Editing Mustard gas (section)

==History==
===Development===
Mustard gases were possibly developed as early as 1822 by [[César-Mansuète Despretz]] (1798–1863).<ref name="mustardgas">[http://itech.dickinson.edu/chemistry/?p=408 By Any Other Name: Origins of Mustard Gas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201220058/http://itech.dickinson.edu/chemistry/?p=408 |date=2014-02-01 }}. Itech.dickinson.edu (2008-04-25). Retrieved on 2011-05-29.</ref> Despretz described the reaction of [[sulfur dichloride]] and [[ethylene]] but never made mention of any irritating properties of the reaction product. In 1854, another French chemist, Alfred Riche (1829–1908), repeated this procedure, also without describing any adverse physiological properties. In 1860, the British scientist [[Frederick Guthrie (scientist)|Frederick Guthrie]] synthesized and characterized the mustard agent compound and noted its irritating properties, especially in tasting.<ref name="Guthrie">{{cite journal |author=F. Guthrie |title=XIII.—On some derivatives from the olefines |journal=Q. J. Chem. Soc. |volume=12 |pages=109–126 |year=1860 |doi=10.1039/QJ8601200109 |issue=1 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1885270 }}</ref> Also in 1860, chemist [[Albert Niemann (chemist)|Albert Niemann]], known as a pioneer in [[cocaine]] chemistry, repeated the reaction, and recorded blister-forming properties. In 1886, [[Viktor Meyer]] published a paper describing a synthesis that produced good yields. He combined [[2-Chloroethanol|2-chloroethanol]] with [[aqueous]] [[potassium sulfide]], and then treated the resulting [[thiodiglycol]] with [[phosphorus trichloride]]. The purity of this compound was much higher and consequently the adverse health effects upon exposure were much more severe. These symptoms presented themselves in his assistant, and in order to rule out the possibility that his assistant was suffering from a mental illness (psychosomatic symptoms), Meyer had this compound tested on laboratory [[rabbit]]s, most of which died. In 1913, the English chemist [[Hans Thacher Clarke]] (known for the [[Eschweiler-Clarke reaction]]) replaced the phosphorus trichloride with [[hydrochloric acid]] in Meyer's formulation while working with [[Hermann Emil Fischer|Emil Fischer]] in [[Berlin]]. Clarke was hospitalized for two months for burns after one of his flasks broke. According to Meyer, Fischer's report on this accident to the [[German Chemical Society]] sent the [[German Empire]] on the road to chemical weapons.<ref>{{Cite journal|author1=Duchovic, Ronald J. |author2=Vilensky, Joel A. |title=Mustard Gas: Its Pre-World War I History |journal=J. Chem. Educ. |volume=84 |page=944 |year=2007 |doi=10.1021/ed084p944|bibcode=2007JChEd..84..944D |issue=6}}</ref>

The [[German Empire]] during [[World War I]] relied on the Meyer-Clarke method because [[2-chloroethanol]] was readily available from the German dye industry of that time.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Duchovic |first=Ronald J. |last2=Vilensky |first2=Joel A. |date=2007 |title=Mustard Gas: Its Pre-World War I History |url=https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed084p944 |journal=Journal of Chemical Education |language=en |volume=84 |issue=6 |pages=944 |doi=10.1021/ed084p944 |issn=0021-9584}}</ref>

===Use===
[[Image:155mmMustardGasShells.jpg|thumb|right|Pallets of 155 mm [[artillery shell]]s containing "HD" (distilled mustard gas agent) at the [[Pueblo Chemical Depot]]. The distinctive [[Bottled gas#Colour coding|color-coding]] scheme on each shell is visible]]
Mustard gas was first [[Chemical weapons in World War I|used in World War I]] by the German army against British and Canadian soldiers near [[Ypres]], Belgium, on July 12, 1917,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Fries |first1=Amos A. (Amos Alfred) |url=http://archive.org/details/chemicwar00frierich |title=Chemical warfare |last2=West |first2=Clarence J. (Clarence Jay) |date=1921 |publisher=New York [etc.] McGraw-Hill Book Company, inc. |others=University of California Libraries |pages=176 |quote=(...) on the night of July 12, 1917 (...)}}</ref> and later also against the [[French Second Army]]. '''''Yperite''''' is "a name used by the French, because the compound was first used at Ypres."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Fries |first1=Amos A. (Amos Alfred) |url=http://archive.org/details/chemicwar00frierich |title=Chemical warfare |last2=West |first2=Clarence J. (Clarence Jay) |date=1921 |publisher=New York [etc.] McGraw-Hill Book Company, inc. |others=University of California Libraries |pages=150 |quote=(...) 'Ypres,' a name used by the French, because the compound was first used at Ypres (...)}}</ref> The Allies used mustard gas for the first time on November 1917 at [[Cambrai]], France, after the armies had captured a stockpile of German mustard shells. It took the British more than a year to develop their own mustard agent weapon, with production of the chemicals centred on [[Avonmouth Docks]] (the only option available to the British was the Despretz–Niemann–Guthrie process).<ref>{{cite book|title=The Port of Bristol, 1848-1884|editor=David Large}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bristolpast.co.uk/#/avonmouth/4546933962|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110703094556/http://www.bristolpast.co.uk/#/avonmouth/4546933962|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 3, 2011|title=Photographic Archive of Avonmouth Bristol BS11|publisher=BristolPast.co.uk|access-date=12 May 2014}}</ref> 

