KILLS IN 15 MINUTES

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 February 1947, Page 8

KILLS IN 15 MINUTES

POISON DEADLIER THAN THE ATOM BOMB NEW AMERICAN DISCOVERY LONDON, Feb. 19. Military strategists and scientists are discussing a new secret poison said to be deadlier than the atom bomb, which the Americans are reported to have developed from German discoveries. This is reported by the Daily Express which says the poison could be used for conquering cities without damaging them. The poison is a colourless, odourless liquid called super-sarin. It is a thousand times more effective than mustard gas and kills in 15 minutes. If a drop the size of sixpence gets on the skin it is rapidly absorbed in the tissues and. directly affects the brain and paralyses the nerves controlling the lungs and heart. The destruction in Germany shows that there would be no spoils of war left after atom bombing. It may never be possible to localise the effects of atomic explosives against troops, but super-sarin could be sprayed from aeroplanes or rockets, after which a conquering army could decontaminate the area and move in.

Super-sarin was developed from two German gases with the code names tabun and sarin, which were discovered accidentally in the I.G. Farben laboratories. The manufacture of these gases was so dangerous that Germans working with them in Silesia during the war wore rubber suits and helmets which were changed 10 times during each shift. In spite of this many died. The Germans filled thousands of bomb shells with gases made at the Silesia plant which the Russians now control, but the chief technicians who rah it are now working for the Americans at chemical warfare stations in Maryland.

RUSSIA AND ATOMIC ENERGY CONTROL NEW YORK, Feb. 19. Mr. Gromyko, explaining the Russian proposals for atomic energy control before-the Security Council yesterday, said an effective system for the control of atomic energy must be established by an enforceably multilateral treaty or convention which in turn must be administered by an international control commission. Inspection and control organs under this commission would make decisions by majority rules and the veto power would not apply. However, the commission’s work 'would be subject to review by the Security Council. The Council, after a discussion on procedure, adjourned its debate on atomic energy control until tomorrow. Professor Edward Teller, a leading atomic scientist, who worked on the atom bomb, in an aticle in the monthly publication, The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, says that future atomic bombs may be 1000 times more powerful than those used on Japan, and they could devastate 400 square miles at a single blow. An enemy releasing them off the Pacific coast could endanger the entire United States by radio-activity without delivering a single bomb into American territory.