Types of poisonous substances according to their mechanism of action. poisonous substances

The most widely used is the classification of agents according to their tactical purpose and physiological effect on the body.

For tactical purpose OV are divided into deadly, temporarily incapacitating manpower and annoying (Scheme 1.7)

According to the physiological effect on the body There are neuroparalytic, blistering, general poisonous, suffocating, psychochemical and irritating agents (Scheme 1.7).

According to the speed of the onset of the damaging effect, there are:

high-speed agents, which do not have a period of latent action, which in a few minutes lead to death or loss of combat capability (GB, GD, AC, CK, CS, CR);

slow-acting agents, which have a period of latent action and lead to defeat after some time (VX, HD, CG, BZ).

Scheme 1.7. Classification of toxic substances

by tactical purpose and physiological properties

Depending on the duration of maintaining the ability to hit unprotected enemy manpower and infect the area, toxic substances are divided into two groups:

persistent agents, the damaging effect of which persists for several hours and days (VX, GD, HD);

unstable agents, the damaging effect of which persists for several tens of minutes after their combat use.

Lethal poisons intended for lethal defeat or incapacitation of manpower for a long time. This group of agents consists of: Vi-X (VX), soman (GD), sarin (GB), mustard gas (HD), nitrogen mustard (HN-1), hydrocyanic acid (AC), cyanogen chloride (SC), phosgene (CG ). According to the nature of their physiological action on the body, the listed agents are divided into nerve paralytic (VX, GD, GB), blistering (HD, HN-1), general poisonous (AS, SK) and asphyxiating (CG).

Poison nerve agents are classified as organophosphates. The agents of this group have a higher toxicity compared to other agents, as well as the ability to easily enter the body through the respiratory organs, intact skin and the digestive tract.

A characteristic physiological feature of organophosphorus toxic substances is the ability to suppress the activity of various enzymes, among which the cholinesterase enzyme, which regulates the transmission of a nerve impulse, is extremely important for the life of the body.

In the normal state, cholinesterase provides the breakdown of acetylcholine, one of the main mediators (mediators) involved in the transmission of nerve excitation in the synapses of the nervous system. Organophosphorus poisonous substances bind cholinesterase, and it loses its ability to destroy acetylcholine. The result of this is the accumulation of acetylcholine in synapses and nerve endings, which causes muscle contraction and increased work of the salivary and lacrimal glands. External manifestations of disorders of the nervous system are: bronchospasm, skeletal muscle spasms, paralysis of the respiratory center and neuromuscular block of the respiratory center. Each of these manifestations can cause death.

Symptoms of damage by poisonous nerve agents are: severe constriction of the pupils (miosis), bronchospasm, difficulty breathing, profuse salivation, runny nose, sweating, frequent urination, coughing, suffocation, muscle twitching, intestinal spasm, diarrhea. Severe damage is characterized by severe convulsions, profuse foamy discharge from the mouth and nose. After the 3-4th attack, death occurs with obvious signs of respiratory paralysis.

Poisonous substances of blistering action affect the skin of people, the digestive tract when they enter the stomach with food (water) and the respiratory organs when inhaling air contaminated with vapors of these toxic substances. Once on the surface of the skin, mustard gas quickly penetrates the body through the skin, after which it is distributed by the blood to all organs, concentrating mainly in the lungs, liver and slightly in the central nervous system. Mustard gas has the strongest effect on the enzyme hexokinase, which regulates carbohydrate metabolism, and interacts with protein systems of cells, disrupting their functions, up to complete protein denaturation. Thus, the action of mustard gas leads to disruption of tissue metabolism, blockade and destruction of various enzymes. If deoxyribonucleic acid is exposed to mustard gas, then this leads to damage to the chromosomal apparatus and changes in hereditary traits.

If mustard gas gets on the skin, anxiety, severe itching appear, abundant salivation is observed, depression sets in, and the temperature rises. With a severe degree of damage, weakening of cardiac activity develops and death occurs.

In case of poisoning through the digestive organs, swelling of the oral mucosa, swelling of the lips, profuse salivation, and later - swelling of the head, necrosis of the esophagus and stomach, and cardiac disorder are observed. Death occurs from intoxication after 10-15 days or more.

When inhaling mustard gas vapors, depression, coughing, and rhinitis are observed after 4-6 hours. After 3-4 days, purulent inflammation of the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract and pneumonia develop. Death usually occurs within 6-8 days.

Poisonous substances of general toxic action penetrate the body through the respiratory organs in the form of vapors or in a drop-liquid state - through intact skin, mucous membranes of the eyes and mouth, as well as with food and water. This type of agents is characterized by the ability to penetrate into the blood and affect various body systems without causing visible changes at the site of primary contact of agents with tissues.

Signs of damage to general poisonous agents are: bitterness and metallic taste in the mouth, nausea, headache, shortness of breath, convulsions. Death in the affected occurs as a result of heart failure.

If as a result of poisoning death did not follow, then the functions of the affected cells and tissues are more or less quickly restored.

Asphyxiating toxic substances act mainly on the respiratory organs, affecting the walls of the alveoli and pulmonary capillaries. Under the action of phosgene on the respiratory organs, the permeability of the capillary walls increases, which contributes to the formation of pulmonary edema. The main symptoms of the lesion are: eye irritation, lacrimation, dizziness and general weakness. The period of latent action is 4-5 hours, after which cough, blue lips and cheeks appear, headaches, shortness of breath and suffocation occur, the temperature rises to 39 ° C. Death occurs within two days from the moment of pulmonary edema.

To OV, temporarily incapacitating, include psychochemical substances that act on the nervous system and cause mental disorders.

Irritant poisonous substances affect the sensitive nerve endings of the mucous membranes of the eyes and upper respiratory tract.

In the chemical weapons system, a separate group are located toxins- chemical substances of protein nature of plant, animal or microbial origin, which are highly toxic and can, when used, have a damaging effect on the human body and animals. Characteristic representatives of this group are: butulinic toxin - one of the strongest deadly poisons, which is a waste product of the bacterium Clostridium Botulinum; staphylococcal enterotoxin; substance PG and plant toxin - ricin.

