Blistering agents in chemical warfare

[Marquetta]

There are many types of chemical-warfare agents that affect different parts of the body. Blistering agents affect the skin and include

Mustards, including sulfur mustard and nitrogen mustards
Lewisite
Phosgene oxime

Blistering agents, which cause the skin to blister, can also damage the lungs and airways. Mustards can also affect the ability of the bone marrow to produce white blood cells that fight infection and sometimes cause cancer of the skin or airways long-term.
Some agents have characteristic odors. For example, sulfur mustard has been variously described as smelling like mustard, garlic, horseradish, or asphalt. Lewisite may have a geranium-like odor, and phosgene oxime has been described simply as irritating. However, the perceptions of these odors are so subjective that they are not reliable indicators of the presence or identity of these compounds.