Soman
What is it?
The chemical name for soman is pinacolyl methylphosphonofluridate.
Soman is a moderately volatile nerve agent which enters the body through inhalation or skin contact. Soman also has a slightly fruity odor when pure but industrially it is yellow-brown. Soman works in a similar way as tabun in how it harms humans, as it is also a nerve agent, but is about twice as toxic by inhalation.
What are the symptoms of this type of attack?
Soman is a moderately volatile nerve agent which enters the body through inhalation or skin contact. Symptoms of overexposure may occur within minutes or hours, depending upon the dose. They include: miosis and visual effects, headaches and pressure sensation, runny nose and nasal congestion, salivation, tightness in the chest, nausea, vomiting, giddiness, anxiety, difficulty in thinking and sleeping, nightmares, muscle twitches, tremors, weakness, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, involuntary urination and defecation.
Treatment of Victims
Soman has the same treatments as other nerve gases, auto-injectors containing a combination of atropine and an oxime but is this agent is the toughest to treat with the auto- injector.