Mustard gas was originally assigned the name LOST, after the scientists Wilhelm Lommel and [[Wilhelm Steinkopf]], who developed a method of large-scale production for the [[German Army (German Empire)|Imperial German Army]] in 1916.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Fischer
| first = Karin
| editor = Schattkowsky, Martina
| date=June 2004
| title = Steinkopf, Georg Wilhelm, in: Sächsische Biografie
| publisher = Institut für Sächsische Geschichte und Volkskunde
| edition = Online
| url = http://saebi.isgv.de/biografie/Wilhelm_Steinkopf_%281879-1949%29
| access-date = 2010-12-28
| language = de}}</ref>

Mustard gas was dispersed as an [[aerosol]] in a mixture with other chemicals, giving it a yellow-brown color. Mustard agent has also been dispersed in such munitions as [[aerial bomb]]s, [[land mine]]s, [[mortar (weapon)|mortar rounds]], [[artillery shell]]s, and [[rocket]]s.<ref name="FM 3-8"/> Exposure to mustard agent was lethal in about 1% of cases. Its effectiveness was as an [[incapacitating agent]]. The early countermeasures against mustard agent were relatively ineffective, since a soldier wearing a [[WWI gas mask|gas mask]] was not protected against absorbing it through his skin and being blistered. A common countermeasure was using a urine-soaked mask or facecloth to prevent or reduce injury, a readily available remedy attested by soldiers in documentaries (e.g., ''They Shall Not Grow Old'' in 2018) and others (such as forward aid nurses) interviewed between 1947 and 1981 by the British Broadcasting Corporation for various World War One history programs; however, the effectiveness of this measure is unclear.

Mustard gas can remain in the ground for weeks, and it continues to cause ill effects. If mustard agent contaminates one's clothing and equipment while cold, then other people with whom they share an enclosed space could become poisoned as contaminated items warm up enough material to become an airborne toxic agent. An example of this was depicted in a British and Canadian documentary about life in the trenches, particularly once the "sousterrain" (subways and berthing areas underground) were completed in Belgium and France. Towards the end of World War I, mustard agent was used in high concentrations as an [[area denial weapons|area-denial weapon]] that forced troops to abandon heavily contaminated areas.

[[File:Mustard gas ww2 poster.jpg|thumb|upright|US Army World War II gas identification poster, {{Circa|1941}}–1945]]

