- APPEARANCE: Oily liquid ranging in color from colorless to yellow or brown. Also can be a colorless vapor.
- DESCRIPTION: Sulfur mustard (military designation HD or H) is a blister agent (vesicant) that causes severe, delayed burns to the eyes, skin, and respiratory tract. Sulfur mustard damages cells within minutes of contact; however, the onset of pain and other health effects is delayed until hours after exposure. Large exposures to sulfur mustard may be fatal. Sulfur mustard is also an alkylating agent that damages the cells within the bone marrow that are necessary for making blood cells; this affects the body's immune system. Finally, sulfur mustard also affects a part of the nervous system responsible for everyday bodily function, causing "cholinergic toxicity," marked by excessive saliva, tears and urine; gastrointestinal (GI) cramping and diarrhea; vomiting (emesis); and constricted or pinpoint pupils (miosis). Sulfur mustard has been used as a chemical warfare agent to cause delayed casualties. It has an odor of garlic, onion, horseradish, or mustard. However, odor is not a reliable indicator of sulfur mustard and should not be depended on to warn of sulfur mustard exposure.
- METHODS OF DISSEMINATION:
- Indoor Air: Sulfur mustard can be released into indoor air as a liquid spray (aerosol) or as a vapor.
- Water: Sulfur mustard liquid can contaminate water.
- Food: Sulfur mustard liquid can contaminate food.
- Outdoor Air: Sulfur mustard can be released into outdoor air as a liquid spray (aerosol) or as a vapor.
- Agricultural: If sulfur mustard is released into the air as a liquid spray (aerosol), it has the potential to contaminate agricultural products. If sulfur mustard is released as a vapor, it is highly unlikely to contaminate agricultural products.
- ROUTES OF EXPOSURE: Sulfur mustard can be absorbed into the body by inhalation, ingestion, skin contact, and eye contact. Inhalation is an important route of exposure. Ingestion is an uncommon route of exposure. Warm, moist areas with thin skin, the moist linings of body passages and cavities (mucous membranes), and perspiration-covered skin are more sensitive to the blistering (vesicant) effects of sulfur mustard.
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- CHEMICAL DANGERS:
- Sulfur mustard is stable at ambient temperatures.
- When heated to decomposition between 300°F and 350°F (149°C to 177°C), sulfur mustard emits highly toxic fumes of sulfur oxides and hydrochloric acid. See the emergency response card for hydrochloric acid.
- At 149°F (65°C), sulfur mustard is rapidly corrosive to brass and will corrode steel at .001 inch per month.
- Hydrolysis of sulfur mustard yields hydrochloric acid and thiodiglycol. See the emergency response cards for hydrochloric acid and thiodyglycol.
- Sulfur mustard reacts vigorously with oxidants.
- Sulfur mustard is incompatible with bleaching powder.
- On contact with acid or acid fumes, sulfur mustard emits highly toxic fumes (sulfur oxides and chlorides).
- Sulfur mustard reacts with water or steam to produce toxic and corrosive fumes.
- Contact with metals may evolve flammable hydrogen gas.
- EXPLOSION HAZARDS:
- When heated, vapors may form explosive mixtures with air, presenting an explosion hazard indoors, outdoors, and in sewers.
- Containers may explode when heated.
- FIRE FIGHTING INFORMATION:
- Sulfur mustard is combustible.
- The agent may burn but does not ignite readily.
- Fire may produce irritating, corrosive, and/or toxic gases.
- For small fires, use dry chemical, carbon dioxide, or water spray.
- For large fires, use dry chemical, carbon dioxide, alcohol-resistant foam, or water spray. Move containers from the fire area if it is possible to do so without risk to personnel. Dike fire control water for later disposal; do not scatter the material.
- Avoid methods that will cause splashing or spreading.
- For fire involving tanks or car/trailer loads, fight the fire from maximum distance or use unmanned hose holders or monitor nozzles. Do not get water inside containers. Cool containers with flooding quantities of water until well after the fire is out. Withdraw immediately in case of rising sound from venting safety devices or discoloration of tanks. Always stay away from tanks engulfed in fire.
- Runoff from fire control or dilution water may be corrosive and/or toxic, and it may cause pollution.
- If the situation allows, control and properly dispose of run-off (effluent).
