TYPE OF AGENT – Incapacitating agent

NAME (CHEMICAL) – 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate

NAME (NATO) – BZ

NAME (COMMON) – BZ, Buzz

DATE OF DISCOVERY – 1952

MOLECULAR FORMULA – C₂₁H₂₃NO­₃

MOLECULAR WEIGHT – 337.4 g/mol

PHYSICAL STATE @ 20° C. (68° F.) – Crystalline solid

VAPOR DENSITY (AIR = 1.0) – 11.6

FREEZING/MELTING POINT – 165° C. (329° F.)

BOILING POINT – 412° C. (774° F.)

DECOMPOSITION TEMPERATURE – Begins @ 170° C. (338° F.)

SOLID DENSITY – 1.33 g/cc

VOLATILITY (mg/m3) – @ 0.5 mg/m³ @ 70° C. (158° F.)

ODOR – None

APPEARANCE – White to colorless crystalline powder

SOLUBILITY – Very slight

MEDIAN INCAPACITATING DOSAGE (ID50) – 0.067 mg-min/m³ for 10 minute exposure

MEDIAN LETHAL DOSAGE (LD50) – 1.2 mg-min/m³ for 10 minute exposure

PERSISTENCY – 3 to 4 weeks in moist air

INHALATION TOXICITY – Normal means of absorption

SKIN TOXICITY – Can be readily absorbed through the skin

EYE TOXICITY – Can be absorbed through the eyes, dilated pupils, watering

RATE OF ACTION – Delayed and dose dependent, up to 1 hours after exposure for mild effects, maximum effects occur after 4 to 12 hours and up to 48 hours after exposure

SYMPTOMS (PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION) – Rapid heart rate, behavioral and cognitive dysfunction, delirium, erratic behavior, tremors, hallucinations, stupor, sedation, fever, inhibition of sweating, possible heat stroke

TREATMENT – remove from exposure, supportive treatment, control excessive temperature in patient

DURATION OF EFFECTIVENESS – Up to several days

PROTECTION – Gas mask, protective clothing

DECONTAMINATION – Remove contaminated clothing, wash with soap and water, wash down contaminated areas with water

USE – Burning-type munitions, cluster bomb sub-munitions

     This was the only Incapacitating agent adopted for field use by the US Military. As such, it was intended to cause temporary physiological or mental impairment of exposed personnel without being a lethal agent. 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate, or BZ is it is much better known, is odorless, colorless material that can be employed as a liquid or as a vapor component of a pyrotechnic composition. Exposure to BZ causes hallucinations, severe confusion, difficulty speaking, impaired vision, and a dry mouth and throat. These symptoms appear any time from 1 to 24 hours after exposure and can last for 3 days post-exposure.

     Combined with a standard burning-type pyrotechnic composition, the agent was loaded into standard M6-type grenade canisters, fitted with inertia fuzes, as part of parachute-dropped chemical agent cluster bomb as well as other munitions. It was due to the undependable effects of BZ that prevented it from being used and led to its abandonment. It was standardized by the US Army in 1961 and stockpiled by the US in the M44 BZ generator and M43 cluster bomb. All such American stocks of agent and munitions were destroyed in 1989.