Chemical Warfare and Terrorism Throughout History

Have you ever considered the fact that you use chemicals everyday? Have you ever thought that parts of those chemicals might be used to form much more deadlier substances? These substances, known as chemical or biological warfare agents, are not a new concept. The use of these agents in times of combat has been happening for thousands of years. By definition, chemical and biological warfare is “a method of warfare in which toxic or incapacitating chemicals or biological agents are used to further the goals of the combatants,” according to the Microsoft Encarta ‘98 Encyclopedia. These weapons come in all forms, shapes, and combinations. There can be unitary agents, which are a single, harmful chemical, or binary agents which are, according to Milton Blackwood in the article “Ridding the United States of Chemical Warfare Material,” “two separated, non-lethal chemicals that react to produce a lethal chemical when mixed during battlefield delivery.” The delivery itself, also known as dissemination, of the individual chemicals vary almost as much as the chemicals do. They can be used as explosives, missiles, used in rocket launchers, grenades, and other military war-time weapons.

The first uses of chemicals or biological agents for tactical purposes was in 600 B.C. The Athenians contaminated rivers with skunk cabbage in order to give their enemies violent diarrhea in the hopes that this would immobilize the fighting troops. Two-hundred years later in 400 B.C. the Spartans came up with the idea of launching bombs made from sulfur and pitch at their enemies. More recently, the first deadly gas attack was by the Germans in April of 1915 during World War I. They used chlorine gas against the Allied trenches outside the Belgium city of Ypres. Shortly following these first attacks the Allies retaliated with their own chlorine gas, and developed other deadly agents for use in the war. In 1918 both sides used mustard gas. Despite the fact that the Germans were the ones to originally use chemical agents, they were not able to keep up with the advancements the Allies made in this field, and soon were being bombarded with their own tactics.

Chemical agents can be broken down into separate groups: nerve agents, irritant/tear agents (also known as riot control agents), cyanides, incapacitating agents, blood agents, choking agents, and blister agents (also known as vesicants). Nerve agents include tabun (GA), sarin (GB), soman (GD), GF, and VX. “These chemicals are the most toxic of all the known chemical agents. They are extremely hazardous in both their liquid and vapor states. They can cause death within minutes of exposure,” according to Gary Tate’s Chemical Warfare Page.

Irritant/tear agents (riot control agents) are gasses such as mace, tear gas, CN, CS, and CR. These chemicals are non-lethal if administered properly. They are used to disband or take control of unruly or rioting groups, thus its name. These gasses merely cause a temporary, intense flow of tears, with associated eye pain and skin irritation.

Cyanide is in its own category. It “interrupts aerobic metabolism,” as stated by Georges Benjamin in “Chemical and Biological Terrorism: Planning for the Worst.” In other words, it cuts off your body’s ability to get oxygen to its cells.

Incapacitating agents are stimulants (LSD), and depressants (BZ). Stimulants cause an excessive nervous nature by promoting transmission of the brain’s electric impulses. In contrast, depressants slow down the mind’s activities, thus “depressing” your body. They are administered by inhalation through the mouth or via injection.

Phosgene is an example of a choking agent. As stated in Gary Tate’s Chemical Warfare Page, phosgene “irritates alveoli in the lungs. It causes the alveoli to constantly secrete fluid, which slowly fill the lungs.” This is known as a pulmonary edema. Essentially the person will eventually die from “dry land drowning.”

Blood agents include hydrocyanic acid (AC), and cyanogen chloride (CK). These two agents act upon the enzyme cytochrome oxidase. Because of this the red blood cells are able to keep oxygen, but not transfer it to any other cells. Thus the brain and body are deprived of their vital oxygen and die.

Lastly, examples of vesicants are lewisite, phosgene oxime, and mustard gas. Lewisite (L), is an oily, colorless liquid. It has an odor similar to that of geraniums. It harms the eyes, skin, and airways by making direct contact with them. Phosgene oxime (CX), afflicts a person with itching and stinging that causes a corrosive skin or tissue lesion. The vapor of this chemical is extremely irritating, and both the vapor and liquid cause almost immediate tissue damage. Finally there is mustard gas (H, Yprite, Sulfur mustard, Kampstoff Lost). This nasty chemical affects the eyes, respiratory tract, and skin. At first it is a cell irritant, but then turns deadly poisonous. It causes blistering and ulcerations, followed by systemic poisoning. It is also a known carcinogen.