Since World War I, mustard gas has been used in several wars and other conflicts, usually against people who cannot retaliate in kind:<ref name="CBWInfo">[http://www.cbwinfo.com/Chemical/Blister/HD.shtml Blister Agent: Mustard gas (H, HD, HS)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070724063602/http://www.cbwinfo.com/Chemical/Blister/HD.shtml |date=July 24, 2007}}, CBWinfo.com</ref>
* United Kingdom against the [[Red Army]] in 1919<ref name="fas">{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/bwc/papers/review/cwtable.htm |title=Uses of CW since the First World War |last=Pearson |first=Graham S. |publisher=Federation of American Scientist |access-date=2010-06-28 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100822165939/http://www.fas.org/bwc/papers/review/cwtable.htm |archive-date=August 22, 2010}}</ref>
* [[Alleged British use of chemical weapons in Mesopotamia in 1920|Alleged British use in Mesopotamia in 1920]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Townshend|first=Charles|authorlink=Charles Townshend (historian)|year=1986|chapter=Civilisation and "Frightfulness": Air Control in the Middle East Between the Wars|editor=Chris Wrigley|title=Warfare, diplomacy and politics: essays in honour of A.J.P. Taylor|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rkhnAAAAMAAJ|publisher=Hamilton|isbn=978-0-241-11789-7|page=148}}</ref>
* [[Spain under the Restoration|Spain]] against the [[Riffian people|Rifian]] resistance in [[French protectorate of Morocco|Morocco]] during the [[Rif War]] of 1921–27 (see also: ''[[Spanish use of chemical weapons in the Rif War]]'')<ref name="CBWInfo" /><ref name="GCSY">{{Cite book|chapter=Global society and biological and chemical weapons |first=Daniel | last = Feakes |editor-first1=Mary | editor-last1 = Kaldor |editor-first2=Helmut | editor-last2 = Anheier |editor-first3=Marlies | editor-last3 = Glasius |title=Global Civil Society Yearbook 2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |pages=87–117 |chapter-url=http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Units/spru/hsp/documents/Feakes%20chapter.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711035041/http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Units/spru/hsp/Feakes%20chapter.pdf |url-status=dead|archive-date=2007-07-11 |isbn=0-19-926655-7}}</ref>
* [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]] in [[Italian Libya|Libya]] in 1930<ref name="CBWInfo"/>
* The [[Soviet Union]] in [[Xinjiang]], [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]], during the [[Soviet Invasion of Xinjiang]] against the [[36th Division (National Revolutionary Army)]] in 1934, and also in the [[Xinjiang War (1937)]] in 1936–37<ref name="fas"/><ref name="GCSY"/>
* Italy against [[Ethiopian Empire|Abyssinia]] (now [[Ethiopia]]) in the [[Second Italo-Abyssinian War|1935-1936]]<ref name="CBWInfo"/>
* The [[Empire of Japan]] against [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|China]] in the [[Second Sino-Japanese War|1937–1945]]<ref name="fas"/>  
* The US military conducted experiments with chemical weapons like lewisite and mustard gas on Japanese American, Puerto Rican and African Americans in the US military in World War II to see how non-white races would react to being mustard gassed, with Rollin Edwards describing it as "It felt like you were on fire, guys started screaming and hollering and trying to break out. And then some of the guys fainted. And finally they opened the door and let us out, and the guys were just, they were in bad shape." and "It took all the skin off your hands. Your hands just rotted".<ref>{{cite news |last=Dickerson |first=Caitlin |date=22 June 2015 |title=Secret World War II Chemical Experiments Tested Troops By Race |work=NPR |url=http://www.npr.org/2015/06/22/415194765/u-s-troops-tested-by-race-in-secret-world-war-ii-chemical-experiments}}</ref>  
* After World War II, stockpiled mustard gas was dumped by South African military personnel under the command of [[William Bleloch]] off [[Port Elizabeth]], resulting in several cases of burns among local trawler crews.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://samilitaryhistory.org/92/92junnew.html |title=NEWSLETTER - JUNE 1992 NEWSLETTER - Johannesburg - South African Military History Society - Title page |publisher=Samilitaryhistory.org |access-date=2013-08-23}}</ref>                                                                                                    
* The United States Government tested effectiveness on US Naval recruits in a laboratory setting at The Great Lakes Naval Base, June 3, 1945<ref>{{Cite web|date=2013-09-23|title=The Tox Lab: When U Chicago Was in the Chemical Weapons "Business" {{!}} Newcity|url=https://www.newcity.com/2013/09/23/the-tox-lab-when-u-chicago-was-in-the-chemical-weapons-business/|access-date=2021-07-02|language=en-US}}</ref>
* The 2 December 1943 [[air raid on Bari]] destroyed an Allied stockpile of mustard gas on the [[SS John Harvey|SS ''John Harvey'']],<ref name="Coleman2005">{{cite book |author=K. Coleman |title=A History of Chemical Warfare|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RZp9DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA74|date=23 May 2005|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |isbn=978-0-230-50183-6 |pages=74–}}</ref> killing 83 and hospitalizing 628.<ref name="faguet">{{cite book|last=Faguet|first=Guy B.|title=The War on Cancer|publisher=Springer|year=2005|page=71|isbn=1-4020-3618-3}}</ref>                                                                                
* Egypt against [[Yemen Arab Republic|North Yemen]] in 1963–1967<ref name="CBWInfo" />
* Iraq against [[Kurds]] in the town of [[Halabja]] during the [[Halabja chemical attack]] in 1988<ref name="fas" /><ref name="Reuters">{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSBLA84491620080709 |title=Iran's Chemical Ali survivors still bear scars |last=Lyon |first=Alistair |date=2008-07-09 |work=Reuters |access-date=2008-11-17}}</ref>
* Iraq against Iranians in [[Iran–Iraq War|1983–1988]]<ref name="Benschopvan der Schans1997">{{cite journal |last1=Benschop |first1=Hendrik P. |last2=van der Schans |first2=Govert P. |last3=Noort |first3=Daan |last4=Fidder |first4=Alex |last5=Mars-Groenendijk |first5=Roos H. |last6=de Jong |first6=Leo P.A. |title=Verification of Exposure to Sulfur Mustard in Two Casualties of the Iran-Iraq Conflict |journal=Journal of Analytical Toxicology |date=1 July 1997 |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=249–251 |doi=10.1093/jat/21.4.249 |pmid=9248939 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
* Possibly in Sudan against insurgents in the [[Second Sudanese Civil War|civil war]], in 1995 and 1997.<ref name="CBWInfo" />
* In the [[Iraq War]], abandoned stockpiles of mustard gas shells were destroyed in the open air,<ref>{{cite news|title=More Than 600 Reported Chemical Exposure in Iraq, Pentagon Acknowledges|work=The New York Times|date=6 Nov 2014|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/07/world/middleeast/-more-than-600-reported-chemical-weapons-exposure-in-iraq-pentagon-acknowledges.html}}</ref> and were used against Coalition forces in [[roadside bomb]]s.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/26/world/middleeast/army-apologizes-for-handling-of-chemical-weapon-exposure-cases.html?_r=0|title=Veterans Hurt by Chemical Weapons in Iraq Get Apology|work=The New York Times|date=25 Mar 2015}}</ref>
* By [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|ISIS]] forces against [[Peshmerga|Kurdish]] forces in Iraq in August 2015.<ref>{{cite news |last=Deutsch |first=Anthony |title=Samples confirm Islamic State used mustard gas in Iraq - diplomat |work=[[Reuters]] |date=15 February 2016 |url=http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKCN0VO1IC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222110031/http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKCN0VO1IC |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 22, 2016 |access-date=15 February 2016}}</ref>
* By ISIS against another rebel group in the town of [[Mare']] in 2015.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-chemicalweapons-idUSKCN0SU2PZ20151106|title=Chemical weapons used by fighters in Syria—sources|first=Anthony|last=Deutsch|work=Reuters|date=2015-11-06|access-date=2017-06-30}}</ref>
* According to Syrian state media, by ISIS against the [[Syrian Army]] during the battle in [[Deir ez-Zor]] in 2016.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35968604|title=Syria war: IS 'used mustard gas' on Assad troops |work=[[BBC News]]|date=2016-04-05|access-date=2017-06-30}}</ref>

