Abstract
MR. J. DAVIDSON PRATT, secretary and general manager of the Association of British Chemical Manufacturers, addressing the Glasgow Section of the Society of Chemical Industry on October 5, discussed the part to be played by the chemist in schemes of national defence against attack from the air. He said that, in spite of the Geneva Protocol prohibiting the use of gas in war, it is necessary that the general public should be instructed in methods of defence, since some nations in signing the Protocol have made it clear that they would use gas if an adversary used it first. Gas used against an uninstructed civil popu lation has a demoralising effect, but the publication of highly alarmist articles on the subject of poison gas attacks from the air by people whose knowledge of the subject is very limited is most undesirable. Mr. Pratt referred to the work which would fall to the chemist in the event of an air raid. He would have to be on the spot to identify the gas used, and would be required to decide quickly whether an area would require to be decontaminated or not, as some types of gas would be quickly swept away by the wind while other types would persist for a consider able length of time. The best method of defence for the civil population is the provision of gas-proof shelters, and every building should contain a gas proof room. The chemist's advice would be required in selecting and fitting these rooms.
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The Chemist and Warfare. Nature 134, 563–564 (1934). https://doi.org/10.1038/134563c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/134563c0