Chemicals with Potential to Harm Houston

1069 Nitrosyl chloride 9.8 km (6.1 mi)
an orange gas

Historically known as Aqua regia prepared by mixing one volume of concentrated nitric acid with three to four volumes of concentrated hydrochloric acid. It was so named by the alchemists because it dissolves gold and platinum, the “royal” metals, which do not dissolve in nitric or hydrochloric acid alone.

USE in the diazotization, nitrosation and chlorination of organic compounds. Nitrosyl Chloride is also used as a maturation agent.

CG (carbonyl chloride aka phosogene) (buffer over 7 miles)
"choking Gas" foglike in its initial concentration, it becomes colorless as it spreads; it has both a newly mown hay and highly toxic suffocating odor.

Historical: Germans Used as a chemical warfare agent in WWI.

USE In common industrial processes, such as dye or plastic manufacturing. Also used in mining and metalworking. Phosgene exposure also can occur in fires associated with organochlorine compounds (eg, vinyl chloride), the use of carbon tetrachloride fire extinguishers, and during arc welding procedures.

MEDICAL EFFECTS a delayed-casualty agent resulting in fluid buildup in the lungs ("dryland drowning"). It affects the upper respiratory tract, skin, and eyes and causes severe respiratory damage as well as burns to the skin and eyes. Acute inhalation may cause respiratory and circulatory failure with symptoms of chills, dizziness, thirst, burning of eyes,cough, viscous sputum, dyspnea, feeling of suffocation, tracheal rhonchi, burning in throat, vomiting, pain in chest and cyanosis. Rapid progression to pulmonary edema and pneumonia, and death from respiratory and circulatory failure may occur. Pulmonary edema can suddenly occur up to 48 hours after exposure. Phosgene is a severe mucous membrane irritant. vapor may persist for some time in low places under calm or light winds and stable atmospheric conditions (inversion)

1079 Sulfur dioxide & liquefied 7.2 km (4.5 mi)

1092 Acrolein, inhibited 6 7.9 km (4.9 mi)
Acrolein is a clear or yellow liquid with a disagreeable odor. It dissolves in water very easily and quickly changes to a vapor when heated. It also burns easily. Small amounts of acrolein can be formed and can enter the air when trees, tobacco, other plants, gasoline, and oil are burned.
USE Acrolein is used as a pesticide to control algae, weeds, bacteria, and mollusks. It is also used to make other chemicals.

1251 Methyl vinyl ketone 11.0+ km (7.0+ mi)
Colorless to light yellow liquid; sharp, irritating, pungent odor.

USE: vinyl resins; component of monomer resins; intermediate in steroid and vitamin A synthesis; alkylating agent; commercial intermediate for plastics, in cigarette smoke and ant secretions.

MEDICAL EFFECTS May be fatal if absorbed through skin or inhaled. Potent skin absorber.
Corrosive to Skin. Exposure to liquid or high concentrations of vapors can cause blistering and burns with permanent scarring. Eye, skin, and mucous membrane irritant.
Poisoning results in central nervous system depression and death. Lachrymator.
Symptoms include dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, fainting, incoordination, difficulty breathing, coma and death.

1380 Pentaborane10.6 km (6.6 mi)

a colorless to yellow liquid with a characteristic pungent odor that has been described as resembling garlic, acetylene, or sour milk.May ignite spontaneously if exposed to air and may react explosively or form shock-sensitive mixtures
USE as a fuel for high performance cars in the 1950s. Considered as a potential high-energy liquid rocket propellant. NO KNOWN CURRENT USE .
MEDICAL EFFECTS Humans accidentally overexposed to pentaborane experienced tremors, convulsions, behavioral changes, loss of memory, impaired judgment, and other symptoms of central nervous system intoxication

1703 Tetraethyl dithiopyrophosphate 6.9 km (4.3 mi)
USE in pesticide Ethion, Sulfotep, DIAZINON TED --cargo designation

Phosgene gas (7 miles)(military designation CG) Phosgene gas has the appearance of a white cloud and the characteristic odor of newly mown hay.

Historical: Sir Humphrey Davey, a British chemist, first synthesized it in 1812. Used as a chemical weapon by Germans in First World War.

USE in common industrial processes, such as dye or plastic manufacturing, makes it a potential industrial hazard today. Phosgene exposure also can occur in fires associated with organochlorine compounds (eg, vinyl chloride), the use of carbon tetrachloride fire extinguishers, and during arc welding procedures.

