Zyklon B

One of the most effective pesticides that exist is the hydrocyanic acid also known as prussic acid or, in German, blue acid, because it tends to leave blue spots. But his reputation has little to do with his effect on insects and other bugs. Any of you will recognize it under the form with which the German company for the control of pests Degesch (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Schädlingsbekämpfung) commercialized it in 1923: Zyklon B.

Essentially it was consisting of liquid hydrocyanic acid absorbed in inert material, like the wooden pulp, and with an irritating compound so that it was serving as a warning for those that were exhibited incidentally to him. It was thought to use it as a chemical weapon but it had an insuperable problem: in his gaseous form the hydrocyanic acid is lighter than the air and it disperses with too much rapidity. For it, his use as pesticide was coming down to closed spaces. In this case, the workers, properly trained to handle this mortal gas, were opening the receptacles where they were transporting it - perfectly sealed - and were interspersing the Zyklon for the whole place. Later they were going out of the room and were closing it, in expectation that the hydrocyanic acid was turning into gas, was filling the room and was killing to the insects. In the end, it is enough to open door and windows and to ventilate the place. The finished process was long because the evaporation is slow and, obviously, it is necessary to dedicate time to the ventilation. In particular, the first phase needs, according to an informative leaflet of Zyklon B, between 2 at 72 hours for the gassed one and 10 for the ventilation. His use was so dangerous his his that during the Second World war there could only use the said company DEGESCH, which was responsible officially of training those who were going to operate with him.

To disinfect clothes and other articles, in Germany there developed gas cameras where a miscellany of air and Zyklon was interfering from above to a room previously warmed, since the heat accelerates the process. In these one was finishing with the louse, the creature most resistant and more difficult to kill: in three quarters of an hour and after a period of 20 minutes of ventilation the camera was operative again.

Since we all know, the human madness did that it was used in the attempt for eliminating the whole people of the face of the ground. Unfortunately, the hydrocyanic acid keeps on being used to finish with the life of the persons in the gas cameras of the North American prisons.