A. method for the synthesis of S³⁵-BAL has been described S³⁵-sulphate was reduced to the sulphide and converted to NaS³⁵H. The NaS³⁵H was then reacted with 2:3-dibromopropanol to form S³⁵-BAL. The product was characterized by sulphydryl content, preparation of two crystalline dithiolans, sulphur analysis and chromatographic behavior. The metabolism of S³⁵-BAL was studied in the Wistar rat. The isotopic BAL was administered by intraperitoneal injection and the S³⁵ content of the post-inject ion urine was studied. The maximum rate of S³⁵ excretion in the urine was observed in the first 6 hours after injection and was followed by a rapid decrease in S³⁵ excretion. This was true for both neutral S³⁵- sulphur and inorganic S³⁵-sulphate. The amount of neutral sulphur excreted in the urine also reached a maximum in the first 6 hours and returned to normal within 12 hours. The excretion of inorganic sulphate, however, remained abnormally high throughout the experiment. Approximately 4 - 19% of the excreted was S³⁵ in the form of inorganic sulphate while less than 0.5% was present in the ethereal sulphate. Six possible metabolic products were detected by radiochromatographic studies of the post-injection urine. These compounds were found to have the following Rf values when the chromatograms were run in a tertiary butanol-water solvent (70/35): Compound 1 0.07 - 0.10 Compound 2 0.25 - 0.30 Compound 3 0.45 - 0.50 Compound 4 0.60 - 0.65 Compound 5 0.78 - 0.85 Compound 6 0.95 - 0.98 Compound 1 was characterized as inorganic sulphate while compound 5 was found to be a thiol compound which arose following acid hydrolysis of compound 3. Extraction studies showed only compound 2 to be extracted with ether while all but compounds 1 were found to be soluble in n-butanol. Compound 4, the major metabolite, was shown to be only slightly soluble in n-butanol and insoluble in ether. No glucuronide of BAL or its metabolites have been found in the urine and no increase in glucuronic acid excretion was observed following BAL injection. The presence of a large amount of glucose in the post-injection urine was indicated by chromatographic studies. / Medicine, Faculty of / Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of / Graduate

This dissertation argues that the origins of civil defense are to be found in pre-World War II Britain and that a driving force of this early civil defense scheme was fear of poison gas. Later iterations of civil defense, such as the Cold War system in America, built on already existing regimes that had proven their worth during WWII. This dissertation demonstrates not only that WWII civil defense served as a blueprint for later civil defense schemes, but also that poison gas anxiety served as a particular tool for the implementation and success of civil defense. The dissertation is organized thematically, exploring the role of civilians and volunteers in the civil defense scheme, as well as demonstrating the vital importance of physical manifestations of civil defense, such as gas masks and air raid shelters, in ensuring the success of the scheme. By the start of World War II, many civilians had already been training in civil defense procedures for several years, learning how to put out fires, recognize bombs, warn against gas, decontaminate buildings, rescue survivors, and perform first aid. The British government had come to the conclusion, long before the threat became realized, that the civilian population was a likely target for air attacks and that measures were required to protect them. World War I (WWI) saw the first aerial attacks targeted specifically at civilians, suggesting a future where such attacks would occur more frequently and deliberately. Poison gas, used in WWI, seemed a particularly horrifying threat that presented significant problems. Civil defense was born out of this need to protect the civil population from attack by bombs or poison gas. For the next five years of war civil defense worked to maintain British morale and to protect civilian lives. This was the first real scheme of civil defense, instituted by the British government specifically for the protection of its civilian population.