To defeat various types of vegetation, toxic chemicals (recipes) phytotoxicants (from the Greek Phyton - plant and toxikon - poison) are intended.

Phtotocoicants for peaceful purposes are used in appropriate doses, mainly in agriculture, to control weeds, to remove the leaves of vegetation in order to accelerate the ripening of fruits and facilitate harvesting (for example, cotton). Phytotoxicants are subdivided into herbicides, arboricides, algaecides, defoliants and desiccants depending on the nature of their physiological action and purpose.

herbicides intended for the defeat of herbaceous vegetation, cereals and vegetable crops; arboricides- for the defeat of tree and shrub vegetation; algicides- to damage aquatic vegetation; defoliants- lead to the fall of leaves of vegetation; desiccants damage vegetation by drying it out.

As standard phytotoxicants in service with the US Army, there are three main formulations: "orange", "white" and blue.

These recipes were widely used by US troops during the military operations in Vietnam to destroy rice and other food crops in densely populated areas. In addition, they were used to destroy vegetation along roads, canals, power lines in order to combat the partisan movement and facilitate aerial reconnaissance, photographing the area, and destroying objects located in the forest. Phytotoxicants in South Vietnam affected about 43% of the entire sown area and 44% of the forest area. At the same time, all phytotoxicants turned out to be toxic for both humans and warm-blooded animals.

poisonous substances(OV) - toxic chemical compounds designed to defeat enemy personnel during hostilities and at the same time preserve material assets during an attack in a city. They can enter the body through the respiratory system, skin and digestive tract. The combat properties (combat effectiveness) of agents are determined by their toxicity (due to the ability to inhibit enzymes or interact with receptors), physicochemical properties (volatility, solubility, resistance to hydrolysis, etc.), the ability to penetrate the biobarriers of warm-blooded animals and overcome protective equipment.

Chemical weapons of the first generation include four groups of poisonous substances:
1) OB blister action(persistent OM sulfur and nitrogen mustards, lewisite).
2) OB general toxic action(unstable RH hydrocyanic acid). ;
3) OB suffocating action(unstable agents phosgene, diphosgene);
4) OB irritant(adamsite, diphenylchlorarsine, chloropicrin, diphenylcyanarsine).

April 22, 1915, when the German army in the area of ​​the small Belgian town of Ypres used a gas attack with chlorine against the Anglo-French troops of the Entente, should be considered the official date for the start of the large-scale use of chemical weapons (precisely as weapons of mass destruction). A huge, weighing 180 tons (from 6,000 cylinders) poisonous yellow-green cloud of highly toxic chlorine, having reached the advanced positions of the enemy, struck 15 thousand soldiers and officers in a matter of minutes; five thousand died immediately after the attack. The survivors either died in hospitals or became disabled for life, having received silicosis of the lungs, severe damage to the organs of vision and many internal organs.

In the same year, 1915, on May 31, on the Eastern Front, the Germans used an even more highly toxic poisonous substance called "phosgene" (full carbonic acid chloride) against Russian troops. 9 thousand people died. May 12, 1917 another battle at Ypres.

And again, German troops use chemical weapons against the enemy - this time a chemical warfare agent of skin - blistering and general toxic action - 2,2 dichlorodiethyl sulfide, which later received the name "mustard gas".

Other poisonous substances were also tested in the First World War: diphosgene (1915), chloropicrin (1916), hydrocyanic acid (1915). irritating effect - diphenylchlorarsine, diphenylcyanarsine.

During the years of the First World War, all the belligerent states used 125,000 tons of poisonous substances, including 47,000 tons by Germany. About 1 ml of people suffered from the use of chemical weapons during the war. human. At the end of the war, the list of potentially promising and already tested agents included chloracetophenone (lachrymator), which has a strong irritating effect, and, finally, a-lewisite (2-chlorovinyldichloroarsine).

Lewisite immediately attracted close attention as one of the most promising chemical warfare agents. Its industrial production began in the USA even before the end of the World War; our country began to produce and accumulate lewisite reserves already in the first years after the formation of the USSR.

The end of the war only for a while slowed down the work on the synthesis and testing of new types of chemical warfare agents.

However, between the first and second world wars, the arsenal of lethal chemical weapons continued to grow.

In the 1930s, new poisonous substances of blistering and general toxic effects were obtained, including phosgenoxime and "nitrogen mustards" (trichloroethylamine and partially chlorinated derivatives of triethylamine).

Second generation.
5) OB nerve action.
Since 1932, intensive research has been carried out in different countries on organophosphorus poisonous agents with a nerve-paralytic effect - second-generation chemical weapons (sarin, soman, tabun). Due to the exceptional toxicity of organophosphorus poisonous substances (OPS), their combat effectiveness increases dramatically. In the same years, chemical munitions were being improved. In the 1950s, a group of FOVs called "V-gases" (sometimes "VX-gases") was added to the family of second-generation chemical weapons.

First obtained in the USA and Sweden, V-gases of a similar structure will soon appear in service in the chemical troops and in our country. V-gases are ten times more toxic than their "brothers in arms" (sarin, soman and tabun).

Third generation.
6) p sycho-chemical agents

In the 1960s and 1970s, third-generation chemical weapons were being developed, which included not only new types of poisonous substances with unforeseen mechanisms of destruction and extremely high toxicity, but also more advanced methods of their use - cluster chemical munitions, binary chemical weapons, etc. R.

The technical idea of ​​binary chemical munitions is that they are equipped with two or more initial components, each of which can be non-toxic or low-toxic substance. During the flight of a projectile, rocket, bomb or other ammunition to the target, the initial components are mixed in it with the formation of a chemical warfare agent as the final product of the chemical reaction. In this case, the role of a chemical reactor is performed by ammunition.

