alt.war.nuclear

wrote in message
news:ee5ff3e9-ccf9-4970-88fd-0612b072bc4c@d70g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
>
> >
> > I personally suspect that the "sweet spot" for this sort of thing,
> > maximum results for minimum effort, would be an attack with industrial
> > phosgene. But that's not as easy to arrange as chlorine, and it
> > scores a big "zero" on the visual impact and/or acute panic meters.
> >
> IIRC phosgene(from reading a book on war gases many years ago) is
> difficult to disperse on its own(it apparently isn't a very good
> aerosol) but in WWI they got around this problem IIRC by mixing it
> with chlorine gas and dispersed it with a special type of mortar
> shell.


Phosgene's boiling point is 8 C, so it is technically a gas at room
temperature. Drift gas phosgene attacks were a problem since the gas had to
vaporize from a bulk container and the vaporization cooling pushed it below
its own boiling point, even in warm weather. This is when they mixed it with
chlorine. Shells never had this problem, the burst and the droplets
immediately vaporize.

But the vapor pressure of phosgene is only 1180 mm Hg at 20 C, only 8 psi
above normal air pressure. A light plastic container can hold it fine, and
is easily ruptured by a small explosive charge. This would produce a dense
cloud immediately.