media over S_N1 reactions and elimination reactions. (The photo below shows acetone molecules instead of DMSO, but the logic still applies)

DMSO is also used as a reactant in some reactions, such as Swern oxidation, in which alcohols are oxidised to aldehydes or ketones. However, while this has been an important synthetic technique in the past, its use is now gradually declining due to the production of toxic by-products such as carbon monoxide and dimethyl sulfide.

An interesting property of DMSO is that people have noticed a garlic-like taste in the mouth upon exposure to it!

The curious case of Gloria Ramirez, in which a pungent, garlic-like smell from her body after defibrillation was administered caused 23 hospital staff to collapse, has been attributed by some to her use of DMSO as an alternative remedy for pain. It is postulated that the DMSO was oxidised to dimethyl sulfate, which is highly toxic, upon administration of the electric shocks from the defibrillator, and this resulted in the mass poisoning of nurses and doctors.

Industrially, dimethyl sulfoxide is produced from the oxidation of dimethyl sulfide with oxygen.

Requested by anonymous

chemtats:

Poly(1-chloroethene) (Polyvinyl chloride)

More commonly known as PVC or just vinyl, this long-chain polymer is the third most produced plastic in the world. In its rigid form it’s mainly used in making pipes for the construction industry, and with the addition of softeners it can be made flexible for use in electrical wiring insulation, inflatable products, vinyl records and a lot of applications as a replacement for rubber.

PVC is a good thermal and electrical insulator, and is resistant to corrosion (hence its widespread use in sewage piping). In the medical field it is used primarily in flexible tubing and containers, and it can be softened to the point that it is usable as a clothing material, which often exploits its water-resistant properties. One of its less common uses is in alternative fashion clothing and accessories as a substitute for latex, which is more expensive to produce.

PVC is derived from petroleum, and it can be recycled up to seven times.

Piece requested by Shelby.

benimaiko:

sixpenceee:

This is the very weird aftermath of a 2010 toxic waste spill in Western Hungary. A reservoir holding an aluminum company’s toxic waste burst in October 2010, sending a million cubic meters of deadly sludge into surrounding towns and countryside.

What’s in the sludge

Bauxite, the raw material from which aluminium is processed, contains a mix of minerals, including aluminium, iron oxides and titanium dioxides. It is dug out of the ground and washed with hot sodium hydroxide as part of the Bayer process, invented in the 19th century. This extracts the aluminium oxide, or alumina, from the ore that is subsequently used to produce pure aluminium. The waste, known as red mud, is a mix of solid impurities, heavy metals such as cadmium, cobalt and lead, and the processing chemicals. The caustic mixture can burn skin on prolonged contact and is an environmental liability, difficult to store. Red mud is also classed as a “technologically enhanced, naturally occurring radioactive material” – a substance produced when processing of raw materials concentrates or exposes radioactive materials. Alok Jha

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/05/hungary-toxic-sludge-spill

Source: sixpenceee

Day 3 – Lithium

chemistry-official:

Lithium is the second element in Group 1, and at room temperature can be cut with a knife!

It was discovered by a Brazilian scientist in the 1790’s, but wasn’t isolated until a two chemists isolated the element from Lithium Chloride in 1855.

Elements in Group 1 tend to be very reactive and create colorful flames, Lithium creating a red colored flame.

The first ever human induced nuclear reaction transmuted Lithium into Helium.

The majority of Lithium is used in batteries, as well as other household objects like ceramics and even antidepressants!