Poison gas facts for kids

Poison gas is a type of gas that can be very harmful or even deadly if you breathe it in or if it touches your skin. These gases can cause serious injury or make someone very sick, especially if there's a lot of the gas in the air.

There are many different kinds of poison gases. Each one works in its own way. Sometimes, liquids that are poisonous can also turn into a gas, and these vapors can be just as dangerous. When people talk about "poison gas," they might be thinking of chemical weapons. However, many chemical weapons are actually liquids, like mustard gas. These liquids are often sprayed as tiny mists that act like a gas.

Some poison gases can cause irritation, like making your eyes water or your throat scratchy. They might also have a strong smell. But it's important to know that some very dangerous gases have no smell or don't cause any irritation at first. This makes them extra tricky because you might not know they are there until it's too late.

Not all gases are poison gases. For example, nitrogen and carbon dioxide are common gases that are not poisons. But if there's too much of these gases in the air, they can push out the oxygen we need to breathe. This can cause a person to suffocate, which means they can't get enough oxygen. This is why it's important to be careful around any gas that is stored under pressure or as a liquid. Some gases can also be dangerous because they are flammable, meaning they can easily catch fire.

Poison gases can harm you more easily than solid or liquid poisons. This is because gases spread out quickly in the air. They can get on your skin or, more commonly, be breathed into your lungs. If a gas is corrosive, it means it can burn your skin and the inside of your lungs. When poison gases get inside your body, either by breathing or through your skin, they can cause poisoning. If someone is poisoned by gas, they often need medical help right away. Just moving them away from the gas might not be enough to stop them from getting sick.

How Poison Gases Can Harm You

Different poison gases affect the body in various ways:

• Corrosive Gases: Gases like hydrogen chloride can cause chemical burns on your skin and inside your lungs. This can make your lungs fill with fluid, which is very dangerous.
• Gases Affecting Cells: Some gases, like methyl chloride or mustard gas, can damage the DNA and proteins in your body's cells. This can cause cells to die or not work correctly, leading to different health problems.
• Gases Affecting Calcium: Gases that release fluoride into the body, such as hydrogen fluoride, can cause you to lose calcium from your blood. This can lead to heart problems and be very serious.
• Ammonia: This gas can also cause corrosive burns to the body.
• Hydrogen Sulfide: This gas has a strong smell, often like rotten eggs. But after a short time, your nose can get used to the smell, and you won't notice it anymore. This is dangerous because hydrogen sulfide can stop the part of your brain that controls breathing, causing you to stop breathing.
• Nerve Agents: These are usually poisonous liquids that turn into gas easily. They stop your muscles from being able to relax. This means all your muscles, including the ones you need to breathe, can tighten up, leading to suffocation.

Uses of Poison Gases in Industry

Even though they are dangerous, poison gases are very important in many industries. They are used as chemical reagents, which means they help create other chemicals. Scientists and engineers try to avoid using poisonous gases when possible, but sometimes there's no other way to make certain products.

Here are some examples of how poisonous gases are used:

• Hydrogen Sulfide: This gas is taken from oil and used in various chemical processes.
• Chlorine: Chlorine is used in many chemical products. It's also used to clean and disinfect drinking water, making it safe for us to drink.
• Ammonia: Ammonia is a very important gas used to make fertilizers that help plants grow. It can also be changed into many other types of fertilizers and used in other chemical processes.

Some chemicals called fumigants are also poison gases. These are used to kill pests like insects that live in grains or other stored foods. The good thing about using a gas for this is that it evaporates after it's used. This means there's no need to wash the food to remove the poison, as the gas simply disappears into the air.