Introduction:
The sarin: even though the name seems pretty, the sarin itself is quite deadly in its nature. It is a nerve agent that can cause unimaginable damage to people. If it is given to unreliable people’s hands, it can be clearly stated that “these people will make the earth doomed”. Other than its incredibly cruel nature, it has biological, chemical, and ethical roots in itself. Although many “facts” and some “interpretations” can be said on sarin from a chemical and biological perspective, from an ethical perspective, every mouth has its own opinion to say, yet what everyone will unite its evil creation.
What is sarin gas?
Sarin is a nerve agent, also known as GB, developed by Germany as a pesticide in 1938 – a nerve agent is a class of organic chemicals that breaks the communication of nerves. It is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. This gas is made as a chemical warfare agent, and it is generally considered as a weapon of mass destruction. It is similar to a certain kind of insect killer named organophosphates in the way that they work on the nervous system, yet sarin is more intense in the harm that it can give compared to the organophosphates.
How and where can sarin be found?
Sarin cannot be found naturally in the environment because it is a man-made nerve agent. In its man-made states, it is mostly found in liquid and gas state. Thus, sarin can contaminate water and food quite easily. In addition, to human body, sarin can be absorbed by inhalation, ingestion, skin contact, or eye contact – mostly, ingestion is an unlikely way to be exposed to sarin.
How, in amount, sarin gas affects people?
The effect of sarin on people depends on several titles: the amount of sarin that is exposed, how the person is exposed, and the length of exposure. In case of the amount, 28-35 mg per cubic meter sarin gas is sufficient enough to kill a healthy adult in two minutes exposure. Briefly, a short exposure to a highly concentrated sarin solution is more lethal compared to a long exposure to a lowly concentrated sarin solution.
How sarin gas work in body?
Sarin, as it’s said, is a nerve agent. Therefore, it works in a very similar way with the other nerve agents. In a basic sense, sarin prevents an enzyme’s operation, and this enzyme normally works as an off switch for glands and muscles. When the off switch is inhibited as sarin acts on it, the glands and muscles become constantly stimulated. As they constantly stimulate, the person’s muscles contract a lot which in return makes the person choked. In a detailed sense, sarin inhibits the inhibitor enzyme acetylcholinesterase. The acetylcholinesterase enzyme, in normal conditions, degrades the excitatory neurotransmitter acetylcholine – the neurotransmitter used in neuromuscular junctions in vertebrates which transmit signals between neurons from central nervous system (brain) to the muscle fibers - after acetylcholine’s release into the synaptic cleft. When a movement, either voluntary like waving or involuntary like breathing, needs to take place, the acetylcholine neurotransmitter is released to the muscle fiber’s neurons, the alpha motor neurons, which contracts the muscle in return. Then, as the muscle wants to relax, the acetylcholinesterase enzyme degrades the amount of acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft for preventing further stimulation of the muscle fiber’s neuron. When sarin comes into the play, as it inhibits the acetylcholinesterase enzyme (degrader of acetylcholine) by covalently bonding to its active site and leaving a fluoride group making the enzyme biologically inactive, it increases the build-up of acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft which in return causes continuous contraction, yet never relaxation. Thus, the person suffers from continuous contraction of muscles which in return chokes the person.
What are the symptoms and signs of sarin exposure?
People, most of the time, do not know if they are exposed to sarin or not because it is tasteless, odorless and colorless. If people are exposed to sarin, they can be exposed to it from contaminated air, food or drink; even it can be exposed from touching contaminated surfaces. After being exposed to sarin, several different symptoms may arise from the exposed person. In the first few hours, these general symptoms can be seen:
Runny nose
Watery eyes
Small, pinpoint pupils
Eye pain
Blurred vision
Drooling and excessive sweating
Cough
Chest tightness
Rapid breathing
Diarrhea
Nausea, vomiting, and/or abdominal pain
Increased urination
Confusion
Drowsiness
Weakness
Headache
Slow or fast heart rate
Low or high blood pressure
In case of a large dose exposure, these harmful health effects may arise:
Loss of consciousness
Convulsions
Paralysis
Respiratory failure possibly leading to death
What should be done if you are exposed to sarin?
Recovery from sarin exposure is possible with treatment and necessary precautions. In the treatment, mainly, the antagonist antidote atropine is used. Atropine is an antagonist to muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, the receptors which are stimulated by acetylcholine. This agonist atropine is given, and the acetylcholine receptors are inhibited. Thus, the receptors no longer are stimulated by the sarin caused build-up neurotransmitters in the synaptic cleft which in return prevents continuous muscle contractions causing choking. In the process of taking necessary precautions, there are several steps to be followed:
The exposed person should leave the place where he/she was exposed to the sarin immediately.
The exposed person should take his/her clothes off, put them in a plastic bag and put them into somewhere safe. Then, wait for any required personal to take the plastic bag.
The exposed person should wash his entire body with soup and water. If he/she has any eye problems, the eyes should be washed for 10-15 minutes.
The History Of Sarin
Sarin is discovered in 1938 in Wuppertal-Elberfeld in Germany by scientists who were trying to create an intensely effective pesticide. Then, this chemical was considered as a weapon in German Army Weapons Office, and its mass production was demanded for use in wartime.
After some years, in early 1950s, NATO considered sarin as a standart chemical weapon, so United States produced it for military purposes. After this chemical being considered as weapon in world and produced both by Germany and United States, it become popular. In March 1988, in Northern Iraq, a Kurdish city Halabja was bombarded by jets containing sarin chemical. 5000 people died. Then, in 1994, in Japan, Matsumoto Nagano killed 8 people and harmed over 200 people by releasing an impure sarin; this incident is known as Matsumoto incident. One year later, in 1995, again in Japan, Aum Shinrikyo released an impure form of sarin in a metro, and killed approximately 6200 people. Near to today, in March 2013 and in April 2017, the sarin was used for an assassination and an airstrike respectively. In a nutshell, it can be understood that, this chemical is a chemical that does not give people a chance - it just kills, and it kills silently.
References:
“CDC.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4 Apr. 2018, emergency.cdc.gov/agent/sarin/basics/facts.asp.
“CDC - The Emergency Response Safety and Health Database: Nerve Agent: SARIN (GB) - NIOSH.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12 May 2011, www.cdc.gov/niosh/ershdb/emergencyresponsecard_29750001.html.
“Sarin.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Dec. 2020,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarin#Management.
Geggel, Laura. “7 Facts About the Deadly Nerve Agent Sarin.” LiveScience, Purch,