The use of toxic gases or other chemicals, including mustard gas, during warfare is known as [[chemical warfare]], and this kind of warfare was prohibited by the [[Geneva Protocol|Geneva Protocol of 1925]], and also by the later [[Chemical Weapons Convention|Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993]]. The latter agreement also prohibits the development, production, stockpiling, and sale of such weapons.

In September 2012, a US official stated that the rebel militant group [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|ISIS]] was manufacturing and using mustard gas in Syria and Iraq, which was allegedly confirmed by the group's head of chemical weapons development, Sleiman Daoud al-Afari, who has since been captured.<ref name=bbc-20150911>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34211838 |title=US official: 'IS making and using chemical weapons in Iraq and Syria' |author=Paul Blake |publisher=BBC |date=11 September 2015 |access-date=16 September 2015}}</ref><ref name=independent-20150911>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-manufacturing-and-using-chemical-weapons-in-iraq-and-syria-us-official-claims-10496094.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-manufacturing-and-using-chemical-weapons-in-iraq-and-syria-us-official-claims-10496094.html |archive-date=2022-06-18 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Isis 'manufacturing and using chemical weapons' in Iraq and Syria, US official claims |author=Lizzie Dearden |newspaper=The Independent |date=11 September 2015 |access-date=16 September 2015}}</ref>

====Development of the first chemotherapy drug====
As early as 1919 it was known that mustard agent was a suppressor of [[hematopoiesis]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Krumbhaar EB |title=Rôle of the blood and the bone marrow in certain forms of gas poisoning: I. peripheral blood changes and their significance |journal=JAMA |doi=10.1001/jama.1919.26110010018009f|volume=72 |pages=39–41 |year=1919 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1423423 }}</ref> In addition, autopsies performed on 75 soldiers who had died of mustard agent during [[World War I]] were done by researchers from the [[University of Pennsylvania]] who reported decreased counts of [[white blood cell]]s.<ref name="faguet" /> This led the American Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) to finance the biology and chemistry departments at [[Yale University]] to conduct research on the use of chemical warfare during World War II.<ref name="faguet" /><ref name="gilman">{{cite journal |author=Gilman A |title=The initial clinical trial of nitrogen mustard |journal=Am. J. Surg. |volume=105 |pages=574–8 |date=May 1963 |pmid=13947966 |doi=10.1016/0002-9610(63)90232-0 |issue=5}}</ref>

