erve_history.html*:Four pipe fitters had liquid Tabun drain onto them and die before their rubber suits could be removed. A worker had 2 liters of Tabun pour down the neck of his rubber suit and died within 2 minutes. Seven workers were hit in the face with a stream of Tabun of such force that the liquid was forced behind their respirators; only two survived despite heroic resuscitation measures. Back to Top *nerve_history.html* Sarin: the Second Nerve AgentIn 1938, a second potent organophosphate nerve agent was discovered. This agent, Sarin *../agents/sarin.html* (1-methylethyl methylphosphonofluoridate, GB) was named for its four discoverers: Schrader, Ambros, Rdriger, and van der Linde. In June 1939, the formula for Sarin was passed to the to CW section of the Army Weapons Office at Berlin-Spandau *big_german.jpg* along with a sample of the compound.All the synthetic routes for Sarin *../agents/sarin.html* investigated at that time required the use of hydrogen fluoride, which caused severe corrosion problems. This necessitated the use of quartz- and silver-lined components. Pilot plants were constructed at Spandau, Mnster Lager, on Lneberg heath *big_german.jpg*, and pilot production of Sarin was conducted in Building 144 in Dyernfurth *big_german.jpg*. The Dyernfurth Sarin plant is variously listed as having a capacity of 40 or 100 tons per month A 500-ton per month production plant was under construction at Falkenhagen *big_german.jpg*, southeast of Berlin, at the end of World War II. Estimates vary for the total Sarin production from 500 kg to 10 tons.The United States began producing Sarin *../agents/sarin.html* in the early 1950s and ended regular production in 1956.Back to Top *nerve_history.html* The Secret of Tabun Gets OutOn 11 May 1943, the British captured a German chemist who had worked at the main Army CW research laboratory in Spandau. The prisoner told the British the code name for Tabun *../agents/tabun.html* (Trilon...