Mustard gas contains carbon, hydrogen, and chlorine, with either sulfur or nitrogen. If it contains nitrogen, it is known as nitrogen mustard, and has been proven to reduce tumor growth in mice. With further testing, nitrogen mustards have now become a part of modern day chemotherapy. But when the nitrogen is replaced with sulfur, the mustard gas becomes a deadly chemical weapon. Its chemical formulas is (CICH₂CH₂)₂S. It can have a strong odor of either garlic, onion, or mustard, thus its name. Mustard gas has a density of 1.27 g/cm^-3, a boiling point of 215 degrees to 217 degrees Celsius, a melting point of 13 degrees to 14 degrees Celsius, and a vapor pressure of 20 degrees Celsius or .11 mm Hg. Despite its name, mustard gas does not behave as a gas under ordinary conditions, and does not occur naturally in the environment.

To be able to effectively use these chemical agents, the gasses had to be tested. Who better to participate in these tests than our own men? Yes, that’s right. Tests of these deadly and poisonous chemicals were done on our own fighting men. Experiments were conducted on approximately 60,000 servicemen. About 4,000 of these men participated in tests using mustard gas. These tests included patch tests, where only limited amounts of skin were exposed, to severe exposure, which included going fully unprotected into these harmful agents. Chamber and field tests were also conducted. These were referred to as “Man Break” tests. Sites for this experimentation included Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland; Camp Sibert, Alabama; Bushnell, Florida; Dugway Proving Ground, Utah; and San Jose Island, Panama Canal Zone. In the article “Grading the Harm Done,” by Karen Freeman, it is stated that the effects of the chemicals were recorded as either Class A, Class B, or Class C. Class A was when a man was incapable of usefully remaining in the field. Class B was when a person hadto be evacuated because his injuries might prevent him from performing his required duties. And Class C was when a man was injured but could keep fighting. When tests were done, Class A was the preferred result because this would be the most effective weapon to use against the enemies, totally incapacitating them.

However, besides classing the chemical weapons, experiments were done to develop better protective clothing, masks, and skin ointments. One of the first defenses created against chemical weapons was the M-17 gas mask. This piece of equipment was bulky, inhibited performance, and was highly ineffective. To begin with, the filters in the mask could not be replaced without first removing the mask. This in itself is an obvious difficulty. And then on top of that, it could take up to 15 minutes to replace the filter! In that amount of time you could be dead! The mask’s seal was also unsuited to fit properly on some face sizes and shapes. Not to mention the fact that it made absolutely no provision for any sort of radio or telephone communications. The army is supposed to be developing a newer version of the M-17, the M-40, but it’s been a long time coming, and most likely will take several more years before the M-17 will be totally replaced.

With all these terrible and deadly gases flying about, something had to be done. Throughout the years, there have been many different protocols, treaties, and signings worldwide among countries, although not many of them have lasted. The first of these treaty signings happened at the Hague Conference in 1899. Here an attempt was made to outlaw projectiles carrying poison gasses, but this only lasted until World War I. After the War there came the Geneva Protocol in 1925. This banned the use of chemical warfare weapons. However, it only related to a first strike policy. A nation couldn’t fire chemical weapons upon another nation, unless they were fired upon first. This left a lot of room for debate on whether the use of chemical agents was justified. Finally, in 1971, there came about the Geneva Disarmament Conference. This was approved by the United Nations General Assembly, and as of 1998 eighty nations had signed the Biological Weapons Convention. In 1993 there was another Convention, this one known as the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). This was a binding international treaty that forbade the use of chemical agents in war. As of 1998, there has been one more global convention banning the making and stockpiling of chemical warfare material. As of the year of the convention, 104 nations have signed the treaty.