As a part of this effort, the group investigated [[nitrogen mustard]] as a therapy for [[Hodgkin's lymphoma]] and other types of [[lymphoma]] and [[leukemia]], and this compound was tried out on its first human patient in December 1942. The results of this study were not published until 1946, when they were declassified.<ref name="gilman" /> In a parallel track, after the [[air raid on Bari]] in December 1943, the doctors of the U.S. Army noted that white blood cell counts were reduced in their patients. Some years after World War II was over, the incident in Bari and the work of the Yale University group with nitrogen mustard converged, and this prompted a search for other similar [[chemical compound]]s. Due to its use in previous studies, the nitrogen mustard called "HN2" became the first cancer [[chemotherapy]] drug, [[chlormethine]] (also known as mechlorethamine, mustine) to be used. Chlormethine and other mustard gas molecules are still used to this day as an chemotherapy agent albeit they have largely been replaced with more safe chemotherapy drugs like [[cisplatin]] and [[carboplatin]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Scott |first=Lesley J. |date=2017-06-01 |title=Chlormethine 160 mcg/g gel in mycosis fungoides-type cutaneous T-cell lymphoma: a profile of its use in the EU |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s40267-017-0409-7 |journal=Drugs & Therapy Perspectives |language=en |volume=33 |issue=6 |pages=249–253 |doi=10.1007/s40267-017-0409-7 |s2cid=256367068 |issn=1179-1977}}</ref>

====Disposal====
In the United States, storage and incineration of mustard gas and other chemical weapons were carried out by the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency.<ref>[http://www.cma.army.mil/home.aspx The U.S. Army's Chemical Materials Agency (CMA)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041015020742/http://www.cma.army.mil/home.aspx |date=October 15, 2004}}. cma.army.mil. Retrieved on November 11, 2011.</ref> Disposal projects at the two remaining American chemical weapons sites were carried out near [[Richmond, Kentucky]], and [[Pueblo, Colorado]]. The last of the declared mustard weapons stockpile of the United States was destroyed on June 22, 2023 in Pueblo with other remaining chemical weapons being destroyed later in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-07 |title=U.S. destroys last of its declared chemical weapons, closing a deadly chapter dating to World War I |url=https://apnews.com/article/chemical-weapons-war-kentucky-colorado-sarin-0737441e73aeb62f6a105c30ab067393 |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref>

New detection techniques are being developed in order to detect the presence of mustard gas and its metabolites. The technology is portable and detects small quantities of the hazardous waste and its oxidized products, which are notorious for harming unsuspecting civilians. The [[immunochromatographic]] assay would eliminate the need for expensive, time-consuming lab tests and enable easy-to-read tests to protect civilians from sulfur-mustard dumping sites.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://docksci.com/competitive-immunochromatographic-assay-for-the-detection-of-thiodiglycol-sulfox_5a9bdc6fd64ab2d6e91e8ff2.html |title=Competitive immunochromatographic assay for the detection of thiodiglycol sulfoxide, a degradation product of sulfur mustard |journal=The Analyst|volume=139|issue=20|pages=5118–26|date=24 July 2014|doi=10.1039/C4AN00720D |pmid=25121638|last1=Sathe|first1=Manisha|last2=Srivastava|first2=Shruti|last3=Merwyn|first3=S.|last4=Agarwal|first4=G. S.|last5=Kaushik|first5=M. P.|bibcode=2014Ana...139.5118S }}</ref>

In 1946, 10,000 drums of mustard gas (2,800 tonnes) stored at the production facility of Stormont Chemicals in [[Cornwall, Ontario]], Canada, were loaded onto 187 boxcars for the {{convert|900|mi|km|}} journey to be buried at sea on board a {{Convert|400|foot|m|abbr=|adj=}} long barge {{Convert|40|mi|km|abbr=}} south of [[Sable Island]], southeast of [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]], at a depth of {{convert|600|fathom|m|}}. The dump location is 42 degrees, 50 minutes north by 60 degrees, 12 minutes west.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hill 70 & Cornwall's Deadly Mustard Gas Plant|url=https://cornwallcommunitymuseum.wordpress.com/2016/09/18/hill-70-cornwalls-deadly-mustard-gas-plant/|website=Cornwall Community Museum|date=18 September 2016|publisher=Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Historical Society|access-date=23 December 2016}}</ref>

A large British stockpile of old mustard agent that had been made and stored since World War I at [[M. S. Factory, Valley]] near [[Rhydymwyn]] in [[Flintshire]], Wales, was destroyed in 1958.<ref>{{cite web|title=Valley Factory, Rhydymwyn|date=24 July 2010|url=http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/sites/r/rhydymwyn/defra_1.html}}</ref>

Most of the mustard gas found in Germany after [[World War II]] was dumped into the [[Baltic Sea]]. Between 1966 and 2002, fishermen have found about 700 chemical weapons in the region of [[Bornholm]], most of which contain mustard gas. One of the more frequently dumped weapons was "Sprühbüchse 37" (SprüBü37, Spray Can 37, 1937 being the year of its fielding with the German Army). These weapons contain mustard gas mixed with a [[thickener]], which gives it a tar-like viscosity. When the content of the SprüBü37 comes in contact with water, only the mustard gas in the outer layers of the lumps of viscous mustard [[hydrolysis|hydrolyzes]], leaving behind amber-colored residues that still contain most of the active mustard gas. On mechanically breaking these lumps (e.g., with the drag board of a fishing net or by the human hand) the enclosed mustard gas is still as active as it had been at the time the weapon was dumped. These lumps, when washed ashore, can be mistaken for amber, which can lead to severe health problems. [[shell (projectile)|Artillery shells]] containing mustard gas and other toxic ammunition from World War I (as well as conventional explosives) can still be found in France and Belgium. These were formerly disposed of by explosion undersea, but since the current environmental regulations prohibit this, the [[French government]] is building an automated factory to dispose of the accumulation of chemical shells.

