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Chemical warfare throughout the wars
Chemical warfare throughout the wars
Chemical warfare throughout the wars
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Chemical warfare
What is Chemical Warfare:
To understand chemical warfare you must first understand what a chemical agent is. A United Nations report from 1969 defines chemical warfare agents as " ... chemical substances, whether gaseous, liquid or solid, which might be employed because of their direct toxic effects on man, animals and plants ... ". This means basically that any chemical that is used to directly effect and harm a person, plant, or animal would be an act of chemical warfare.
Some commonly confused Chemical Agents:
Agents such as napalm and phosphorus are not considered to be Chemical agents since they achieve their effect mainly through thermal energy. Certain types of smoke screen may be poisonous in extremely high concentrations but smoke ammunition is not classified as a chemical weapon since the poisonous effect is not the main reason for their use. Another common misconception is that biological agents such as viruses or microorganisms (small pox etc.) are considered a chemical agent, but this is not the case. Effects of chemical agents and biological agents may be similar but they different in production. Chemical agents are created and biological agents are found naturally in nature or cultured for use.
Different types of Chemical agents:
Nerve Agents: Source: A FOA Briefing Book on Chemical Weapons
Nerve agents acquired their name because they affect the transmission of nerve impulses in the nervous system. They are stable, easily spread, highly toxic and have rapid effects when absorbed through the skin and respiratory track. Nerve agents can be manufactured by means of fairly simple chemical techniques. The materials are inexpensive and generally readily available.
It was not until the early 1930's that German chemists discovered the effects of certain phosphorus compounds to be toxic. Two years later a phosphorus compound with extremely high toxicity was produced for the first time. This phosphorus compound, given the name tabun, was one the first substances later referred to as nerve agents.
Physical and chemical properties
The most important nerve agents included in modern arsenals are:
„h Tabun, O-ethyl dimethylamidophosphorylcyanide, This nerve agent is the easiest to manufacture. Therefore, it is more likely that developing countries start their arsenal with this nerve agent
„h Sarin, isopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate, a toxic substance mainly afflicting the respiratory system.
„h Soman, pinacolyl methylphosphonofluoridate, a moderately toxic substance which can be taken up by inhalation or skin contact.
„h Cyclohexyl methylphosphonofluoridate, a gas or Liquid substance with low volatility which is taken up through skin contact and inhalation of the substance
3Brophy, L. (1959). The Chemical Warfare Service (1st ed.). Washington: Office of the Chief of
Guillemin, J. (2005). Biological weapons: From the invention of state-sponsored programs to contemporary bioterrorism Columbia University Press.
Looking back at how the chemical weaponry expanded starting in the beginning of World War 1, it all began with Tear gas which was used by the French in August of 1914. Those techniques have been used in ancient times. Moving forward eight months in to the war the Germans have been giving great study in to the development of chemical weapons due to the first usage from the French and witnessed its great effectiveness and were the first to use it in a large scale.
On April 12, 1961, the first application of the chemical nicknamed Agent Orange was sprayed on Vietnamese foliage in an attempt to stop guerilla warfare, launching a herbicidal disaster ("Herbicidal Warfare"). The consequences of agent orange, unbeknownst to the former government officials, led to a series of catastrophic effects including, but not limited to neurobehavioral and physical anomalies of the human body. As a result of the lacking knowledge of Agent Orange, the United States and Vietnam are still cleaning up the herbicidal mess that could have been avoided (Magnuson). Decades later, scientific evidence proved that the use of the dioxin herbicide Agent Orange was linked to many physical and neurobehavior disorders (Poremba).
The two chemical weapons that were used were: nerve agent and mustard gas. Nerve agent has two main classes that are Class G and Class V. Class V is more new, however less fatal. The specific nerve agent used by the Iraqis is Cyclosarin. Cyclosarin is an extremely toxic substance used as a chemical weapon, which is a member of Class G. Cyclosarin is the most dangerous gas out of both classes. It is known to have a sweet smell and is also flammable unlike other nerve gases. Mustard gas on the other hand is yellow and smells like garlic. Both gases cause death in minutes and have long lasting effects. These can include diseases and other horrible problems. Many of these diseases cannot be cured, for the cells have been damaged and cannot be repaired.