MEDICAL EFFECTS Odor alone is insufficient for the detection of phosgene exposure, since toxic exposures may occur before detection.is a toxic inhalant that directly damages the lungs.

1749 Chlorine trifluoride 7.7 km (4.8 mi)

1836 Thionyl chloride when spilled on water 7.1 km (4.4 mi)
a colorless to pale yellow or reddish, fuming, refractive liquid with a suffocating odor. Listed by Australian Group export control list of Chemical weapons precursors.

USE Ingredient in lithium battery and ideal for such long-term applications as power for electronic devices and electric power, water, and gas meters, and especially as a backup power source for memory ICs.As well as beacons!s

MEDICAL EFFECTS Thionyl chloride is a severe irritantin humans. A worker exposed to an unknown concentration of thionyl chloride following a battery explosion developed severe pulmonary edema and later died

1955 Organic phosphate compound 7.2 km (4.5 mi)

2188 Arsine SA (when used as a weapon) 8.0 km (5.0 mi)6.6 km (4.1 mi)
colorless, odorless, nonirritating gas that is 2.5 times denser than air. At concentrations above 0.5 ppm, a garliclike odor may be noted, but arsine is toxic at much lower concentrations. Arsine is highly flammable and reacts violently with oxidizing agents, such as chlorine, nitric acid and fluorine. the most toxic form of arsenic,
USE in semiconductor industry also galvanizing, soldering, etching, and lead plating.

MEDICAL EFFECTS extremely toxic gas that destroys red blood cells and can cause widespread systemic injury. Inhalation may cause headache, delirium, nausea, vomiting, general malaise, tightness in the chest and pain in the abdomen or loins. Arsine does not have adequate warning properties to avoid overexposure. Symptoms may not occur until several hours after exposure. Arsine is listed as a Group 1 Carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Acute renal tubular necrosis massive red blood cell hemolysis that potentially can lead to global cellular hypoxia.

2192 Germane 6.6 km (4.1 mi)
colorless gas with a pungent odor that is not detectable by some people. Its immediate health hazards are that it is a poison gas and that its combustion may cause thermal burns. It is a flammable gas that may form mixtures with air that are flammable or explosive. Germane is reactive with oxidizers and halogens.The gas is heavier than air and may travel along the ground; distant ignition possible. may spontaneously ignite on contact with air

USE in making semiconductors.

MEDICAL EFFECTS a hemolytic agent. Secondary renal and neurological damage has been observed. Respiratory irritation and impairment, pulmonary edema.
Signs and Symptoms of Exposure: Shortness of breath, headache, nausea and vomiting, altered behavior, unconsciousness, muscle contraction.

2195 Tellurium hexafluoride 7.6 km (4.7 mi)

MEDICAL EFFECTS: Tellurium hexafluoride is a severe irritant of the respiratory system dyspnea; headache, malaise, weakness, lethargy, and anorexia; bluish-black patches on the fingers, neck, and face; skin rash; a metallic taste; and a garlic odor to the sweat, urine, and breath

2202 Hydrogen selenide, anhydrous 11.0+ km (7.0+ mi)

2482 n-Propyl isocyanate 125 10.6 km (6.6 mi)
Cannot be shipped on Cargo airplanes--but not forbidden on human carrying planes!

2481 Ethyl isocyanate 11.0+ km (7.0+ mi)

2484 tert-Butyl isocyanate 10.3 km (6.4 mi)
MEDICAL EFFECTS Contact can severely irritate and burn the skin and eyes with possible eye damage. can irritate the nose, throat and lungs causing coughing, wheezing and/or shortness of
breath. can cause headache, nausea and dizziness

2810 GB (Sarin) (when used as a weapon) 11.0+ km (7.0+ mi)
2810 GD (Soman) (when used as a weapon) 10.5 km (6.5 mi)
Nerve Gas
MEDICAL EFFECTS Along with GA (Tabun), GB, and VX (methylphosphonothioic acid) are organophosphorus esters acute effects of moderate exposure such as nausea, diarrhea, inability to perform simple mental tasks, and respiratory effects may render the public unable to respond adequately to emergency instructions in the unlikely event of agent releaase, making early warning and exposure avoidance important. twitching (which usually appear first in the eyelids and in the facial and calf muscles) becomes generalised. Many rippling movements are seen under the skin and twitching movements appear in all parts of the body. This is followed by severe generalised muscular weakness, including the muscles of respiration.

