How Do Chemical Weapons Smell

You may have a mental image of a chemical agent as some greenish vapor with a pungent, unpleasant smell. Are you surprised to learn most chemical agents are colorless and odorless? Many have characteristic odors, but some actually smell nice. Chemical Agent Odors Many blister agents smell a bit like plants. Other agents may have pungent odors, yet most chemical weapons have no scent at all. Heres a list of some chemical agents and their... bouquets: Sulfur Mustard: includes mustard gas, usually odorless and colorless in pure form but yellowish-brown with an odor reminiscent of the mustard plant, garlic, or horseradish when used in warfareChlorine Gas: pale greenish gas with a suffocating, unpleasant odor, similar to chlorine bleach3-quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB or NATO BZ or Iraqi Agent 15): odorless incapacitating agentLewisite: WWI blister agent that smells strongly of geraniumsPhosgene Oxime: blister agent with an irritating smell, though somewhat of mown hay or cut green cornSarin: extremely toxic odorless nerve agentVX: probably the most toxic nerve agent, odorlessSoman: nerve gas that smells like Vicks VapoRub or rotting fruit, depending on who you askTabun: highly toxic nerve agent with a faint fruity smell, though odorless when pureZyklon B: hydrogen cyanide-containing blood agent, famous for its use in Nazi death camps, which has a bitter almond odor (not everyone has the ability to smell it, though)Hydrogen Sulfide: bl ood agent that smells of rotten eggsAdamsite or DM: odorless riot control agent that causes vomiting and sneezingCS Gas: tear gas, odorless