The Effects Of Chemical Weapons

Bosshardt 1

Jake Bosshardt

Mrs. Erdmann

English 10 P5

9 February 2014

Chemical Weapons: Not Your Average Killer

A little boy named Karim is playing soccer in the street with his friends in Damascus, Syria. Karim accidentally kicks the ball into a dark abandoned building and chases after it. The ball rolls far into the building. As he goes farther into the building it gets darker and Karim can barely see his surroundings. There is a loud explosion outside, which startles Karim. He grabs the ball and runs toward the exit. There is a second explosion much closer and much louder. The ceiling caves in and Karim is trapped inside the dark abandoned building with no way out. He hears his friends calling out his name, but he cannot reach them. Unknown to Karim, these explosions were caused by chemical weapons.

A chemical weapon is a toxic chemical contained in a delivery system, such as a bomb, a shell, a missile, or a rocket. The weapons have been around since World War I and the Cold War. In World War I, chlorine and phosgene gases were launched out onto the battlefield and dispersed through the air. These chemicals were made in large amounts and were sent out as weapons during the time of trench warfare. The first massive attack with chlorine gas happened on April 22, 1915 in Ieper, Belgium. The use of many different kinds of chemical weapons, including mustard gas, caused almost 100,000 deaths and 1,000,000 injuries during the war. The injured victims had life lasting effects from the weapons. At the end of the first World War 124,000 tons of chemical agents had been used. The delivery system of chemical agents

Bosshardt 2 advanced a lot from 1900 to 1950, the upgrades of chemical ammo were made by introducing the delivery system...

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...yrian rebels killed about 1,400 people by chemical weapons (Hosenball). So many die as a result of the weapons that other countries have to step in and do something about the attacks. People are wondering why the United States feels the need to stop one attack when there was no military needed to stop the deaths of about 100,000 Syrians (Hosenball).These weapons can easily enter the body and harm it. They can get into the body through the eyes, skin, nose, or mouth and can be found in the air, water, or can get into foods. There are many symptoms that the victims of the weapons may face. One chemical, sarin gas, is very hazardous to your health. “The CDC states that when people are exposed to a low or moderate amount of sarin, they may experience: eye pain, blurred vision, drooling and sweating, cough, chest tightness, rapid breathing, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and