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Blue Cross consists of the gases which block the respiratory system
by neutralizing the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. Gases like
arsine, cyanogen chloride, cyanide, and carbon monoxide are all
Blue Cross gases. They interfere with the up-take of oxygen by the
hemoglobin of the red blood cells by causing a form of "physiological
suffocation." The poisonous chemicals form a molecular attachment or
bond at the site on the hemoglobin molecule where oxygen is carried.
Death is inevitable when oxygen can no longer reach the cells. The
victim may grasp for air and inhale it, but the cells will not receive
the oxygen. The victim soon dies. The bonding of the gas with red blood cells is irreversible. Patients would have to be brought out of contact with the gas immediately. The patients will not show an unhealthy pallid color. The blood of the victims is a bright, almost cherry red color even though poisonous chemicals, not oxygen, are bonded to the hemoglobin molecule. In the battlefield the gases would rapidly disperse and last shortly, mainly due to low densities. |