In the post-war period, the problem of binary chemical weapons was of secondary importance for the United States. During this period, the Americans accelerated the equipping of the army with new nerve agents, but since the beginning of the 60s, American specialists have returned to the idea of ​​creating binary chemical munitions. They were forced to do this by a number of circumstances, the most important of which was the lack of significant progress in the search for poisonous substances with ultra-high toxicity, i.e., poisonous substances of the third generation.

In the first period of the implementation of the binary program, the main efforts of American specialists were directed to the development of binary compositions of standard nerve agents, VX and sarin.

Along with the creation of standard binary 0V, the main efforts of specialists, of course, are focused on obtaining more efficient 0V. Serious attention was paid to the search for binary 0V with the so-called intermediate volatility. Government and military circles explained the increased interest in work in the field of binary chemical weapons by the need to solve the problems of the safety of chemical weapons during production, transportation, storage and operation.

An important stage in the development of binary munitions is the actual design development of projectiles, mines, bombs, missile warheads and other means of application.

Physiological classification.

Physiological classification, as well as all others, is very conditional. On the one hand, it allows you to combine into a single system for each group of measures for decontamination and protection, sanitization and first aid. On the other hand, it does not take into account the presence of side effects in some substances, sometimes representing a great danger to the affected person. For example, the irritating substances PS and CN can cause severe lung damage, up to death, and DM causes a general poisoning of the body with arsenic. Although it is accepted that the intolerable concentration of irritating substances should be at least 10 times lower than the lethal one, in real conditions of the use of agents this requirement is practically not observed, as evidenced by numerous facts of the severe consequences of the use of police substances abroad. Some 0V in terms of their effect on the body can be simultaneously assigned to two or more groups. In particular, substances VX, GB, GD, HD, L have an unconditionally general poisonous effect, and substances PS, CN have an asphyxiating effect. In addition, from time to time new 0Vs appear in the arsenal of chemical weapons of foreign states, which are generally difficult to attribute to any of the six groups mentioned. tactical classification.

Tactical classification subdivides 0B into groups according to combat purpose. In the US Army, for example, all 0V is divided into two groups:

Deadly(according to American terminology, lethal agents) - substances intended for the destruction of manpower, which include agents of nerve paralytic, blistering, general poisonous and asphyxiating action;

Temporarily incapacitating manpower(according to American terminology, harmful agents) - substances that allow solving tactical tasks to disable manpower for periods ranging from several minutes to several days. These include psychotropic substances (incapacitants) and irritants (irritants).

Sometimes a group of irritants, as substances that disable manpower for a period of time slightly exceeding the period of direct exposure to 0V and measured in minutes - tens of minutes, is allocated to a special group of police substances. Obviously, the goal here is to exclude them from the composition of combat 0V in the event of a ban on chemical weapons. In some cases, educational agents and formulations are allocated to a separate group.

The tactical classification of 0B is also imperfect. So, the group of deadly agents includes the most diverse compounds in terms of physiological action, and all of them are only potentially lethal, because the final result of the action of 0V depends on its toxicity, the toxodose that has entered the body and the conditions of use. The classification also does not take into account such important factors as the chemical discipline of manpower subjected to chemical attack, the availability of protective equipment, the quality of protective equipment, the state of weapons and military equipment. However, physiological and tactical classifications of 0B are used when studying the properties of specific compounds.

Quite often, tactical classifications of 0B are given in the literature, based on taking into account the speed and duration of their damaging effect, suitability for solving certain combat missions.

Distinguish, for example, high-speed and slow-acting agents, depending on whether they have a period of latent action or not. Fast-acting include nerve agents, general poisonous, irritating and some psychotropic substances, i.e. those that in a few minutes lead to death or to loss of combat capability (performance) as a result of a temporary defeat. Slow-acting substances include blistering, asphyxiating and certain psychotropic substances that can destroy or temporarily incapacitate people and animals only after a period of latent action lasting from one to several hours. This separation of 0B is also imperfect, because some slow-acting substances, when introduced into the atmosphere in very high concentrations, will cause damage in a short time, with practically no period of latent action.

Depending on the duration of the preservation of the damaging ability, agents are divided into short-term (unstable or volatile) and long-term (persistent). The damaging effect of the former is calculated in minutes (AC, CG). The action of the latter can last from several hours to several weeks after their application, depending on meteorological conditions and the nature of the terrain (VX, GD, HD). Such a subdivision of 0V is also conditional, since short-term 0V in the cold season often becomes long-term.

The systematization of 0V and poisons in accordance with the tasks and methods of their application is based on the isolation of substances used in offensive, defensive combat operations, as well as in ambushes or sabotage. Sometimes there are also groups of chemical means for destroying vegetation or removing leaves, means for destroying certain materials, and other groups of means for solving specific combat missions. The conditionality of all these classifications is obvious.

There is also a classification of chemical weapons by categories of serviceability. In the US Army, they are divided into groups A, B, C. Group A includes service chemical munitions, which at this stage most fully satisfy the tactical and technical requirements for them. Group B includes spare standard chemical munitions, which, according to the basic tactical and technical requirements, are inferior to samples of group A, but if necessary, can replace them. Group C combines weapons that are currently out of production, but may be in service until their stocks are used up. In other words, group C includes weapons equipped with obsolete poisonous substances.

The most common tactical and physiological classifications of OS.

Tactical classification:
According to saturated vapor pressure(volatility) are classified into:
unstable (phosgene, hydrocyanic acid);
persistent (mustard gas, lewisite, VX);
poisonous smoke (adamsite, chloroacetophenone).

By the nature of the impact on manpower on:
lethal: (sarin, mustard gas);
temporarily incapacitating personnel: (chloroacetophenone, quinuclidyl-3-benzilate);
irritant: (adamsite, Cs, Cr, chloroacetophenone);
educational: (chloropicrin);

By the speed of the onset of the damaging effect:
fast-acting - do not have a latent period (sarin, soman, VX, AC, Ch, Cs, CR);
slow-acting - have a period of latent action (mustard gas, Phosgene, BZ, lewisite, Adamsite);

Physiological classification

According to the physiological classification, they are divided into:
nerve agents: (organophosphorus compounds): sarin, soman, tabun, VX;

General toxic agents: hydrocyanic acid; cyanogen chloride;
blister agents: mustard gas, nitrogen mustard, lewisite;
OS, irritating the upper respiratory tract or sternites: adamsite, diphenylchlorarsine, diphenylcyanarsine;
suffocating agents: phosgene, diphosgene;
eye irritating agents or lacrimators: chlorpicrin, chloracetophenone, dibenzoxazepine, o-chlorobenzalmalondinitrile, bromobenzyl cyanide;
psychochemical agents: quinuclidyl-3-benzylate.

