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Alongside nuclear weapons, biological and chemical weapons are weapons of mass destruction because they can kill or injure large numbers of people and cause environmental damage. Countries have used biological and chemical weapons in warfare and assassinations. They have killed more than 100,000 people and injured more than one million since ...
- Overview
- Types of chemical weapons
- Chemical agents
chemical weapon, any of several chemical compounds, usually toxic agents, that are intended to kill, injure, or incapacitate enemy personnel. In modern warfare, chemical weapons were first used in World War I (1914–18), during which gas warfare inflicted more than one million of the casualties suffered by combatants in that conflict and killed an estimated 90,000. In the years since then, chemical arms have been employed numerous times, most notably in the Iran-Iraq War (1980–88) and the Syrian Civil War. The United States and the Soviet Union, during their decades of confrontation in the Cold War (1945–91), built up enormous stockpiles of chemical weapons. The end of the Cold War enabled those former adversaries to agree to ban all chemical weapons of the types that had been developed during World War I (first generation), World War II (second generation), and the Cold War (third generation).
Like nuclear weapons and biological weapons, chemical weapons are often classified as weapons of mass destruction. Under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) of 1993, the use of chemical weapons in war is prohibited, as is all development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, and transfer of such weapons. Nevertheless, while the aim of the CWC is complete elimination of most types of chemical weapons, not all countries have abandoned their chemical warfare capabilities. In particular, some weaker states have pursued chemical weapons programs as deterrents to being attacked by enemies that have either stronger conventional forces or their own weapons of mass destruction, and some regimes have used chemical weapons to threaten especially vulnerable foes outside and even within their own borders.
Chemical weapons are chemical agents, whether gaseous, liquid, or solid, that are employed because of their direct toxic effects on humans, animals, and plants. They inflict damage when inhaled, absorbed through the skin, or ingested in food or drink. Chemical agents become weapons when they are placed into artillery shells, land mines, aerial bombs, missile warheads, mortar shells, grenades, spray tanks, or any other means of delivering the agents to designated targets.
Not all poisonous substances are considered suitable for weaponization, or use as chemical weapons. Thousands of such chemical compounds exist, but only a few dozen have been used as chemical warfare agents since 1900. The compounds of most utility must be highly toxic but not too difficult to handle. Furthermore, the chemical must be able to withstand the heat developed when delivered in a bursting shell, bomb, mine, or warhead. Finally, it must be resistant to water and oxygen in the atmosphere in order to be effective when dispersed.
Since World War I, several types of chemical agents have been developed into weapons. These include choking agents, blister agents, blood agents, nerve agents, incapacitants, riot-control agents, and herbicides.
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- Barry R. Schneider
Jan 25, 2024 · Thu, 01/25/2024 - 12:00. Despite the progress made by international conventions, biological weapons (BW) and chemical weapons (CW) still pose a threat. More progress has been made by Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) states-parties and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in the destruction of declared CW stockpiles.
Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war. [1] Biological weapons (often termed "bio-weapons", "biological threat agents", or "bio-agents") are living ...
May 17, 2024 · biological weapon, any of a number of disease-producing agents—such as bacteria, viruses, rickettsiae, fungi, toxins, or other biological agents—that may be utilized as weapons against humans, animals, or plants. The direct use of infectious agents and poisons against enemy personnel is an ancient practice in warfare.
- Barry R. Schneider
Chemical weapons are classified as weapons of mass destruction (WMD), though they are distinct from nuclear weapons, biological weapons, and radiological weapons. All may be used in warfare and are known by the military acronym NBC (for nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare).
Chemical and biological weapons. The international community banned the use of chemical and biological weapons after World War 1 and reinforced the ban in 1972 and 1993 by prohibiting their development, stockpiling and transfer. Advances in science and technology raise concerns that restraints on their use may be ignored or eroded.
