TYPE OF AGENT – Lacrimatory – Toxic (Tear Gas)

NAME (CHEMICAL) – Ethyl Bromoacetate

NAME (NATO) – None

NAME (COMMON) – EBA, Weisskreuz [White Cross] (WWI German), BA (American and British)

DATE OF DISCOVERY – 1858

MOLECULAR FORMULA – CH₂BrCOOC₂H₅

MOLECULAR WEIGHT – 167.01 g/mol

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

VAPOR DENSITY (AIR = 1.0) – 5.8

FLASH POINT – 48° C (118° F.)

FREEZING/MELTING POINT – -38° C. (-36° F.)

BOILING POINT – 159° C. (318° F.)

LIQUID DENSITY – 1.506 g/ml

VAPOR PRESSURE (mm/Hg) – 3.37 mm Hg @ 25° C. (77° F.)

ODOR – Pungent, fruity-smelling

APPEARANCE – Clear, colorless to yellow (Straw) liquid

SOLUBILITY – Slightly soluble in water 7.02 g/l

MEDIAN INCAPACITATING DOSAGE (ID50) – 0.0030 mg/l

MEDIAN LETHAL DOSAGE (LD50) – 2.30 mg/l

PERSISTENCY – 2 days in open, 7 days in woods

INHALATION TOXICITY – May be fatal if inhaled, causes headache, nausea, and vomiting, irritates the nose, throat, and lungs causing coughing and shortness of breath, high exposures cause a buildup of liquid in the lungs

SKIN TOXICITY – Causes rash or burning sensation

EYE TOXICITY – High, may cause severe eye burns leading to permanent damage

RATE OF ACTION – Rapid

SYMPTOMS (PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION) – Strong irritation to eyes and the mucous membranes of the nose and throat, considered unbearable for more than a minute at concentrations of 8 ppm in air

TREATMENT – Remove from exposure, wash with water

DURATION OF EFFECTIVENESS – Relief of symptoms roughly 30 minutes after removal from exposure

PROTECTION – Gas mask, impermeable covering, gloves

DECONTAMINATION – Wash affected area with volumes of water

USE – Tear gas in hand and rifle grenades, limited use in artillery projectiles

     This was the first chemical agent employed during World War I. Adopted by the French police in 1912 as a tear gas agent, it was available in grenade form at the beginning of the war. The French Army is reported to have had up to 30,000 of these tear gas grenades ready for combat. The employment of the grenades and their tear gas contents, were not considered a tactical success, in part because the French forces had no experience in using the weapon in the open air. Considered twice as toxic as Chlorine gas and can easily be fatal if inhaled, the French use of the gas influenced the German forces who encountered it. Imperial Germany adopted Ethyl bromoacetate as a tear gas for chemical warfare but they found it to be lacking as a field agent, it dissipated quickly in the air and was not noticed by the soldiers who encountered it in combat. The German army did use the French employment of Ethyl bromoacetate to justify their subsequent employment of lethal chemical agents in 1915