9 Most Horrendous Chemical Weapons

3. Phosgene

Phosgene poster and gas mask
Wikipedia

Although not as toxic as Sarin or VX, Phosgene's deadliness comes from just how easy it is to make. It is produced industrially, but is generally strictly controlled due to its dangers, however, it can be produced by amateurs using ultraviolet light and chloroform, making it more accessible for small-scale attacks.

Phosgene has a pleasant "freshly cut grass" odour, but that's about the only nice thing about it. As a choking agent, symptoms of phosgene exposure are generally coughing, chest tightness and choking, caused by the gas's damaging effect on the pulmonary alveoli in the lungs, preventing oxygen from entering the blood and slowly suffocating the victim.

It was used in combination with chlorine gas in WWI, when it was dumped on British troops by the Germans. Due to its density (about three times that of air) the gas sat in the trenches like a poisonous soup, killing 120 people and wounding 1069.

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