Adamsite or DM is an

organic compound In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. The ...

; technically, an

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but ...

al diphenylaminechlorarsine, that can be used as a

riot control agent Riot control measures are used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest. If a riot is spontaneous and irra ...

. DM belongs to the group of

chemical warfare agent A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as a ...

s known as

vomiting agent Vomiting agents are chemical weapon agents causing vomiting. Prolonged exposure can be lethal. They were used for the first time during WWI. Examples * Adamsite * Chloropicrin * Diphenylchlorarsine *Diphenylcyanoarsine Diphenylcyanoarsine, also ...

s or sneeze gases. First synthesized in Germany by

Heinrich Otto Wieland Heinrich Otto Wieland (; 4 June 1877 – 5 August 1957) was a German chemist. He won the 1927 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research into the bile acids. Career In 1901 Wieland received his doctorate at the University of Munich while studyi ...

in 1915, it was independently developed by the US chemist

Roger Adams Roger Adams (January 2, 1889 – July 6, 1971) was an American organic chemist who developed the eponymous Adams' catalyst, and helped determine the composition of natural substances such as complex vegetable oils and plant alkaloids. He isolat ...

(for whom it is named) at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

in 1918.

Composition

DM is an odourless

crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macro ...

line compound with a very low

vapour pressure Vapor pressure (or vapour pressure in English-speaking countries other than the US; see spelling differences) or equilibrium vapor pressure is defined as the pressure exerted by a vapor in thermodynamic equilibrium with its condensed phase ...

. The colour of the crystals ranges from bright yellow to dark green depending on the purity. It is readily soluble in some organic solvents (e.g.,

acetone Acetone (2-propanone or dimethyl ketone), is an organic compound with the formula . It is the simplest and smallest ketone (). It is a colorless, highly volatile and flammable liquid with a characteristic pungent odour. Acetone is miscib ...

, dichloromethane), but nearly insoluble in water. In vaporous form it appears as a canary yellow smoke.

Effects

Adamsite is usually dispersed as an aerosol, making the upper respiratory tract the primary site of action. Although the effects are similar to those caused by typical riot control agents (e.g. CS), they are slower in onset but longer in duration, often lasting for 12 or more hours. After a latency period of 5–10 minutes irritation of the eyes,

lungs The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side ...

and

mucous membranes A mucous membrane or mucosa is a membrane that lines various cavities in the body of an organism and covers the surface of internal organs. It consists of one or more layers of epithelial cells overlying a layer of loose connective tissue. It is ...

develops followed by headache,

nausea Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. While not painful, it can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the ...

and persistent

vomiting Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteri ...

.Committee on Review and Evaluation of the Army Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Disposal Program, U.S. National Research Council. ''Disposal of Chemical Agent Identification Sets'',
Google Books
, p. 15, National Academies Press, 1999, ().

Usage

DM was produced and stockpiled by the British and the United States at the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. It was used by the British during the incursions at Murmansk and Archangel. It is now regarded as obsolete and has been widely replaced by riot control agents such as CS which are less toxic and more rapid in the onset of symptoms. Early battlefield use was intended to be via "adamsite candles". These were large metal cans or tubes (weighing approximately ) which contained a

smoke composition A smoke composition is a pyrotechnic composition designed primarily to generate smoke. Smoke compositions are used as obscurants or for generation of signaling smokes. Some are used as a payload of smoke bombs and smoke grenades. Obscurants Smoke ...

made of adamsite plus a slow burning

pyrotechnic composition A pyrotechnic composition is a substance or mixture of substances designed to produce an effect by heat, light, sound, gas/smoke or a combination of these, as a result of non-detonative self-sustaining exothermic chemical reactions. Pyrotechnic s ...

. A series of candles were lit and the adamsite-laden smoke allowed to drift towards the enemy. In the United States, it was used against the

Bonus Army The Bonus Army was a group of 43,000 demonstrators – 17,000 veterans of U.S. involvement in World War I, their families, and affiliated groups – who gathered in Washington, D.C., in mid-1932 to demand early cash redemption of their servi ...

who demonstrated in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

, in 1932, reportedly causing the death and serious injury of several children who had accompanied their parents on the protests. It was again used in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. In 2003,

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

was reportedly producing adamsite at its Aoji-ri Chemical Complex in Haksong-ri,

Kyŏnghŭng county Kyŏnghŭng County is a ''kun'', or county, in North Hamgyong province, North Korea. Formerly known as Ŭndŏk County (), from 1977 to 2010. The county borders the People's Republic of China to the northeast. With the exception of the southwest, ...

for stockpiling. DM was allegedly used by Venezuelan authorities in the 2014–17 Venezuelan protests and described as "green gas" with reports of protesters vomiting following exposure and regional human rights groups condemning the usage of "green gas", stating that its usage is "internationally banned".

References

External links

Adamsite in the NIOSH emergency response databaseCase definition of adamsite poisoning
(from the U.S.

CDC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...

) {{Chemical agents Lachrymatory agents Organoarsenic chlorides Vomiting agents Riot control agents German inventions Chemical weapons of the United States United Kingdom chemical weapons program Arsenic heterocycles Nitrogen heterocycles Arsenic(III) compounds