Soldiers sick: poison gas likely (Five taken to hospital for mustard gas symptoms)

Australian Associated Press ^ | April 8, 2003

[HAL9000]

THE US military was investigating today the 'likely' discovery of mustard gas near the central Iraqi city of Najaf after five soldiers developed blisters while on duty there, officers said.

The soldiers, from the 101st Airborne Division's 1st Brigade, suffered nausea as well as the blisters after walking into a building that stored Iraqi ammunition yesterday afternoon, military intelligence officer Captain Adam Mastrianni told AFP.

Mastrianni, attached to the division's Aviation Brigade, said initial tests showed the substance in the building was mustard gas, but more thorough tests were being conducted today to confirm that.

"It's fairly likely it was in fact mustard gas," Mastrianni said.

101st spokesman Lieutenant Eric Lake said the five soldiers were taken to a military hospital with blisters and nausea, but their conditions were not believed to be life-threatening.

Mastrianni said it was not yet clear where in the building the suspect substance was stored or whether it was packed into artillery shells.

If the substance is confirmed as mustard gas, Mastrianni said this was a breach of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's commitment not to produce or use chemical weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.

"It's still a chemical agent and it's not supposed to be utilised," he said.

"The bottom line is it's one of the items he was supposed to be destroy."

US forces "secured" Najaf, 100 kilometres south-west of Baghdad, last week after about a week of intense fighting with forces loyal to Saddam.

The 101st soldiers are still in the Shi'ite Muslim holy city to ensure it remains secure for military and humanitarian operations.

[Salvation]

[deport]

The stories are hard to keep seperated at this point in time........

What happened next is a little unclear, but several soldiers became ill, and the soldiers quickly put on their chemical-protection gear. On Sunday night, members of the chemical unit reported that they had identified the problem as CN, a riot-control gas that causes vomiting and blisters. Madere said he did not think that the soldiers were seriously ill.

http://www.journalnow.com/wsj/MGBEU4NB9ED.html

[deport]

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=chemical+weapons

You'll find several articles from different sources regarding chemical weapons with the above google search......

[expatpat]

Yes, they are very similar. Good point!

[dfwgator]

How long till the DUmmies start saying that we intentionally poisoned our own troops?

[fightinJAG]

thank you

[rhombus]

Many of these stories are vague -- and there is the implication that some of the chemicals might be pesticides. Of course there is the one story that had an NPR reporter finding missiles and shells loaded with something -- I find it hard to believe that this stuff could be just bug-killer.

[Dengar01]

We probably did ourselves we know the peaceful regime has no WMDs, France told us so. < /sarcasm >

[Chuckster]

"On Sunday night, members of the chemical unit reported that they had identified the problem as CN, a riot-control gas that causes vomiting and blisters"

BS Alert

I have been exposed to CN on several occasions. During Army Chemical warfare training, soldiers were required to enter a chamber filled with CN. They entered wearing their protective masks. Once everyone was in the chamber, the door was closed and the DI removed his mask, THEN the DI had the soldiers, one at a time, remove their mask, sound off with name rank and number, then exit the chamber, one at a time in an orderly manner. Choking, crying and gasping was allowed once outside. This was done in Basic Combat Training, Advanced Individual Training and repeated periodically (Annually IIRC) throughout ones Army career.

Once outside the chamber, flushing the eyes and exposed skin with water pretty much eliminated the symptoms. I never saw any blisters or permanent injury from this exercise and I participated dozens of times as both trainee and trainer during the course of my fifteen years of service. I did observe vomiting occasionally but it was by no means considered serious; ordinarily resulting in the affected soldier simply flushing with water and soldiering on.

[AFPhys]

Sure, on some clinical level, it's not fair that pretty little girls get more attention than smelly ugly guys. Cuddly little bunnies also get more love that armadillos, but that's just our nature. Get over it.

ROFL ... Great line, and absolutely true.

[nonliberal]

I am shocked-SHOCKED!-that Blix and Co. missed this.

[AmericanVictory]

Wouldn't it be less expensive to test by having Blix walk through these areas as we discover them? Since he has assured us there is nothing there, surely he wouldn't mind proving it for us.