Poisonous substances (OV, BOV - nrk; synonym for chemical warfare agents - nrk) - highly toxic chemical compounds intended for use in war with the aim of destroying or incapacitating enemy manpower; adopted by armies in a number of capitalist states.

Poisonous substances are fast-acting- O. v., clinical signs of damage which appear a few seconds or minutes after their impact on the body.

Poisonous substances that temporarily incapacitate- O. v., causing reversible processes in the human body, temporarily preventing the performance of professional (combat) activities.

Delayed poisons- O. v., clinical signs of damage which appear after a latent period lasting several tens of minutes or more.

Poisonous substances of blistering action(syn.: vesicants, poisonous substances blistered - nrk) - O. v., the toxic effect of which is characterized by the development of an inflammatory-necrotic process at the site of contact, as well as a resorptive effect, manifested by dysfunctions of vital organs and systems.

Poisonous substances, skin-resorptive- O. v., capable of penetrating the body when it comes into contact with intact skin.

Poison nerve agents(syn.: nerve gases - nrk, toxic nerve agents) - high-speed O. v., the toxic effect of which is manifested by a violation of the functions of the nervous system with the development of miosis, bronchospasm, muscle fibrillation, sometimes general convulsions and flaccid paralysis, as well as dysfunction other vital organs and systems.

Poisonous substances are unstable(NOV) - gaseous or rapidly evaporating liquid O. v., the damaging effect of which lasts no more than 1-2 hours after application.

Poisonous substances of general poisonous action- O. century, the toxic effect of which is characterized by rapid inhibition of tissue respiration and the development of signs of hypoxia.

Poisonous substances police- temporarily incapacitating O. in. irritant and lachrymal effect.

Poisonous substances of psychotomimetic action(syn.: O. v. psychotic, O. v. psychotomimetic, O. v. psychochemical) - O. v., causing temporary mental disorders, as a rule, without pronounced disturbances in the activity of other organs and systems.

Irritant poisonous substances(syn. poisonous substances sneezing) - high-speed O. v., the toxic effect of which is characterized by irritation of the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract.

Lacrimal poisons(syn. lachrymators) - high-speed O. v., the toxic effect of which is characterized by irritation of the mucous membranes of the eyes and nasopharynx.

Poisonous substances are persistent(OWL) - O. v., the damaging effect of which persists for several hours or days after application.

Asphyxiating poisonous substances- O. century, the action of which is characterized by the development of toxic pulmonary edema.

Poisonous substances organophosphorus(FOV) - O. v., which are organic esters of phosphoric acids; belong to O. in. nerve action.

New generation - Substances that can be used in a combat situation.
There are many groups of substances that have attractive military properties. Often the assignment of a substance to one or another group is very conditional and is carried out according to the primary purpose of the action on the object.
Deadly
Substances of this group are intended for the destruction of enemy manpower, domestic and farm animals.

GABA agonists (convulsive poisons) are highly toxic substances, usually of a bicyclic structure. Relatively simple in structure, stable to hydrolysis. Examples: bicyclophosphates (tert-butyl bicyclophosphate), TATS, flucibenes, arylsilatranes (phenylsilatrane).
Bronchoconstrictors are bioregulators. They have a bronchoconstrictive effect, leading to death from respiratory failure. Examples: leukotrienes D and C.
Hyperallergens (nettle poisons) are a relatively new group of toxic substances. A feature of the action is the sensitization of the body, followed by the provocation of an acute allergic reaction. The main disadvantage is the effect of the second dose - the first time it enters the body, it has a much weaker effect than when it is repeated. Examples: phosgenokim, urushiols.
Cardiotoxins are substances that selectively affect the heart. Examples: cardiac glycosides.
Blistering agents are substances used by the military since World War I. They are standard poisonous substances. Significantly less toxic than organophosphates. The main military advantage is the delay in the lethal effect with a crippling effect; this requires the enemy to spend forces and means to provide medical care to the injured. Examples: sulfur mustard, sesquimetal, oxygen mustard, nitrogen mustards, lewisite.
Nerve agents - organophosphates in this group cause death by any route of ingestion. Highly toxic (high toxicity in contact with the skin is especially attractive). They are used as standard poisonous substances. Examples: Sarin, Soman, Tabun, VX, aromatic carbamates.
Systemic poisons (general toxic) - simultaneously affect many systems of the body. Some of them were in service with various countries. Examples: hydrocyanic acid, cyanides, fluoroacetates, dioxin, metal carbonyls, tetraethyl lead, arsenides.
Toxins - substances with extremely high toxicity with a wide variety of symptoms of damage. The main disadvantages of natural toxins, from a military point of view, are a solid state of aggregation, inability to penetrate the skin, high price, instability to detoxification. Examples: tetrodotoxin, palytoxin, botulinum toxins, diphtheria toxin, ricin, mycotoxins, saxitoxin.
Toxic alkaloids are substances of various structures produced by plants and animals. Due to their relative availability, these substances can be used as toxic agents. Examples: nicotine, coniine, aconitine, atropine, C-toxiferin I.
Heavy metals are inorganic substances capable of causing fatal injuries, both acute and chronic. They have more ecotoxic significance, as they persist in the natural environment for a long time. Examples: thallium sulfate, mercury chloride, cadmium nitrate, lead acetate.
Asphyxiants are long-known standard poisonous substances. Their exact mechanism of action is unknown. Examples: phosgene, diphosgene, triphosgene.

crippling
Substances of this group provoke a long-term illness that can cause death. Some researchers also include blistering substances here.