2977 Radioactive material, Uranium hexafluoride, fissile (when spilled in water) 3.1 km (1.9 mi)

3057 Trifluoroacetylchloride 8.5 km (5.3 mi)
a colourless gas with a pungent odour. It is easily hydrolysed, fumes in air and is easily soluble in organic solvents.
USE in production of pharmaceutical and agricultural chemicals, as well as in many specialty applications. a typical intermediate in organic synthesis. Proposed as a refrigerant, but dismissed for toxicity.
MEDICAL EFFECTS The chloride is capable of trifluoroacetylating liver proteins, causing a toxic effect (hepatitis). Often produced as a toxic side effect of pharmaceuticals (discovered during clinical drug trials).

Chlorine pentafluoride8.7 km (5.4 mi) a colorless gas with a sweet odor.

USE as a fluorinating agent and in pulp bleaching

Assumptions for unknown gases and liquids
1953 Compressed gas, flammable, poisonous or toxic n.o.s. (Inhalation Hazard Zone A OR B) (7.0+ mi) Same for toxic liquid,Poisonous liquid, n.o.s. Liquefied gas, flammable, as well as sflammable toxic, Also compressed gas poinsonous & toxic 11.0+ km (7.0+ mi)

Aluminum phosphide when spilled in water (over 7 miles),
CK (5 miles)
Fastphos, Fumitoxin, Gastoxin, Max-Kill, Phosfume, Phostoxin and Weevilcide (1, 213). Al-phos, Celphide, Celphine, Celphos, Detia-Gas-Ex, and Quick Tox APPEARANCE: Dark grey or yellowish crystals, has an odor similar to garlic or decaying fish USE: It is mainly used as an indoor fumigant at crop transport, storage or processing facilities (or in ship holds, railcars, etc.) for both food and non-food crops (1, 212). It may also be used as an outdoor fumigant for burrowing rodent and mole control, or in baits for rodent control in crops Main routes of exposure are through ingestion and inhalation (214). They are highly toxic via both these routes..Aluminum phosphide ingested orally reacts with water and stomach acids to produce phosphine gas (hydrogen phosphide), which is readily absorbed in to the bloodstream, and it is readily absorbed through the lung epithelium (188). Phosphine may cause denaturing of oxyhemeglobin (the carrier for systemic distribution of oxygen) as well as enzymes important for respiration and metabolism.. Inhaled aluminum phosphide dust undergoes the same reaction in the moist air sacs of the lung, although at a lower rate, resulting in similar local and systemic effects. -----------------------
Tetraethyl dithiopyrophosphate and gases (including compressed), mixtures, or in solution (4.3 mi )
1703 Tetraethyl dithiopyrophosphate Used in greenhouse fumigant formulations for control of aphids, spider mites, thrips, etc. Autonomic Nervous System: Other (direct) parasympathomimetic Biochemical: Enzyme inhibition, induction, or change in blood or tissue levels: True cholinesterase Sulfotep thio TEPP tetraethyl pyrophosphorodithionate sulfotepp thio pyrophosphoric acid tetraethyl ester Dithion tetraethyl dithionopyrophosphate tetraethyl dithiopyrophosphate Bayer-E-393 Bladafume Orthio Lethalaire G-57 Plantfume 103 Smoke Generator MEDICAL EFFECTS: The signs and symptoms of acute exposure to TEDP may not develop for as long as 12 hours after exposure; signs and symptoms vary by route of exposure. After inhalation, they include ocular effects (blurring, constricted pupils, tearing, and frontal headache) and respiratory effects (wheezing, a sensation of chest tightness, laryngeal spasms, and respiratory distress). After ingestion, effects are primarily gastrointestinal and include nausea, anorexia, vomiting, cramps, and diarrhea. Skin absorption of TEDP leads to localized sweating and muscular twitching in the affected area. The signs and symptoms of TEDP poisoning by any route may progress to giddiness, slurred speech, incoordination, muscle weakness, convulsions, loss of reflexes, coma, respiratory paralysis, and death. An inhibitor of plasma and red blood cell cholinesterase that affects the autonomic nervous system in experimental animals. ----------------------------------
Allyl chlorocarbonate 10.8 km (6.7 mi