- INITIAL ISOLATION AND PROTECTIVE ACTION DISTANCES:
- If a tank, rail car, or tank truck is involved in a fire, isolate it for 0.5 mi (800 m) in all directions; also, consider initial evacuation for 0.5 mi (800 m) in all directions.
- Small spills (involving the release of approximately 52.83 gallons (200 liters) or less), when H/HD is used as a weapon
- First isolate in all directions: 100 ft (30 m).
- Then protect persons downwind during the day: 0.1 mi (0.2 km).
- Then protect persons downwind during the night: 0.1 mi (0.2 km).
- Large spills (involving quantities greater than 52.83 gallons (200 liters)), when H/HD used as a weapon
- First isolate in all directions: 200 ft (60 m).
- Then protect persons downwind during the day: 0.4 mi (0.7 km).
- Then protect persons downwind during the night: 0.7 mi (1.2 km).
- Small spills (involving the release of approximately 52.83 gallons (200 liters) or less), when Mustard is used as a weapon
- First isolate in all directions: 100 ft (30 m).
- Then protect persons downwind during the day: 0.1 mi (0.2 km).
- Then protect persons downwind during the night: 0.1 mi (0.2 km).
- Large spills (involving quantities greater than 52.83 gallons (200 liters)), when Mustard used as a weapon
- First isolate in all directions: 100 ft (30 m).
- Then protect persons downwind during the day: 0.1 mi (0.2 km).
- Then protect persons downwind during the night: 0.2 mi (0.4 km).
- PHYSICAL DANGERS:
- Sulfur mustard evaporates slowly and is primarily a liquid hazard under temperate conditions.
- The vapor hazard of sulfur mustard increases with increasing temperature; it is a definite vapor hazard at 100°F (38°C).
- Vapors are heavier than air. They will spread along the ground and collect and stay in poorly-ventilated, low-lying, or confined areas (e.g., sewers, basements, and tanks).
- Hazardous concentrations may develop quickly in enclosed, poorly-ventilated, or low-lying areas. Keep out of these areas. Stay upwind.
- Although sulfur mustard is heavier than water, small droplets float on water surfaces and present a hazard in contaminated areas.
- Sulfur mustard is 2 to 5 times more persistent in winter than in summer.
- NFPA 704 Signal:
- Health: 4
- Flammability: 1
- Reactivity: 0
- Special:
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- TIME COURSE: Clinical effects do not appear until hours after sulfur mustard exposure. Sulfur mustard penetrates and binds quickly to cells of the body, but its health effects develop slowly. The full extent of cellular injury may not be known for days. The sooner after exposure that health effects occur, the more likely it is that the patient/victim was exposed to a high concentration of mustard. Similarly, the sooner that health effects occur, the more likely it is that they will progress and become severe. Eye exposure: The eyes are the organs that are most sensitive to mustard vapor; eye injury may occur within 1 to 2 hours after severe exposure, or 3 to 12 hours after a mild to moderate exposure. Inhalation exposure: Airway injury may occur within 2 to 6 hours after severe exposure, and within 12 to 24 hours after mild exposure. Skin exposure: The symptom-free (latent) period is 6 to 12 hours in temperate conditions; hot, humid weather strikingly increases the action of sulfur mustard. Some skin injury may appear as late as 48 hours after exposure.
- EFFECTS OF SHORT-TERM (LESS THAN 8-HOURS) EXPOSURE: Sulfur mustard damages the tissues of the eyes, skin, and respiratory tract. The skin healing process following mustard exposure is very slow. In addition to being a blister agent (vesicant), sulfur mustard is an alkylating agent: when absorbed into the body, it can injure the bone marrow, lymph nodes, and spleen, causing a drop in white blood cell counts and increasing the risk of developing infections. Sulfur mustard also affects the central nervous system (CNS). Sulfur mustard exposure may be fatal; the cause of death is usually respiratory failure.
- EYE EXPOSURE:
- Mild (onset within 4 to 12 hours): Tear production (lacrimation), irritation, itching, burning, spasmodic blinking (blepharospasm), dryness or gritty feeling, and possible pinpoint pupils (miosis).
- Moderate (onset within 3 to 6 hours): Above plus increased redness, fluid accumulation (edema) in the eyelids, and moderate pain.
- Severe (usually from liquid agent; onset within 1 to 2 hours): Increased fluid accumulation (edema) in eyelids, painful sensitivity to light (photophobia), damage to the cornea (ulceration), blindness, and severe pain.