In 1972, the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]] banned the practice of disposing of chemical weapons into the ocean by the United States. 29,000 tons of nerve and mustard agents had already been dumped into the ocean off the United States by the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]]. According to a report created in 1998 by William Brankowitz, a deputy project manager in the [[U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency]], the army created at least 26 chemical weapons dumping sites in the ocean offshore from at least 11 states on both the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] and the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] (in [[Operation CHASE]], [[Operation Geranium]], etc.). In addition, due to poor recordkeeping, about one-half of the sites have only their rough locations known.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bull|first=John|title=The Deadliness Below|url=http://articles.dailypress.com/2005-10-30/news/0510300001_1_chemical-weapons-army-chemical-materials-agency-mustard-gas|publisher=Daily Press Virginia|date=30 October 2005|access-date=2013-01-28|archive-date=2012-07-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723021132/http://articles.dailypress.com/2005-10-30/news/0510300001_1_chemical-weapons-army-chemical-materials-agency-mustard-gas|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In June 1997, India declared its stock of chemical weapons of {{convert|1044|tonne|ST}} of mustard gas.<ref name="dominicantoday.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/world/2007/12/30/26543/India-to-destroy-chemical-weapons-stockpile-by-2009 |title=India to destroy chemical weapons stockpile by 2009 |publisher=Dominican Today |access-date=30 April 2013 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130907155755/http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/world/2007/12/30/26543/India-to-destroy-chemical-weapons-stockpile-by-2009 |archive-date=7 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author1=Amy Smithson |author2=Frank Gaffney Jr. |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-3987660.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106050759/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-3987660.html |url-status=dead|archive-date=6 November 2012 |title=India declares its stock of chemical weapons |access-date=30 April 2013}}</ref> By the end of 2006, India had destroyed more than 75 percent of its chemical weapons/material stockpile and was granted extension for destroying the remaining stocks by April 2009 and was expected to achieve 100 percent destruction within that time frame.<ref name="dominicantoday.com"/> India informed the United Nations in May 2009 that it had destroyed its stockpile of chemical weapons in compliance with the international Chemical Weapons Convention. With this India has become the third country after South Korea and Albania to do so.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://zeenews.india.com/news531700.html |title=Zee News – India destroys its chemical weapons stockpile |publisher=Zeenews.india.com |date=14 May 2009 |access-date=30 April 2013}}</ref><ref name="in.news.yahoo.com">{{cite web|url=http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20090514/812/tnl-india-destroys-its-chemical-weapons.html |title=India destroys its chemical weapons stockpile - Yahoo! India News |access-date=20 May 2009 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090521195550/http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20090514/812/tnl-india-destroys-its-chemical-weapons.html |archive-date=21 May 2009}}</ref> This was cross-checked by inspectors of the United Nations.

Producing or stockpiling mustard gas is prohibited by the [[Chemical Weapons Convention]]. When the convention entered force in 1997, the parties declared worldwide stockpiles of 17,440 tonnes of mustard gas. As of December 2015, 86% of these stockpiles had been destroyed.<ref>{{cite report |author=Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons |date=30 November 2016 |title=Report of the OPCW on the Implementation of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction in 2015 |chapter-url=https://www.opcw.org/documents-reports/annual-reports/ |chapter=Annex 3 |page=42 |access-date=8 March 2017}}</ref>

