Chemical Emergencies
Overview
- CHEMM: Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management
National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health - Chemical Agents
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Emergency Preparedness and Response - Chemical Terrorism
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor - Medical Management Guidelines for Nerve Agents: Tabun (GA); Sarin (GB); Soman (GD); and VX
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Public health response to biological and chemical weapons: WHO guidance (2004)
World Health Organization
Information by Topic Area
The searches below find resources from two National Library of Medicine databases:
- Disaster Lit®: links to disaster medicine and public health documents for a professional audience, available on the internet at no cost. Includes expert guidelines, research reports, conference proceedings, training classes, fact sheets, websites, databases, and more.
- PubMed: more than 28 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. May include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.
Click on the searches below, or go directly to the databases and develop your own searches.
General Information
Disaster Lit
Preparedness and Counterterrorism
Disaster Lit
Countermeasures and Treatment
Disaster Lit
Hydrogen Cyanide
Disaster Lit
Lewisite
Disaster Lit
- Surface Decontamination Efficacy Studies for Chemical Warfare Blister Agents
- Key References Cited/Used in National Response Team (NRT) Quick Reference Guides (QRGs) for Chemical Warfare Agents: GA (Tabun), GB (Sarin), GD (Soman), GF (Cyclosarin), Agent VX, HD (Sulfur Mustard), Lewisite (L), and Mustard-Lewisite Mixture (HL); 2015 Revision
Mustard Agents
Disaster Lit
Phosgene
Disaster Lit
Ricin
Disaster Lit
Sarin
Disaster Lit
Soman
Disaster Lit
Tabun
Disaster Lit
- Key References Cited/Used in National Response Team (NRT) Quick Reference Guides (QRGs) for Chemical Warfare Agents: GA (Tabun), GB (Sarin), GD (Soman), GF (Cyclosarin), Agent VX, HD (Sulfur Mustard), Lewisite (L), and Mustard-Lewisite Mixture (HL); 2015 Revision
- NRT (National Response Team) Quick Reference Guide: Tabun (GA)
PubMed
Responder Safety
Disaster Lit
Coping
Disaster Lit
PubChem - Open chemistry database from NIH
- Health Effects
- Physostigmine cholinesterase inhibitors (reversible)
- Organophosphorus cholinesterase inhibitors (irreversible)
- Disable enzymes responsible for transmitting nerve impulses.
- Initial effects of organophosphorus agents occur within 1-10 minutes of exposure
- Death
-
- Within 15 minutes for Tabun, Sarin, and Soman
- From 4-42 hours for VX.
- Agents Include
- Tabun (NATO military designation, GA)
- Sarin (NATO military designation, GB)
- Soman (NATO military designation, GD)
- GF (Cyclohexyl methylphosphonofluoridate)
- VX (Methylphosphonothioic acid S-(2-(bis(1-methylethyl)amino)ethyl) O-ethyl ester)
- GE (Phosphonofluoridic acid, ethyl-, isopropyl ester)
- VE (Phosphonothioic acid, ethyl-, S-(2-(diethylamino)ethyl) O-ethyl ester)
- VG (Amiton)
- VM (Phosphonothioic acid, methyl-, S-(2-(diethylamino)ethyl) O-ethyl ester)
Blister/Vesicant Agents
- Health Effects
- Vesicants
-
- Skin blisters
- Damage eyes, mucous membranes, respiratory tract, and internal organs
- Initial effects rapid
- Mustard agents
-
- Destroy different substances within cells of living tissue
- Initial effects occur 12 to 24 hours after exposure.
- Symptoms variable
- Acute mortality low
- Death can occur from complications after lung injury.
- Agents Include
- Lewisite (L)
- Mustard-Lewisite (HL)
- Nitrogen mustards (HN-1, HN-2, HN-3)
- Phosgene oxime (CX)
- Sulfur mustards ( Sulfur Mustard, Sulfur Mustard HT)
Blood Agents
- Health Effects
- Highly volatile
- Rapidly acting
- seizures
- respiratory failure
- cardiac arrest
- Agents Include
- Cyanogen chloride (CK)
- Hydrogen cyanide (AC)
Pulmonary Agents
- Health Effects
- Liquids dispersed in gas form
- Damage the respiratory tract and cause severe pulmonary edema in about four hours, leading to eventual death. Effects are variable
- Rapid or delayed depending on the specific agent.
- Agents Include
- Chlorine
- Chloropicrin (PS)
- Diphosgene (DP)
- Phosgene (CG)
Multilingual Resources
Resources in Spanish from MedlinePlus (en español):