Question

At rush hour on a Monday morning in 1995, in Tokyo, Japan, five terrorists dropped bags containing a chemical compound called sarin into five subway cars. The perpetrators punctured the bags with sharpened umbrella tips, then left the cars. Over 5,000 people were sickened. Thirteen people died, several dozen became critically ill, and several hundred more suffered vision impairment (in some cases lasting more than a decade). Sarin is classified as a weapon of mass destruction. Sarin forms a covalent bond with acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme that degrades ACh. How exactly would sarin kill a person?

Answer 1

The main ingredient of the Sarin is methyl phosphoryl difluoride. It disappears quickly and will cause an immediate but short-lived threat. Death will usually occur as a result of asphyxia because of the inability to control the muscles involved in breathing. Initial symptoms are a runny nose, tightness in the chest, and contraction of the pupils.

But there are antidotes also. Atropine and pralidoxime chloride (2-PAM Cl) are antidotes for Sarin however, they must be given within minutes to a few hours after the exposure.