A significant portion of the United States' mustard agent [[stockpile (military)|stockpile]] was stored at the Edgewood Area of [[Aberdeen Proving Ground]] in [[Maryland]]. Approximately 1,621 tons of mustard agents were stored in one-ton containers on the base under heavy guard. A chemical neutralization plant was built on the proving ground and neutralized the last of this stockpile in February 2005. This stockpile had priority because of the potential for quick reduction of risk to the community. The nearest schools were fitted with overpressurization machinery to protect the students and faculty in the event of a catastrophic explosion and fire at the site. These projects, as well as planning, equipment, and training assistance, were provided to the surrounding community as a part of the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP), a joint program of the Army and the [[Federal Emergency Management Agency]] (FEMA).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/csepp1.shtm |title=CSEPP Background Information |publisher=US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) |date=2 May 2006 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060527013022/http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/csepp1.shtm |archive-date=27 May 2006}}</ref> Unexploded shells containing mustard gases and other chemical agents are still present in several test ranges in proximity to schools in the Edgewood area, but the smaller amounts of poison gas ({{convert|4|to|14|lb|kg|}}) present considerably lower risks. These remnants are being detected and excavated systematically for disposal. The U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency oversaw disposal of several other chemical weapons stockpiles located across the United States in compliance with international chemical weapons treaties. These include the complete incineration of the chemical weapons stockpiled in [[Alabama]], [[Arkansas]], [[Indiana]], and [[Oregon]]. Earlier, this agency had also completed destruction of the chemical weapons stockpile located on [[Johnston Atoll]] located south of [[Hawaii]] in the [[Pacific Ocean]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cma.army.mil/fndocumentviewer.aspx?docid=003676918 |title=Milestones in U.S. Chemical Weapons Storage and Destruction, fact sheet, US Chemical Materials Agency |access-date=15 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915081558/http://www.cma.army.mil/fndocumentviewer.aspx?docid=003676918 |archive-date=15 September 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The largest mustard agent stockpile, at approximately 6,200 [[short ton]]s, was stored at the [[Deseret Chemical Depot]] in northern [[Utah]]. The incineration of this stockpile began in 2006. In May 2011, the last of the mustard agents in the stockpile were incinerated at the Deseret Chemical Depot, and the last artillery shells containing mustard gas were incinerated in January 2012.

In 2008, many empty [[aerial bomb]]s that contained mustard gas were found in an excavation at the [[Marrangaroo Army Base]] just west of Sydney, Australia.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Ashworth L |title=Base's phantom war reveals its secrets |publisher=Fairfax Digital |date=7 August 2008 |url=http://lithgow.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/bases-phantom-war-reveals-its-secrets/1237570.aspx |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205033022/http://lithgow.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/bases-phantom-war-reveals-its-secrets/1237570.aspx |archive-date=5 December 2008}}</ref><ref name="MGOrg">[http://www.mustardgas.org/ Chemical Warfare in Australia]. Mustardgas.org. Retrieved on 29 May 2011.</ref> In 2009, a mining survey near [[Chinchilla, Queensland]], uncovered 144 105-millimeter [[howitzer]] shells, some containing "Mustard H", that had been buried by the U.S. Army during World War II.<ref name="MGOrg" /><ref>{{Cite news|author=Cumming, Stuart|title=Weapons await UN inspection|publisher=Toowoomba Chronicle|date=11 November 2009 |url=http://www.thechronicle.com.au/story/2009/11/11/weapons-await-un-inspection/}}</ref>

In 2014, a collection of 200 bombs was found near the [[Flanders|Flemish]] villages of [[Passendale]] and [[Moorslede]]. The majority of the bombs were filled with mustard agents. The bombs were left over from the German army and were meant to be used in the [[Battle of Passchendaele]] in World War I. It was the largest collection of chemical weapons ever found in Belgium.<ref>{{cite web|title=Farmer discovers 200 bombs (Dutch)|date=5 March 2014 |url=http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail.aspx?articleid=DMF20140304_01009955}}</ref>

A large amount of chemical weapons, including mustard gas, was found in a neighborhood of [[Washington, D.C.]] The cleanup was completed in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cleanup Complete At WWI Chemical Weapons Dump In D.C.'s Spring Valley|url=https://dcist.com/story/21/11/26/cleanup-complete-chemical-weapons-dump-dc-spring-valley/|access-date=2022-02-07|website=DCist|language=en|archive-date=2022-02-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207135510/https://dcist.com/story/21/11/26/cleanup-complete-chemical-weapons-dump-dc-spring-valley/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Post-war accidental exposure====
In 2002, an archaeologist at the Presidio Trust archaeology lab in San Francisco was exposed to mustard gas, which had been dug up at the [[Presidio of San Francisco]], a former military base.<ref>{{cite news|author=Sullivan, Kathleen|title=Vial found in Presidio may be mustard gas / Army experts expected to identify substance|publisher=sfgate.com|date=2002-10-22|url=http://www.sfgate.com/green/article/Vial-found-in-Presidio-may-be-mustard-gas-Army-2760483.php}}</ref>

In 2010, a clamming boat pulled up some old [[artillery]] shells of World War I from the [[Atlantic Ocean]] south of [[Long Island, New York]]. Multiple fishermen suffered from blistering and respiratory irritation severe enough to require hospitalization.<ref>{{Cite news|author1=Wickett, Shana |author2=Beth Daley |title=Fishing crewman exposed to mustard gas from shell |work=The Boston Globe |date=2010-06-08 |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/06/signs_of_bliste.html |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609132933/http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/06/signs_of_bliste.html |archive-date=June 9, 2010}}</ref>

