Page 40 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

Sulphur in warfare
Sulphur can be put to many uses. Among them
are the manufacture of gunpowder and poison gas.
Gunpowder is a solid mixture of sulphur, charcoal
and potassium nitrate that was invented in China about one thousand years ago. It is the earliest form of explosive and is still widely used.
Sulphur reacts with chlorine to produce a yellow liquid with a revolting smell that is used in the vulcanisation of rubber. This liquid has peaceful uses and is not poisonous. However, by adding more chlorine a foul-smelling red liquid is produced. If this is in turn reacted with ethene,
it produces a gas that not only has a choking smell, but
is extremely poisonous. This poison gas is called mustard gas. It was used in World War I, and its effects were so horrific that it was banned by international agreement. Nevertheless, in recent years some countries have used
it again, often in internal conflicts.
Mustard gas
Mustard gas (dichlorodiethyl sulphide) is a poison gas that, unfortunately, is quite easy to make and use. It is made as an oily liquid, which slowly evaporates when released into the environment.
When mustard gas is breathed into the lungs it damages the cells on the lung lining. This causes fluid to leave the blood and fill the lungs. As a result, a person suffering from mustard gas poisoning drowns.
In less severe amounts it causes permanent lung damage and blisters on the skin. In its most characteristic form it causes blindness.
Chlorine
 A molecule of mustard gas.
Hydrogen
Sulphur
Carbon
 The use of gases such as mustard gas in warfare mean that military personnel have to wear protective breathing apparatus.
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