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A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a Poison ous or Asphyxiant Gas is introduced. The most commonly used poisonous agent is Hydrogen Cyanide ; Carbon Dioxide and Carbon Monoxide have also been used.

Gas chambers were used as a method of execution for condemned prisoners in the United States beginning in the 1920 s. Their use has also been reported in North Korea . Gas chambers have also been used for animal euthanasia, using Carbon Dioxide as the lethal agent.APR Euthanasia Standards http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n17_v47/ai_17374449

During the Holocaust , large-scale gas chambers designed for mass killing were used by Nazi Germany as part of their genocide programMany sources including http://www.yadvashem.org.

Sometimes a box filled with Anaesthetic gas is used to Anaesthetize small animals for surgery or euthanasia.APR Euthanasia Standards http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n17_v47/ai_17374449


METHOD, WHEN USING CYANIDE


Generally speaking, in the (KCN) pellets into a compartment directly below the chair in the chamber. The condemned person is then brought into the chamber and strapped into the chair, and the Airtight chamber is sealed. At this point the execution technician will pour a quantity of concentrated Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4) down a tube that leads to a small holding tank directly below the compartment containing the cyanide pellets. The curtain is then opened, allowing the witnesses to observe the inside of the chamber. The prison warden will then ask the condemned individual if he or she wishes to make a final statement. Following this, the executioner(s) will throw a switch/lever to cause the cyanide pellets to drop into the sulfuric acid, initiating a Chemical Reaction that generates Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) gas:

: 2KCN (s) + H2SO4 (aq) → 2HCN (g) + K2SO4

The (NH3) before it can be opened. Guards wearing Oxygen Mask s remove the body from the chamber. Finally, the prison doctor examines the individual in order to officially declare that he or she is dead and release the body to the next of kin.

One of the problems with the gas chamber is the inherent danger of dealing with such a Toxic Gas . Anhydrous Ammonia is used to cleanse the chamber after cyanide gas has been used:
: HCN + NH3NH4+ + CN- .

The Anhydrous Ammonia used to clean the chamber afterwards, and the contaminated Acid that must be drained and disposed of, are both very poisonous.

Nitrogen Gas or oxygen-depleted air has been considered for Human Execution , as it can induce Nitrogen Asphyxiation . It has not been used to date.


UNITED STATES