[rescue] Re: CRAY-2 coolant

[George Adkins]

On Thursday 07 February 2002 01:06 pm, you wrote:
> On Thu, 2002-02-07 at 12:40, Stuart Johnson wrote:
> > The cooling liquid in a CRAY-2 is a 3M product called Flourinert. It
> > turned out to be less than inert - when a module arced in the tank the
> > byproduct turned out to be phosgene gas. This is what precipitated the
> > redesign of the coolant resevoir from four interconnected cylinders to
> > the waterfall.
> >
> > We supposedly had a sales rep that would drink a glass of Flourinert
> > as part of his sales presentation to demonstrate how safe it was.
>
> For the nonchemists on the list,
>
>    phosgene = mustard gas = pesticide and chemical warfare agent
>

phosgene IS NOT =  mustard gas IS NOT =  pesticide.

For the non chemists reading or _*posting*_ to the list, these chemical 
poisons are unrelated and absolutely NOT the same things.  If you don't know 
what these chemicals are, I have included a brief but pedantic explanation 
below. 

Phosgene is a choking agent,  also called CARBONYL CHLORIDE, a colorless, 
chemically reactive, highly toxic gas having an odour like that of musty hay, 
It first came into prominence during World War I, when it was used, either 
alone or mixed with chlorine, against troops. Inhalation causes severe lung 
injury, the full effects appearing several hours after exposure. When in 
contact with water, phosgene reacts to form carbon dioxide and hydrochloric 
acid (hence the lung damage)

Mustard Gas is a Blister Agent,  an irritating and deadly chemical weapon 
developed at the begining of the century and first used in 1917.  This 
sticky, amber-black substanc3 is soluable in some environments but is only 
slightly soluable in water making it hard to wash off. Its odor has been 
described as that of horseradish or garlic, hence, "mustard gas". Mustard gas 
enters the body by absorption through _any_ exposed tissue and attacks the 
protein forming the cellular structures causing the sells to break down and 
cell walls to rupture.

The Chemical Agents used today for Pesticides are organophosphate poisons, 
which affest the nervous system (namely the parasympathetic) by binding with 
the cholinesterase enzyme in the neural cleft (the joint between nerve 
cells).  Binding with this enzyme means that acetylcholine cannot be removed 
from the junction and over-stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous systems 
results in   depression of heart rate, depression of respiratory rate, loss 
of motor control and oversecretion in the airway; resulting in seziures and 
death by Anoxia (lack of oxygen).