Which agent is described as a colorless vapor that smells like garlic and acts over hours?

Which agent is described as a colorless vapor that smells like garlic and acts over hours?

• A. Mustard gas
• B. Lewisite
• C. Cyanide gas
• D. Dushaqiang (TETS)

Answer: (A)

Garbage? No. The key idea here is identifying a blistering agent by its odor and onset of effects. Sulfur mustard, commonly called mustard gas, is described as a colorless vapor that often has a garlic-like smell. Its harmful effects are vesicant and delayed: exposure can blister skin and mucous membranes, with symptoms not appearing for several hours (often 2–24 hours) after contact. That combination—garlic odor plus effects that unfold over hours—best matches mustard gas. The other options don’t fit this same odor-and-t timing. Cyanide gas typically acts quickly and is associated with a bitter almond-like odor (not a garlic scent). Lewisite is another blister agent but is usually described with a different odor (often geranium-like) and its onset characteristics differ. The last option is a nerve agent with rapid onset and a different odor profile, not the garlic-smelling, hour-delayed blistering pattern.

Garbage? No. The key idea here is identifying a blistering agent by its odor and onset of effects. Sulfur mustard, commonly called mustard gas, is described as a colorless vapor that often has a garlic-like smell. Its harmful effects are vesicant and delayed: exposure can blister skin and mucous membranes, with symptoms not appearing for several hours (often 2–24 hours) after contact. That combination—garlic odor plus effects that unfold over hours—best matches mustard gas.

The other options don’t fit this same odor-and-t timing. Cyanide gas typically acts quickly and is associated with a bitter almond-like odor (not a garlic scent). Lewisite is another blister agent but is usually described with a different odor (often geranium-like) and its onset characteristics differ. The last option is a nerve agent with rapid onset and a different odor profile, not the garlic-smelling, hour-delayed blistering pattern.