Mustard-gas

Sulfur mustard (military designation: HD) is a thick liquid at ambient temperature, but solid at 14.4 C. It is heavier than water as a liquid and heavier than air as a vapor. It is often called mustard gas, but sulfur mustard is not likely to change into a gas immediately if it is released at ordinary temperatures. As a pure liquid, it is colorless and odorless, but when mixed with other chemicals, it looks brown and has a garlic-like smell. Bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide; dichlorodiethyl sulfide is very toxic, and can be absorbed through the skin. Exposure to this substance is corrosive to the eyes, skin and lungs and leads to blindness and blistering of the skin and can cause severe and sometimes fatal respiratory damage. Sulfur mustard has been used in chemical warfare and was made in large amounts during World Wars I and II. It was reportedly used in the Iran-Iraq war in 1980-1988: vesicant and a carcinogenic agent. Sulfur mustard (SM) can be hydrolyzed by haloalkane dehalogenases such as DhaA, LinB and DmbA, also hydrolyzed by Chloroperoxidase (not alpha/beta hydrolase)