"Chemical Warfare Agents - Resources on the health effects from chemical weapons, emergency response & treatment, counterterrorism, and emergency preparedness.au.af." Specialized Information Services - Reliable information on toxicology, environmental health, chemistry, HIV/AIDS, and minority health. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2010.
What is a pesticide?A pesticide is a chemical substance used to kill pests, especially insects. A pesticide is also refered to as a biocide. Most pesticides are applied in spray form but occasionaly you will see pesticides that are in powder or pellet form. Pesticides are used on a variety of things, anything from crops like corn, barley, and wheat, to plants like petunias, marigolds, and rhodadendrons, which are usually found in small gardens greenhouses, and even in your backyard.
The French were the first to start experimenting on chemical agents in 1912. They first used it on their people as riot control to capture criminals that who had robbed a bank. They used 26 millimeter grenades filled with chemical agents into the center of the group criminals they were attempting to apprehend. It was not said if it was effective but continued to look into using it for other means. However, the Germans at this time had not been interested in producing any kinds of chemical weapons.
Poison gas was perhaps the most feared weapon out of all. Created to overcome the long stalemate style of trench warfare, its purpose was to draw out soldiers hiding in the trenches. One side would throw the poison gas into the enemy trenches and they would either wait for their enemy to come out into open fire or perish in the trenches. The first poison gas used in battle was chlorine at the start of the Second Battle of Ypres on April 22, 1915 by the Germans. Shortly after, followed the phosgene. The effects of these gases were ghastly. Chlorine was the most deadly as "within seconds of inhaling its vapor, it destroys the victim's respiratory organs, bringing on choking attacks" (Duffy). Phosgene had similar effects, except the fact that the effects started kicking in after 48 hours of inhalation. In September 1917, the Germans introduced the mustard gas or Yperite which was contained in artillery shells against the Russians at Riga. Those exposed t...
Chemical warfare is the use of chemical agents to injure, incapacitate, or kill enemy combatants. First seen during World War I (WWI), the devastating effects of widespread chemical warfare were eventually deemed inhumane by an international consensus and chemical agents were subsequently banned from use. Still, despite the tendency of the modern warrior to overlook antiquated tactics, the threat of chemical agents in the theater of war cannot be entirely discounted by today's Soldier. By analyzing the application, evolution, and overall legacy of chemical weapons in the Great War we can work to minimize the danger they pose in current conflicts and those of the near future. For it is only by understanding the past that we can understand the present and shape tomorrow.
It was later known that the EPA or better known as the Environmental Protection Agency banned Agent Orange in the United States when a large number of birth of a baby who is born without any signs of life at or after 24 weeks of pregnancy were reported among mothers in Oregon, where Agent Orange had been heavily used (The Story of Agent Orange). Many Americans were outraged after finding out what Agent Orange has caused to their people. The Vietnam veterans cried for help from the Veterans Administration and usually the response was put on, but the veterans will not back down. These veterans would band together to have studies on the toxic herbicide and bring those studies to the government attention. Despite the veterans’ hard efforts, the
Mustard gas was not the only example of chemical weaponry used during World War I. The first example of this was the Germans use of a gas called phosgene in mid-1915, which caused drastic damage to the lungs (Mack 2). The Germans began using mustard gas in 1916 and soon both sides began to use poison gas as a weapon. At a lab at American University, which at its peak employed over 1,200 scientists specifically to create chemical weapons for the war, a new gas called Lewisite was developed. Lewisite poisoned its victims through the skin and rendered gas masks useless against it. During the war as many as 50 different gases were used by both sides (Mack 2). When the war e...
The soviets tested several deadly poisons on prisoners in the gulag like mustard gas, ricin, digitoxin and several others. The soviets wanted and tried hard to find a tasteless and...
In the beginning of the 20th century, scientists were experimenting with a wide range of chemicals to develop a method that may affect several diseases in hopes of producing a cure. A German chemist, Paul Ehrlich, who was experimenting treatments of syphilis with chemical methods, created the term “chemotherapy” (Bonander, 2011). It wasn’t until 1943 when the United State’s secret chemical weapon program discovered that nitrogen mustard, also know...