What is "sulfur mustard"

alt. A technical term for mustard gas. n. A technical term for mustard gas.

n. a toxic war gas with sulfide based compounds that raises blisters and attacks the eyes and lungs; there is no known antidote [syn: mustard gas, mustard agent, blistering agent, dichloroethyl sulfide]

Sulfur mustard, commonly known as mustard gas, is a cytotoxic and vesicant chemical warfare agent with the ability to form large blisters on the exposed skin and in the lungs.See:

• Mustard gas (Sulphur Mustard) (IARC Summary & Evaluation, Supplement7, 1987). Inchem.org (1998-02-09). Retrieved on 2011-05-29.

• Related chemical compounds with similar chemical structure and similar properties form a class of compounds known collectively as sulfur mustards or mustard agents. Pure sulfur mustards are colorless, viscous liquids at room temperature. When used in impure form, such as warfare agents, they are usually yellow-brown in color and have an odor resembling mustard plants, garlic, or horseradish, hence the name. Sulfur mustard was originally assigned the name LOST, after the scientists Wilhelm Lommel and Wilhelm Steinkopf, who developed a method for the large-scale production for the Imperial German Army in 1916.

Mustard agents are regulated under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (C.W.C.). Three classes of chemicals are monitored under this Convention, with sulfur and nitrogen mustard grouped in Schedule 1, as substances with no use other than in chemical warfare. Mustard agents could be deployed on the battlefield by means of artillery shells, aerial bombs, rockets, or by spraying from warplanes.