Causing neurolatyrism - cause a specific lesion of the central nervous system, leading to the movement of animals in a circle. Examples: IDPN.
Carcinogenic - a group of substances provoking the development of cancerous tumors. Examples: benzapyrene, methylcholanthrene.
Hearing impaired - used to damage a person's hearing apparatus. Examples: antibiotics of the streptomycin group.
Irreversible paralyzing - a group of substances that cause demyelination of nerve fibers, which leads to paralysis of various extent. Examples: tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate.
Eye-affecting - cause temporary or permanent blindness. Example: methanol.
Radioactive - give acute or chronic radiation sickness. They can have almost any chemical composition, since all elements have radioactive isotopes.
Supermutagens are substances that provoke the occurrence of genetic mutations. They can also be included in various other groups (often, for example, highly toxic and carcinogenic). Examples: nitrosomethylurea, nitrosomethylguanidine.
Teratogens are a group of substances that cause deformities in the development of the fetus during pregnancy. The purpose of military use may be genocide or to prevent the birth of a healthy child. Examples: thalidomide.

Non-lethal
The purpose of the use of substances of this group is to bring a person into an incompetent state or create physical discomfort.

Algogens are substances that cause severe pain when in contact with the skin. Currently, there are compositions for sale for the self-defense of the population. They often also have a lachrymal effect. Example: 1-methoxy-1,3,5-cycloheptatriene, dibenzoxazepine, capsaicin, pelargonic acid morpholide, resiniferatoxin.
Anxiogens - cause an acute panic attack in a person. Examples: cholecystokinin type B receptor agonists.
Anticoagulants - reduce blood clotting, causing bleeding. Examples: superwarfarin.
Attractants - attract various insects or animals (for example, stinging, unpleasant) to a person. This can lead to a panic reaction in a person or provoke an insect attack on a person. They can also be used to attract pests to enemy crops. Example: 3,11-dimethyl-2-nonacosanone (cockroach attractant).
Malodorants - cause the removal of people from the territory or from a certain person due to the aversion of people to the unpleasant smell of the area (person). Either the substances themselves or the products of their metabolism can have an unpleasant odor. Examples: mercaptans, isonitriles, selenols, sodium tellurite, geosmin, benzcyclopropane.
Causing pain in the muscles - cause severe pain in the muscles of a person. Examples: thymol amino esters.
Antihypertensive drugs - greatly lower blood pressure, causing orthostatic collapse, as a result of which a person loses consciousness or the ability to move. Example: clonidine, canbisol, analogues of platelet activating factor.
Castrators - cause chemical castration (loss to reproduction). Examples: gossypol.
Catatonic - cause the development of catatonia in the affected. Usually attributed to the type of psychochemical toxic substances. Examples: bulbocapnin.
Peripheral muscle relaxants - cause complete relaxation of skeletal muscles. Can cause death due to relaxation of the respiratory muscles. Examples: tubocurarine.
Central muscle relaxants - cause relaxation of skeletal muscles. Unlike peripheral ones, they affect breathing less and their detoxification is difficult. Examples: myorelaxin, phenylglycerin, benzimidazole.
Diuretics - cause a sharp acceleration in the emptying of the bladder. Examples: furosemide.
Anesthesia - cause anesthesia in healthy people. So far, the use of this group of substances is hampered by the low biological activity of the substances used. Examples: isoflurane, halothane.
Truth drugs cause people to become unable to consciously tell lies. Currently, it has been shown that this method does not guarantee the complete truthfulness of a person and their use is limited. Usually these are not individual substances, but a combination of barbiturates with stimulants.
Narcotic analgesics - in doses higher than therapeutic have an immobilizing effect. Examples: fentanyl, carfentanil, 14-methoxymethopone, etorphine, athin.
Memory Disorders - Causes temporary memory loss. Often toxic. Examples: cycloheximide, domoic acid, many anticholinergics.
Antipsychotics - cause motor and mental retardation in humans. Examples: haloperidol, spiperone, fluphenazine.
Irreversible MAO inhibitors are a group of substances blocking monoamine oxidase. As a result, when eating foods high in natural amines (cheeses, chocolate), a hypertensive crisis is provoked. Examples: nialamide, pargyline.
Will suppressors - cause a violation of the ability to make independent decisions. They are substances of different groups. Example: scopolamine.
Prurigens - cause intolerable itching. For example: 1,2-dithiocyanoethane.
Psychotomimetic drugs - cause psychosis, which lasts for some time, during which a person cannot make adequate decisions. Example: BZ, LSD, mescaline, DMT, DOB, DOM, cannabinoids, PCP.
Laxatives - cause a sharp acceleration in the emptying of the contents of the intestine. With prolonged action of drugs in this group, exhaustion of the body may develop. Examples: bisacodyl.
Tear substances (lachrymators) - cause severe lacrimation and closure of the eyelids in a person, as a result of which a person temporarily cannot see what is happening around and loses combat effectiveness. There are standard-issue poisonous substances used to disperse demonstrations. Examples: chloroacetophenone, bromoacetone, bromobenzyl cyanide, ortho-(CS).
Sleeping pills - cause a person to fall asleep. Examples: flunitrazepam, barbiturates.
Sternitis - cause indomitable sneezing and coughing, as a result of which a person can throw off a gas mask. There are regular OV. Examples: adamsite, diphenylchlorarsine, diphenylcyanarsine.
Tremorgens - cause convulsive twitches of skeletal muscles. Examples: tremorine, oxotremorine, tremorogenic mycotoxins.
Photosensitizers - increase the sensitivity of the skin to the sun's ultraviolet rays. When exposed to sunlight, a person can get painful burns. Examples: hypericin, furocoumarins.
Emetics (vomit) - cause a gag reflex, as a result of which being in a gas mask becomes impossible. Examples: apomorphine derivatives, staphylococcal enterotoxin B, PHNO.

Skin and digestive tract. The combat properties (combat effectiveness) of agents are determined by their toxicity (due to the ability to inhibit enzymes or interact with receptors), physicochemical properties (volatility, solubility, resistance to hydrolysis, etc.), the ability to penetrate biobarriers of warm-blooded animals and overcome protective equipment.

