A recent news story has been printed explaining that treasure hunters in Europe found more than they had bargained for while looking for war relics in in Lincolnshire, UK.
Unfortunately for them the war relics that they uncovered could still be lethal after many years of storage. And though these canisters of mustard oil, which could be converted to gas, were not truly remnants from the first Great War, the lesson is still the same: it would behoove you to be prepared to deal with weapons of mass destruction wherever you find them. And the fact of the matter is that mustard oil can be readily found in mid America even to this day.
Many horse trainers in the Deep South of America still mustard oil to train Tennessee Walking Horses to enhance the “Big Lick” gait that mostly occurs naturally to them.
According to a recent article in “The Daily Mail”:
“Mustard gas was used during the First World War, killing and badly injuring thousands of soldiers in the trenches. It was outlawed by the Geneva Protocol of 1925.
The drama began on Sunday when two people digging for old and collectable glass bottles in the wood had to be taken to hospital with minor burns and respiratory problems after they struck the mustard gas canisters.
RAF Woodhall Spa base was located in the area from 1942 until it was closed in the mid 1960s.
Lincolnshire Police said it was 'believed the canisters have been in situ since when the site was an operational RAF base'.
They said some of the wood has been cordoned off and emergency services are searching for any more devices.
Neither of the burns victim was seriously injured and they were both discharged from hospital on the same day, police added.
The canisters were taken to the 'doomwatch' top-secret Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down, in Wiltshire.”
The important thing to remember about mustard oil is that it is deadly in many ways. It has the consistency and color of diesel fuel, but it will burn to blisters any part of your skin that it touches. If sniffed even slightly, it affects you much like a very hot bite of horseradish will, sending a chilling scald through your nasal passages and over the top of your scalp and behind your eyes. A deep inhale would likely cause death or serious injury.