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Bromobenzyl cyanide

Phased out persisting lachrymatory agent

Summary

Phased out persisting lachrymatory agent

soluble in phosgene, chloropicrin and benzyl cyanide

Bromobenzyl cyanide (BBC), also known in the military idiom as camite, is an obsolete lachrymatory agent introduced in World War I by the Allied Powers, being a standard agent, along with chloroacetophenone, adopted by the Chemical Warfare Service. It was thought to have been phased out in the 1930s, but has allegedly seen use in 2024, when authorities in the Republic of Georgia are said to have used it to quell anti-government protests.

When implemented in World War I, it revolutionized the use of tear agents due to its extreme potency and great persistence. Bromobenzyl cyanide has been described as too toxic for use as a non-lethal crowd control agent.

Use against protestors in 2024

Main article: Use of camite during the 2024–2026 Georgian protests

Despite it being described as obsolete, Georgian authorities appeared to have used camite in November 2024 against civil protestors in Tbilisi, adding it to the water in a water cannon aimed at the people, according to a BBC News investigation.

Applications

An application for bromobenzyl cyanide is in Hoch's synthesis of diphenylacetonitrile.

References

References

  1. "Bromobenzyl Cyanide".
  2. (1951). "330. The reaction of α-bromobenzyl cyanide with ethyl xanthamidate (thioncarbamate)". J. Chem. Soc..
  3. (1926). "Physical properties of Brombenzyl(sic) cyanide (C.A.)". Chemical Warfare Bulletin.
  4. Sartori, Mario. (1939). "The War Gases". D. Van Nostrand.
  5. "Chapter VII Riot Control Agents". FAS.org.
  6. (November 30, 2025). "WW1 toxic compound sprayed on Georgian protesters, BBC evidence suggests". BBC.
  7. (1948). "Diphenylacetonitrile". Organic Syntheses.
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

phenyl-compounds lachrymatory-agents nitriles organobromides alkylating-agents
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