Having all these treaties may be good for international relations, but it does nothing to improve threats from inside one’s own country. Chemical and biological terrorism is a very big worry for a lot of people. According to the author of “Chemical and Biological Terrorism: Planning for the Worst,” Georges Benjamin, chemical or biological terrorism can be defined as “the use of pathogenic microbes or toxins derived from plants, animals, microbes, or chemical agents to achieve terror.” Benjamin also cites reasons to be concerned: “a) rogue nations with biological and chemical warfare programs are growing in number; b) there is a rising anti-government sentiment in some parts of the world; c) there is an increasing availability of unemployed scientists with ties to former bioweapons producing countries; and d) there is an increasing reduction in technical barriers that allow easier production of these weapons.” The most dangerous group of terrorists would be large, well-funded organizations that are possibly state-supported. The next step down are the less sophisticated organizations that may or may not have the intent to kill, but use agents to further their goals. And the third and least likely to be dangerous group are smaller organizations or individuals with specific targets, such as one person or a certain building. Although some skeptics will point out the fact that during this past century the United States has only suffered one fatality due to chemical or biological terrorism, there are many who believe that just because mass fatalities haven’t occurred thus far from a terrorist attack doesn’t mean they never will. These people point to examples of where chemical and biological terrorists have struck before. One of these incidents happened when the Aum Shinrikyo cult released sarin gas into a Tokyo subway in 1995. Another example is when in 1984 the religious group Rajhneeshees contaminated several salad bars with Salmonella in the Dalles, Oregon. But even if many people are not killed by these attacks, some argue that the most damaging effects will be psychological. People may begin to panic, and the idea that we cannot defend ourselves will be implanted in the public’s mind.

That is why there has been significant effort put into trying to create a machine that will recognize deadly chemical agents before they are a problem. The most prominent gadget is called the Surface Acoustic Wave Chemical Agent Detector, more easily known as SAWCAD. This tiny device, (no bigger than a shoebox), can sniff out chemical particles that number only a few parts per trillion. The machine, as stated in “Bloodhound of Chemical Warfare” by Gregory Pope and John Boatman, is comprised of “an array of piezoelectric surfaces thinly coated with different polymers, each engineered to bond with a particular chemical agent. When a toxic agent contacts the coating, it disrupts an acoustic wave that’s constantly beamed across the surface. The disruption has a characteristic signature that reveal the type and amount of toxin encountered.”

Efforts are also being made to find a quick, simple, and effective way to decontaminate an area or neutralize the gas in an area in the event that an attack of any sort does occur. Decontamination in the past has relied on a series of bleaches and/or decontamination solutions. These themselves could be harmful to people. It was almost having the remedy being worse than the problem. But now items such as foam sprays are being developed. The scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed the Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet (APPJ) to help neutralize chemical agents. They are now in the process of trying to come up with a cooler solution that may be used for decontamination of a person.

The U.S. Army is also in the process of trying to dispose of all stockpile and non-stockpile chemical warfare material and facilities, in accordance to the CWC, (Chemical Weapons Convention). The CWC “prohibits the use, production, purchase, and transfer of chemical weapons, and also requires its parties to destroy their existing chemical weapons and their production facilities,” as in established in the article “Ridding the United States of Chemical Warfare Material” by Milton Blackwood. Congress also passed legislation in 1985 and 1992 requiring the Army to destroy chemical warfare material. In the past, disposal efforts only went as far as to either dump the agents into the ocean or to bury them, neither of which have proven to be lasting solutions. The agents are now in cracked and leaking containers that are slowly disintegrating in rather unfortunate locations, such as schoolyards or industrial facilities. Since then, the Army has come up with the idea of incinerating chemical warfare material, or shipping it to facilities where it is dismantled and separated into harmless or less toxic chemicals. Despite these efforts, some 28,000 tons of nerve agents still remain stored in various facilities throughout the U.S. These sites include Umatilla Chemical Depot, Oregon; Deseret Chemical Depot, Utah; Pueblo Depot Activity, Colorado; Pine Bluff Chemical Activity, Arkansas; Anniston Chemical Activity, Alabama; Blue Grass Chemical Activity, Kentucky; Edgewood Chemical Activity, Maryland; Newport Chemical Activity, Indiana; and Johnston Island in the Pacific.

Chemical weaponry tactics came into use over 2,000 years ago. But it wasn’t until WWI that the agents were really used in mass. Over the years many chemical gasses have been developed, tested, and used in combat, often with deadly consequences. The deaths of many may have been due to inadequate protective gear; either the lack of it, or the lack of its use. Many Treaties have been signed and broken, then signed anew to the affect of chemical weapons disarmament. Finally, the destruction of chemical agents has started taking place in many nations worldwide. But now there is another ominous threat that comes in the form of chemical and biological terrorists within our own country. To this end, many have started preparing by creating machines to detect chemical agent odors, and also, as an after-the-fact device, the APPJ. Now disposal efforts are in the works to get rid of this deadly and despicable chemical fiend that we ourselves created.