Chemical warfare agents are the main damaging element of chemical weapons.

Classification

RH protection

The set of measures for protection against agents includes their indication or detection, degassing, disinfection, as well as the use of personal protective equipment (gas masks, insulating breathing apparatus, raincoats, suits made of rubberized fabric, together with filter-type skin protection, antidotes, protective creams, anti-chemical drugs ) and collective chemical protection.

History reference

The first combat use of OV took place during the First World War. The French were the first to use them in August 1914: they were 26-mm grenades filled with tear gas (ethyl bromoacetate). But the Allied stocks of ethyl bromoacetate quickly ran out, and the French administration replaced it with another agent, chloroacetone. In October 1914, German forces opened fire with shells partially filled with a chemical irritant against the British at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, however the concentration of gas achieved was barely noticeable. In February 1915, French troops began using chlorine rifle grenades. However, this method of combat use of poison gases was very ineffective and did not create a significant concentration of them on enemy positions. The experience of the Kaiser troops in the battles near the city of Ypres on April 22 was much more successful: the 4th German Army launched a counterattack on the Ypres ledge, forestalling the Anglo-French troops that was being prepared, and occupied most of the ledge. On the first day of the fighting, the German troops used the spraying of chlorine from the cylinders installed in their forward positions, when the wind blew in the direction of the Anglo-French trenches, and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy in manpower, achieving the effect of mass destruction, due to which this case of combat use of OV became widely known. (Actually, this is the first experience of a fairly effective combat use of OV.)

In June 1916, chemical weapons were also widely used by the Russian troops during the Brusilov breakthrough. 76-mm projectiles with charges of suffocating agents (chloropicrin) and general poison (phosgene, vensinite) action showed their high efficiency in suppressing enemy artillery batteries (and in this case, the Austro-Hungarians).

The Geneva Protocol of 1925 was the first international legal act prohibiting the military use of weapons.

Historical reference taken from Deyne V. de, Ypres..., Liége, 1925.

Impressed by the combat use of warheads in the First World War, many states began feverish preparations for the mass use of warheads in future wars. The training included both equipping the troops with chemical protection equipment and measures to protect the civilian population. In the 1920s, a number of countries conducted regular exercises for the civilian population to act in conditions of a chemical attack. By the beginning of World War II, most of the advanced states came up with a developed system of chemical defense. For example, the paramilitary organization OSOAVIAKHIM was created in the USSR.

Nevertheless, in the entire history of wars and local conflicts after the First World War, the use of combat agents was episodic and, moreover, not massive. The main reason for this was the relatively low effectiveness of the combat use of explosives as a means of mass destruction. The effectiveness of the use of OV in the First World War was largely exaggerated by the psychological shock of their use as a new, previously unknown weapon. The initial lack of means of protection against OV also had a strong effect. In the 1920s, military calculations showed [ ] , that the effect of the combat use of ammunition with explosive agents is much lower than the effect of the use of conventional ammunition (the number of enemy soldiers taken out of action, for example, after an hour-long shelling of positions with chemical and high-explosive shells, was taken into account). Also, the effect of RH largely depends on factors such as weather (wind direction and strength, air humidity and temperature, atmospheric pressure, and so on). This makes the effect of the combat use of OV almost unpredictable. The storage of explosive ammunition is technically much more complicated than the storage of conventional ammunition. Disposal of damaged chemical munitions in the field is not possible. All these factors, plus the mass prevalence of effective means of protection, which has become the norm, have made the military use of weapons difficult and, with rare exceptions, pointless.

But the very presence of chemical weapons in service is a powerful psychological factor in influencing the enemy and deterring him from using his chemical weapons, forcing the armies to carry out large-scale anti-chemical defense measures. The effectiveness of the impact, for all its unpredictability, on an unprepared enemy (and even more so an unprepared civilian population) remains high. Moreover, the psychological effect exceeds the combat itself.

In addition to low combat effectiveness, the main deterrent is the sharply negative attitude of society towards the very fact of the combat use of any WMD, including chemical ones.

Designation

Chemical weapon is one of the types. Its damaging effect is based on the use of toxic military chemicals, which include toxic substances (OS) and toxins that have a damaging effect on the human and animal body, as well as phytotoxicants used for military purposes to destroy vegetation.

Poisonous substances, their classification

poisonous substances- these are chemical compounds that have certain toxic and physico-chemical properties, which ensure, when they are used in combat, the defeat of manpower (people), as well as the contamination of air, clothing, equipment and terrain.

Poisonous substances form the basis of chemical weapons. They are stuffed with shells, mines, missile warheads, aerial bombs, pouring aircraft devices, smoke bombs, grenades and other chemical munitions and devices. Poisonous substances affect the body, penetrating through the respiratory system, skin and wounds. In addition, lesions can occur as a result of the consumption of contaminated food and water.

Modern toxic substances are classified according to the physiological effect on the body, toxicity (severity of damage), speed and durability.

By physiological action toxic substances on the body are divided into six groups:

• nerve agents (also called organophosphates): sarin, soman, vegas (VX);
• blistering action: mustard gas, lewisite;
• general toxic action: hydrocyanic acid, cyanogen chloride;
• suffocating action: phosgene, diphosgene;
• psychochemical action: Bi-zet (BZ), LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide);
• irritant: si-es (CS), adamsite, chloroacetophenone.

By toxicity(severity of damage) modern toxic substances are divided into lethal and temporarily incapacitating. Lethal toxic substances include all substances of the first four listed groups. Temporarily incapacitating substances include the fifth and sixth groups of physiological classification.

By speed poisonous substances are divided into fast-acting and slow-acting. Fast-acting agents include sarin, soman, hydrocyanic acid, cyanogen chloride, ci-es, and chloroacetophenone. These substances do not have a period of latent action and in a few minutes lead to death or disability (combat capability). Substances of delayed action include vi-gases, mustard gas, lewisite, phosgene, bi-zet. These substances have a period of latent action and lead to damage after some time.

