Non-Military Use of M8 and M9 Paper
M8 and M9 paper is a presumptive test used by the US military
and others to detect G- and V-nerve
and H-blister agents in the field under combat conditions. When an “unnatural”
liquid is found in a “natural” setting of battlefield conditions it
is presumed to be harmful. The false-positive rate is very high when M8
is used as a non-military test for chemical agents in an urban
setting. For
example, M8 paper used on fluids after a car bomb explosion would produce false positives on nearly every
fluid normally found in the vehicle.
M8 paper is sensitive to many common household and commercial compounds. M9 paper produces even more false positives than M8
paper and does not respond to chemical agents if the paper is wet.
Testing was conducted by Rick Houghton of Houghtons,
Inc. and Hank Ellison of Cerberus Associates, Inc. in 2002. These
results and more may be found in Emergency Characterization of Unknown
Material in Table 3.6 - M8 Paper Response to Common
Materials. Use the links below to view representative results.