===WWII-era tests on men===
[[File:Edgewood Arsenal - Mustard Gas Test Subjects March 1945.jpg|thumb|Mustard gas test subjects enter gas chamber, Edgewood Arsenal, March 1945]]
From 1943 to 1944, mustard agent experiments were performed on Australian service volunteers in tropical [[Queensland, Australia]], by [[Royal Australian Engineers]], [[British Army]] and American experimenters, resulting in some severe injuries. One test site, the [[Brook Islands National Park]], was chosen to simulate Pacific islands held by the [[Imperial Japanese Army]].<ref>{{Cite book
|first=Bridget|last=Goodwin|year=1998|title=Keen as mustard: Britain's horrific chemical warfare experiments in Australia|location=St. Lucia|publisher=University of Queensland Press |isbn=978-0-7022-2941-1}}</ref><ref>[http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/brook%20island%20trial.htm Brook Island Trials of Mustard Gas during WW2]. Home.st.net.au. Retrieved on 2011-05-29.</ref> These experiments were the subject of the documentary film ''[[Keen as Mustard (film)|Keen as Mustard]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Keen as mustard {{!}} Bridget Goodwin {{!}} 1989 {{!}} ACMI collection |url=https://www.acmi.net.au/works/80685--keen-as-mustard/ |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=www.acmi.net.au |language=en}}</ref>

The United States tested sulfur mustards and other chemical agents including [[nitrogen mustard]]s and [[lewisite]] on up to 60,000 servicemen during and after WWII. The experiments were classified secret and as with [[Agent Orange#US Public Health Service, CDC and VA|Agent Orange]]{{Broken anchor|date=2024-12-20|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=Agent Orange#US Public Health Service, CDC and VA|reason= The anchor (US Public Health Service, CDC and VA) [[Special:Diff/942788652|has been deleted]].}}, claims for medical care and compensation were routinely denied, even after the WWII-era tests were declassified in 1993. The [[Department of Veterans Affairs]] stated that it would contact 4,000 surviving test subjects but failed to do so, eventually only contacting 600. Skin cancer, severe eczema, leukemia, and chronic breathing problems plagued the test subjects, some of whom were as young as 19 at the time of the tests, until their deaths, but even those who had previously filed claims with the VA went without compensation.<ref name="NPR-1">{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2015/06/23/416408655/the-vas-broken-promise-to-thousands-of-vets-exposed-to-mustard-gas |title=The VA's Broken Promise To Thousands Of Vets Exposed To Mustard Gas |last=Dickerson |first=Caitlin |date=2015-06-23 |website=[[National Public Radio|NPR]] |access-date=2019-05-03 |quote=... the Department of Veterans Affairs made two promises: to locate about 4,000 men who were used in the most extreme tests, and to compensate those who had permanent injuries.}}</ref>
[[File:Mustard gas four test subjects NRL.jpg|thumb| Arms of four test subjects after exposure to [[nitrogen mustard]] and [[lewisite]] agents]]
[[Military history of African Americans#World War II|African American servicemen]] were tested alongside white men in separate trials to determine whether their skin color would afford them a degree of immunity to the agents, and [[Nisei]] servicemen, some of whom had joined after their release from [[Internment of Japanese Americans|Japanese American Internment Camps]] were tested to determine susceptibility of [[Imperial Japanese Army|Japanese military personnel]] to these agents. These tests also included [[Puerto Ricans|Puerto Rican]] subjects.<ref name="NPR-2">{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2015/06/22/415194765/u-s-troops-tested-by-race-in-secret-world-war-ii-chemical-experiments |title=Secret World War II Chemical Experiments Tested Troops By Race |last=Dickerson |first=Caitlin |date=2015-06-22 |website=[[National Public Radio|NPR]]|access-date=2019-05-03 |quote="And it wasn't just African-Americans. Japanese-Americans were used [...] so scientists could explore how mustard gas and other chemicals might affect Japanese troops. Puerto Rican soldiers were also singled out."}}</ref>

===Detection in biological fluids===
Concentrations of thiodiglycol in urine have been used to confirm a diagnosis of chemical poisoning in hospitalized victims. The presence in urine of 1,1'-sulfonylbismethylthioethane (SBMTE), a conjugation product with glutathione, is considered a more specific marker, since this metabolite is not found in specimens from unexposed persons. In one case, intact mustard gas was detected in postmortem fluids and tissues of a man who died one week post-exposure.<ref>R. Baselt, ''Disposition of Toxic Drugs and Chemicals in Man'', 10th edition, Biomedical Publications, Seal Beach, CA, 2014, pp. 1892–1894.</ref>