- INGESTION EXPOSURE:
- Nausea, vomiting (emesis), pain, diarrhea, possible chemical burns of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and complete exhaustion (prostration).
- INHALATION EXPOSURE:
- Mild (onset within 2 to 24 hours): Runny nose (rhinorrhea), sneezing, nosebleed (epistaxis), hoarseness progressing to "toneless" voice, barking cough, loss of taste and smell, wheezing and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath (dyspnea) in smokers and asthmatics, and nasal and sinus pain (occurring later).
- Severe (onset within 2 to 6 hours): Same as above, plus acute inflammation of the upper and lower airways; tissue death (necrosis) of the airway lining (respiratory epithelium); possible obstruction of both upper and lower airways due to formation of a false membrane or fibrous deposit (pseudomembrane); airway blockage (occlusion) from inflamed and dead (necrotic) cells; and death, due to inflammatory lung disease (pneumonia).
- Exposures to higher concentrations of vapor result in health effects that occur sooner and are more severe.
- Damage to the airways (and to tissues immediately surrounding the airways) begins with the upper airways and descends to the lower airways. The severity of damage increases as the concentration of sulfur mustard increases.
- SKIN EXPOSURE:
- Tender skin, the moist lining of body passages and cavities (mucous membranes), and perspiration-covered skin are more sensitive to the effects of sulfur mustard.
- Skin effects of liquid mustard occur sooner than do the effects of mustard vapor.
- Mild to moderate: Erythema (redness) begins to appear 1 to 24 hours after exposure (typically within 4 to 8 hours); blistering (vesication) begins 2 to 18 hours after onset of redness; possible intense itching (pruritus), and burning pain.
- Severe: As above, with more severe blistering (vesication) with areas of central tissue death (necrosis), plus whole-body (systemic) health effects including weakness (malaise), vomiting (emesis), fever, and complete exhaustion (prostration).
- Skin exposure to sulfur mustard can be fatal. An area of redness (erythema), with or without blistering (vesication), which covers 25% or more of the body's surface area, suggests a lethal exposure.
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- INTRODUCTION: The purpose of decontamination is to make an individual and/or their equipment safe by physically removing toxic substances quickly and effectively. Care should be taken during decontamination, because absorbed agent can be released from clothing and skin as a gas. Your Incident Commander will provide you with decontaminants specific for the agent released or the agent believed to have been released.
- DECONTAMINATION CORRIDOR: The following are recommendations to protect the first responders from the release area:
- Position the decontamination corridor upwind and uphill of the hot zone.
- The warm zone should include two decontamination corridors. One decontamination corridor is used to enter the warm zone and the other for exiting the warm zone into the cold zone. The decontamination zone for exiting should be upwind and uphill from the zone used to enter.
- Decontamination area workers should wear appropriate PPE. See the PPE section of this card for detailed information.
- A solution of detergent and water (which should have a pH value of at least 8 but should not exceed a pH value of 10.5) should be available for use in decontamination procedures. Soft brushes should be available to remove contamination from the PPE.
- Labeled, durable 6-mil polyethylene bags should be available for disposal of contaminated PPE.
- INDIVIDUAL DECONTAMINATION: The following methods can be used to decontaminate an individual:
- Decontamination of First Responder:
- Begin washing PPE of the first responder using soap and water solution and a soft brush. Always move in a downward motion (from head to toe). Make sure to get into all areas, especially folds in the clothing. Wash and rinse (using cold or warm water) until the contaminant is thoroughly removed.
- Remove PPE by rolling downward (from head to toe) and avoid pulling PPE off over the head. Remove the SCBA after other PPE has been removed.
- Place all PPE in labeled durable 6-mil polyethylene bags.
- Decontamination of Patient/Victim:
- Remove the patient/victim from the contaminated area and into the decontamination corridor.
- Remove all clothing (at least down to their undergarments) and place the clothing in a labeled durable 6-mil polyethylene bag.
- Thoroughly wash and rinse (using cold or warm water) the contaminated skin of the patient/victim using a soap and water solution. Be careful not to break the patient/victim's skin during the decontamination process, and cover all open wounds.
- Cover the patient/victim to prevent shock and loss of body heat.
- Move the patient/victim to an area where emergency medical treatment can be provided.
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