Depending on the resistance of damaging properties After application, toxic substances are divided into persistent and unstable. Persistent toxic substances retain their damaging effect from several hours to several days from the moment of application: these are vi-gases, soman, mustard gas, bi-zet. Unstable toxic substances retain their damaging effect for several tens of minutes: these are hydrocyanic acid, cyanogen chloride, phosgene.

Toxins as a damaging factor of chemical weapons

toxins- these are chemical substances of protein nature of plant, animal or microbial origin, which are highly toxic. Characteristic representatives of this group are butulic toxin - one of the strongest deadly poisons, which is a waste product of bacteria, staphylococcal entsrotoxin, ricin - a toxin of plant origin.

The damaging factor of chemical weapons is the toxic effect on the human and animal body, the quantitative characteristics are the concentration and toxodose.

To defeat various types of vegetation, toxic chemicals - phytotoxicants are intended. For peaceful purposes, they are used mainly in agriculture to control weeds, remove leaves of vegetation in order to accelerate the ripening of fruits and facilitate harvesting (for example, cotton). Depending on the nature of the impact on plants and the intended purpose, phytotoxicants are divided into herbicides, arboricides, alicides, defoliants and desiccants. Herbicides are intended for the destruction of herbaceous vegetation, arboricides - tree and shrub vegetation, algicides - aquatic vegetation. Defoliants are used to remove leaves from vegetation, while desiccants attack vegetation by drying it out.

When chemical weapons are used, just as in an accident with the release of OH B, zones of chemical contamination and foci of chemical damage will be formed (Fig. 1). The zone of chemical contamination of agents includes the area of ​​application of agents and the territory over which a cloud of contaminated air with damaging concentrations has spread. The focus of chemical destruction is the territory within which, as a result of the use of chemical weapons, mass destruction of people, farm animals and plants occurred.

The characteristics of infection zones and foci of damage depend on the type of poisonous substance, means and methods of application, and meteorological conditions. The main features of the focus of chemical damage include:

• defeat of people and animals without destruction and damage to buildings, structures, equipment, etc.;
• contamination of economic facilities and residential areas for a long time with persistent agents;
• the defeat of people over large areas for a long time after the use of agents;
• the defeat of not only people in open areas, but also those in leaky shelters and shelters;
• strong moral impact.

Rice. 1. Zone of chemical contamination and foci of chemical damage during the use of chemical weapons: Av - means of use (aviation); VX is the type of substance (vi-gas); 1-3 - lesions

As a rule, the vaporous phase of the OM affects the workers and employees of the facilities who find themselves in industrial buildings and structures at the time of a chemical attack. Therefore, all work should be carried out in gas masks, and when using agents of nerve paralytic or blistering action - in skin protection.

After the First World War, despite the large stocks of chemical weapons, they were not widely used either for military purposes, let alone against the civilian population. During the Vietnam War, the Americans widely used phytotoxicants (to fight the guerrillas) of three main formulations: "orange", "white" and "blue". In South Vietnam, about 43% of the total area and 44% of the forest area were affected. At the same time, all phytotoxicants turned out to be toxic for both humans and warm-blooded animals. Thus, it was caused - caused enormous damage to the environment.

Poisonous substances (OS) are poisonous chemical compounds intended to injure people.

Poisonous substances are among the means of mass destruction. As a military weapon, OVs have been known since ancient times. They were widely used during the First World War, causing significant losses among the personnel of the warring armies. In 1925, at the initiative of the League of Nations, an agreement was drawn up in Geneva banning the use of chemical weapons. However, some countries (including the United States) have not ratified this treaty.

OV has been continuously improved. During the Second World War, the Germans obtained the most effective organic phosphorus agents (OPS) of the tabun type. There are other OVs in foreign armies.

The means of using agents are artillery shells, rockets and mines, aerial bombs mounted on aircraft, pouring devices and special devices for the formation of aerosols (generators, bombs). Gaseous and aerosol agents infect the air, while droplet agents infect an area of ​​tens and hundreds of square kilometers. The chemical cloud, while maintaining the effective concentration of organic matter, can move in the direction of the wind over long distances.

From a tactical point of view, poisonous substances are divided into persistent and unstable. Persistent remain active on the ground for days and hours, unstable - tens of minutes. The most common classification of OS - clinical - distinguishes the following groups of OS: 1) nerve agents (tabun, sarin, soman, phosphorylthiocholines); 2) general poisonous (hydrocyanic acid, cyanogen chloride, carbon monoxide, hydrogen arsenic, hydrogen phosphide); 3) suffocating (chlorine, phosgene, diphosgene, chloropicrin in high concentrations); 4) blistering (mustard gas, trichlorotriethylamine, lewisite, phosgenoxime); 5) lachrymal (bromobenzyl cyanide, chloracetophenone, chloropicrin in small concentrations); 6) irritating the upper respiratory tract (diphenylchlorarsine, diphenylcyanarsine, adamsite, capsaicin and its derivatives).

The foreign press discusses the combat value of new OVs. The code CS denotes an irritating agent: it causes lacrimation, irritation of the upper respiratory tract, and in high concentrations, vomiting. Psychotomimetics - agents of the lysergic acid diethylamide type - cause visual and auditory hallucinations, temporary or euphoria, persecution mania and panic mood, depersonalization and other symptoms resembling schizophrenia; duration of action - up to 12 hours.

As substances acting on crops, 2,4-D-derivatives of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid are called. These OM cause intensive growth of individual parts of the plant and its death due to a sharp violation of metabolic processes.

