• Sarin
• Sarin is a human-made chemical warfare agent classified as a nerve agent. Nerve agents are the most toxic and rapidly acting of the known chemical warfare agents. They are similar to certain kinds of insecticides (insect killers) called organophosphates in terms of how they work and what kind of harmful effects they cause. However, nerve agents are much more potent than organophosphate pesticides.
• Sarin originally was developed in 1938 in Germany as a pesticide.
• Sarin is a clear, colorless, and tasteless liquid that has no odor in its pure form. However, sarin can evaporate into a vapor (gas) and spread into the environment.
• Sarin is also known as GB.

Where sarin is found and how it is used

• Sarin is not found naturally in the environment. It is a man-made toxin.
• Sarin was used in two terrorist attacks in Japan in 1994 and 1995.

How people can be exposed to sarin

• Following release of sarin into the air, people can be exposed through skin contact or eye contact. They also can be exposed by breathing air that contains sarin.
• Sarin mixes easily with water. Following release of sarin into water, people can be exposed by touching or drinking water that contains sarin.
• Following contamination of food with sarin, people can be exposed by eating the contaminated food.
• A person’s clothing can release sarin after it has come in contact with sarin vapor, which can lead to exposure of other people.
• Because sarin vapor is heavier than air, it will sink to low-lying areas and create a greater exposure hazard there.

How sarin works

• The extent of poisoning caused by sarin depends on the amount of sarin to which a person was exposed, how the person was exposed, and the length of time of the exposure.
• Symptoms likely will appear within a few seconds after exposure to the vapor form of sarin and within a few minutes to hours after exposure to the liquid form.
• All nerve agents cause their toxic effects by preventing the proper operation of an enzyme that acts as the body’s “off switch” for glands and muscles. Without an “off switch,” the glands and muscles are constantly being stimulated. Exposed people may become tired and no longer be able to keep breathing.
• Sarin is the most volatile of the nerve agents. This means it can easily and quickly evaporate from a liquid into a vapor and spread into the environment. People can be exposed to the vapor even if they do not come in contact with the liquid form of sarin.
• Because it evaporates so quickly, sarin presents an immediate but short-lived threat.

Immediate signs and symptoms of sarin exposure

• People may not know that they were exposed because sarin has no odor.
• People exposed to a low or moderate dose of sarin by breathing contaminated air, eating contaminated food, drinking contaminated water, or touching contaminated surfaces may experience some or all of the following symptoms within seconds to hours of exposure:
  • Runny nose
  • Watery eyes
  • Small, pinpoint pupils
  • Eye pain
  • Blurred vision
  • Drooling and excessive sweating
  • Cough
  • Chest tightness
  • Rapid breathing
  • Diarrhea
  • Nausea, vomiting, and/or abdominal pain
  • Increased urination
  • Confusion
  • Drowsiness
  • Weakness
  • Headache
  • Slow or fast heart rate
  • Low or high blood pressure
• Even a small drop of sarin on the skin can cause sweating and muscle twitching where sarin touched the skin.
• Exposure to large doses of sarin by any route may result in the following harmful health effects:
  • Loss of consciousness
  • Convulsions
  • Paralysis
  • Respiratory failure possibly leading to death
• Showing these signs and symptoms does not necessarily mean that a person has been exposed to sarin.

What the long-term health effects are

Mildly exposed people usually recover completely. Severely exposed people are less likely to survive.