Chemical warfare

Chemical warfare refers to the use of toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare relies on the use of chemical agents that are designed to harm or kill people, animals, or plants as part of a war effort. Chemical warfare is different from the use of conventional weapons or nuclear weapons because the destructive effects of chemical weapons are not primarily due to any explosive force.

History

The first large-scale use of chemical weapons that was widely considered to be a war crime was during World War I. They were primarily used to demoralize, injure, and kill entrenched defenders, against whom the indiscriminate and generally very slow-moving or static nature of gas clouds would be most effective. The types of weapons employed ranged from disabling chemicals, such as tear gas and the severe mustard gas, to lethal agents like phosgene, chlorine, and hydrogen cyanide.

Types of Chemical Weapons

Chemical weapons can be classified as blister agents, nerve agents, blood agents, or pulmonary agents, depending on how the chemical affects the human body.

Blister Agents

Blister agents, also known as vesicants, cause severe chemical burns on the skin and in the lungs. The most well-known blister agent is mustard gas, which was used extensively during World War I.

Nerve Agents

Nerve agents disrupt the transmission of nerve impulses in the nervous system. They are the most toxic of the known chemical warfare agents. Examples include sarin, soman, and VX.

Blood Agents

Blood agents, such as hydrogen cyanide, interfere with the body's ability to use oxygen. They are fast-acting, lethal poisons that typically kill within minutes.

Pulmonary Agents

Pulmonary agents, such as phosgene, damage the body's respiratory system, often leading to suffocation.

Chemical Warfare in Modern Times

Despite the prohibition of chemical weapons in the Geneva Protocol of 1925, and the Chemical Weapons Convention, the use of chemical warfare continues to be a threat in modern times. The most recent example is the Syrian Civil War, where chemical weapons have been used on multiple occasions.

See Also

• Biological warfare
• Nuclear warfare
• Chemical Weapons Convention
• Geneva Protocol