A weapons expert has revealed that a urine-soaked Covid mask could be one of the best ways to protect yourself during a chemical attack.
Chemical and nuclear weapons expert Hamish de Bretton-Gordon told RTE Radio 1 that urine counteracts the chlorine gas that is used in chemical weapons.
Fears are on the rise that Russian president Vladimir Putin might resort to chemical warfare as part of the invasion of Ukraine.
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Mr de Bretton-Gordon said: "I’ve seen the Russians up close in Syria in the last six years and they will know how successful chemical weapons can be in fighting in towns and cities.
"Their military is performing a lot worse than ever anticipated. So Putin now has two options: he either ceases for peace or he escalates.
"The escalation could be as President Biden and I agree could lead to chemical, probably less biological, and at the extreme nuclear weapons."
The former British Army officer added said that Putin would be more likely to use chemical weapons because "they’re generally heavy in the air sink underground and kill people underground or force them above ground where they are shot or can be captured."
He added: "When towns and cities are razed to the ground as they are in Mariupol and some other cities and beginning in Kiyv, it’s very difficult for the attacking military to get the soldiers out of the rubble and from where they’re sheltering underground."
Thanks to his extensive expertise, Mr de Bretton-Gordon has published a free guide on how to protect yourself from a chemical weapons attack.
Here are the three simple things you can do to keep yourself safe after a chemical bombardment.
Seek higher ground
Mr de Bretton-Gordon said: "First of all when there is a chemical bombardment one shouldn’t go underground and hide because things are generally heavier than air sink underground.
"So one should seek higher ground where you will be out of what we call the downwind hazard."
Hold your breath and run
He added: "The other thing is these chemicals move on the wind very easily. So know where the wind direction is.
"The first rule is to hold your breath and run for 30 seconds across the wind and then you’ll be out of what we call the downwind hazard.
Decontaminate quickly
He concluded: "Third thing is about decontamination. If you do get this stuff on you, get it off you as quickly as possible which may be just even taking your clothes off.
"I know there is a great call for respirators and gas masks but there’s no way NATO can supply 40 million gas masks.
"I think the most likely chemical probably to be used would be chlorine because its ubiquitous in Ukraine and very deniable to the Russians.
"But the good thing about chlorine is that it’s very non-persistent and it blows away quickly. And even, a Covid mask, dare I say, soaked in urine is a very good counter to chlorine.
"It was used in World War I. We’ve used it in Syria. It might sound rather disgusting but actually, the urea nullifies the chlorine. So if you’ve got nothing that works, that worked in World War I and in Syria."
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