The stability and behavior of poisonous substances in the external environment depend on their physical and chemical properties, as well as on the meteorological and topographic conditions of the area. Of the physicochemical properties of organic matter, the most important are the melting and boiling points (which determine the aggregate state of organic matter), volatility, chemical activity in the processes of hydrolysis, oxidation, and reduction, as well as resistance to detonation. Particular attention is paid to methods for creating an aerosol cloud, which makes it possible to convert low-boiling liquids and solid products into finely divided particles. In this case, they proceed from the greatest stability in the atmosphere of particles with a diameter of 10 -6 -10 -4 cm and the maximum toxic efficiency (when inhaled) of particles of 10 -5 cm, since the smaller ones are partially ejected during exhalation, while the larger ones penetrate the lungs worse. An aerosol cloud can consist not only of solid particles (smoke), but also of liquid particles - in the form of fog and the so-called drizzle, which is especially dangerous when it comes into contact with open parts of the body. The high toxicity of modern agents makes it possible to create life-threatening concentrations in an aerosol cloud that is almost invisible to the eye. The stability of the OM concentration in the air depends on meteorological factors (air temperature, wind, rain). Ravines, gorges, vegetation, multi-storied buildings and some others contribute to the stagnation of organic matter.

Toxicological analysis of the action of agents includes determining the ways of introducing them into the body, their distribution and transformation (detoxification, interaction with enzymes) in the body and the ways of excretion. The main routes of OM entry into the body are the respiratory tract and the skin. Tear agents act on the eyes. OS can also enter the digestive tract, for example, with food and water contaminated with OS.

The strength and nature of the toxic effect of toxic substances depend primarily on the amount of OM that has entered the body. With respect to agents acting on the respiratory organs and eyes, this amount is expressed in concentrations; under the action of agents on the skin and digestive organs - doses.

The concentration of OM is their relative content in a unit volume of air; it is expressed: a) in mg RH per 1 liter of air (mg / l) or in g per cubic meter (g / m 3); b) in volumetric ratios (the volume of OM vapor is taken in the same units as the volume of contaminated air) - per 100 volume units (as a percentage), per 1000 or per 1,000,000. To convert weight concentrations into volumetric and vice versa, the following formulas are used:

where X is the weight concentration of OM in mg/l, V is the volumetric concentration of OM in cm 3 /l, M is a gram molecule. Calculations according to these formulas refer to 0° and 760 mm of pressure.

The dose of OM when acting on the skin is expressed in m per 1 cm 2 - skin (mg / cm 2) or in mg per 1 kg of body weight (mg / kg). The latter designation is also used for the action of agents per os or parenterally. When infecting the area, the density of infection is taken into account in g per square meter of surface (g / m 2). In addition, it is necessary to take into account the time of action of the OV, during which it accumulates in the body or the summation of its effects. Therefore, time in minutes is added to the numerical designation of concentration.

Depending on the strength and nature of the toxic effect, among the concentrations of agents, toxic (damaging) and lethal are distinguished. The latter cause death in cases of acute intoxication. In experimental practice, they are differentiated into: a) conditionally lethal, causing the death of 50% of experimental animals (SD50); b) minimally lethal, causing death in 75% of experimental animals (SD75); c) absolutely lethal, causing the death of 100% of animals (SD100). The concentrations of irritating agents (tear and irritating the upper respiratory tract) are divided into: a) minimally irritating (threshold), at which the onset of the effect of agents is observed; b) minimally intolerable, which cannot be tolerated without protective equipment.

On the practical side, in characterizing the toxic effect of an agent, attention should be paid to: a) the selectivity of the action, taking into account the various routes of entry of the toxic substance into the body and the symptoms of the lesion; b) the rate of appearance of the first signs of damage, distinguishing between fast-acting agents, when the action manifests itself in the very first minutes after contact (tear agents, FOV, hydrocyanic acid), and delayed-acting agents, when the first symptoms of damage appear after a latent period lasting hours (mustard gas) ; c) the speed of recovery, since the recovery time can be very different - from several minutes or hours (lacrimation, irritating the upper respiratory tract) to weeks and months (FOV, mustard gas).

In combat conditions, one has to deal mainly with acute forms of lesions, which are conventionally divided into mild, moderate and severe.

When diagnosing, it is important to find out from the anamnesis the time of contact with the OV, the conditions under which the lesion occurred, the external signs of the OV, the symptoms of the lesion, whether the affected person used protective equipment. The massive nature of the lesions is of particular diagnostic importance. The diagnosis is made on the basis of complaints of the victim, objective data of the clinical study and their differential analysis (see table).

With the help of chemical analysis, toxic substances can be detected on the clothes of the victim and in washings from the skin. A biochemical blood test detects specific changes - inhibition of cholinesterase (with FOV), the presence of carboxyhemoglobin (with CO).

In a pathoanatomical study, changes are distinguished that occurred in cases of lightning death (occurring in the period from several minutes to 1-2 hours), in the acute period (in the first 3 days), in the subacute period (from 4 to 10 days) and in the long-term period ( after 10 days). Disorders that are most specific for OS are observed in the acute period. With a differential diagnosis, it is necessary to keep in mind similar changes in some infectious diseases (ornithosis, melioidosis, influenza, measles, plague, tularemia, glanders, anthrax, brucellosis). Opening should be done with protective clothing and rubber gloves, and contaminated materials should be degassed.

Prevention is achieved by using a gas mask (see), protective clothing (see) and the use of collective protective equipment.

Treatment consists in the sequential implementation of the following activities. 1. Prevention of further intake of OM into the body. For this, a special treatment of open parts of the body is carried out (see Degassing, Sanitization) and uniforms with the help of degassers of an individual anti-chemical package (see). The affected person is put on a serviceable gas mask (ordinary or special - for head and neck injuries), remove it from the contaminated atmosphere, wash the stomach (in case of oral injury). 2. Introduction of antidotes OV (see). There are very active antidotes against hydrocyanic acid, FOV, arsenic agents. 3. Treatment with symptomatic agents.

Urgent therapeutic measures are: special treatment of exposed parts of the body and clothing of the victim (degassing of toxic substances), antidote therapy, gastric lavage in case of oral injury.

When prescribing the injured for evacuation (see Staged treatment), it must be remembered that the non-transportable include: a) those affected by organophosphorus agents in a severe form, b) those in a life-threatening condition, c) those affected by OS with pulmonary edema. See also Medical assistance (in the field), Civil defense medical service, Sanitary chemical protection.