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    1. Weapons of Mass Destruction Volume I: Chemical and Biological Weapons
    2. Weapons of Mass Destruction An Encyclopedia of Worldwide Policy, Technology, and History Eric A. Croddy and James J. Wirtz, Editors Jeffrey A. Larsen, Managing Editor Foreword by David Kay Volume I: Chemical and Biological Weapons Eric A. Croddy, Editor Santa Barbara, California Denver, Colorado Oxford, England
    3. Copyright 2005 by Eric A. Croddy, James J. Wirtz, and Jeffrey A. Larsen All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Weapons of mass destruction : an encyclopedia of worldwide policy, technology, and history / Eric A. Croddy and James J. Wirtz, editors. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-85109-490-3 (hardback : alk. paper)—ISBN 1-85109-495-4 (e-book) 1. Weapons of mass destruction—Encyclopedias. I. Croddy, Eric, 1966– II. Wirtz, James J., 1958– U793.W427 2005 358'.3'03—dc22 2004024651 0807060510987654321 This book is also available on the World Wide Web as an eBook. Visit abc-clio.com for details. ABC-CLIO, Inc. 130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911 Santa Barbara, California 93116–1911 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Manufactured in the United States of America
    4. Contents Weapons of Mass Destruction An Encyclopedia of Worldwide Policy, Technology, and History Volume I: Chemical and Biological Weapons Foreword, vii Preface: Weapons of Mass Destruction, ix Editors and Contributors, xiii A-to-Z List of Entries, Volumes I and II, xvii Introduction: Chemical and Biological Weapons, xxv Chronology: Chemical and Biological Weapons, xxxi Chemical and Biological Weapons, Entries A to Y, 1 Key Documents: Chemical and Biological Weapons, 341 Bibliography, 395 Index, 413 v
    5. Foreword David Kay Senior Research Analyst, Potomac Institute, The importance of this encyclopedia was under- Washington, D.C., and former Director, scored by the fact that virtually the only area of Iraq Survey Group (2003–2004) agreement in the 2004 U.S. presidential campaign between the two major candidates, President George W. Bush and Senator John F. Kerry, was that the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction poses the most serious national security threat with made new classes of weapons possible. But scientific which the next president would have to deal. progress marches at a very fast rate, leaving behind While the prospect of chemical, biological, radi- old, but still dangerous, knowledge. For example, ological, or nuclear weapons falling into the hands the secrets regarding methods for enriching ura- of terrorists or regimes hostile to the United States nium were simply bought by the Iraqis from the and its friends is indeed a frightening prospect, how U.S. Government Printing Office. That office could many of us understand exactly what this means? not imagine that there was anything important in a When were such weapons first developed? Which 40-year-old project from the dawn of the U.S. nu- states and scientists are leading these developments? clear program. Have these weapons actually been used in the past? In another remarkable case, uranium enrichment How often and with what consequence—not only technology was stolen from a commercial company for the populations they were used against, but for in Holland by A. Q. Khan—a rather ordinary Pak- those that used them, as well? Do these weapons re- istani who went to Germany to earn an engineering ally give states a decisive edge over their adversaries? degree. Khan subsequently used this technology to How easy are they to develop and use? Does the ease develop Pakistan’s nuclear weapons and then sold the of development or use of such weapons by states, same technology to North Korea, Iran, and Libya. like North Korea, differ from the obstacles faced by The techniques of gene modification, which less than terrorist groups, like al-Qaeda? What are the tools 20 years ago were the stuff of Nobel prizes, are now available to the United States to halt the spread of routinely taught in American high schools and com- such weapons? Have we had any success in limiting munity colleges and have opened up whole new the spread of these weapons? Are there any protec- classes of biological weapons. As this study also tive measures that individuals can take to lessen makes clear, even the safe disposal of weapons of their vulnerability if such weapons are used? mass destruction following a state’s decision to aban- These are but a few of the questions that the au- don or limit their programs presents serious chal- thors of this authoritative two-volume study at- lenges of preventing the weapons and associated tempt to answer. This encyclopedia will have endur- technology from falling into the hands of terrorists. ing importance as states and societies attempt to The thousands of Soviet-era nuclear weapons and come to terms with the consequence of the collision the engineering talent that created them represent a of scientific progress with the failure to develop a re- clear and present danger with which the world has liable global security structure. The initial develop- not yet completely dealt. The readers of this work will ment of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, find numerous examples of the lowering of the bar- as this study makes clear, often involved scientific riers to the acquisition by states and terrorists of these and engineering breakthroughs of the highest most terrible of weapons. order. The paths to enriching uranium and geneti- But this study does not simply present the horrors cally modifying pathogens are but two examples of of a world filled with weapons of mass destruction. It such successes, scientific breakthroughs that have also catalogs and illuminates the various methods of vii
    6. viii FOREWORD attempting to control and constrain these weapons— the few efforts made in this regard, it is hard not to including treaties and agreements such as the Nuclear come away with a sense of dread for the future. Most Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Chemical Weapons control efforts have been aimed at states, not at ter- Convention, as well as intrusive inspections, such as rorists operating outside of the control of states. the efforts of the United Nations to hunt such Hopefully students and policy makers using this weapons in Iraq after the first Gulf War. As will be book a few years hence will be able to record more clear to the reader, such endeavors have had both suc- progress toward meeting this new challenge. cesses and failures. Much remains to be done to en- The authors and editors have done an important sure that their effectiveness matches the problems service by pulling together such an illuminating posed by the proliferation of such weapons. The study at exactly the point when there is a broad po- largest gap in effective mechanisms of control and re- litical consensus of the importance of the problem. sponse to the acquisition of such weapons is with re- One can only hope that our citizens and our politi- gard to the efforts of terrorists groups to acquire the cal leaders take the time to explore the depth of in- means of mass murder. While these volumes identify formation presented here.
    7. Preface: Weapons The term “weapon of mass destruction” (WMD) is of Mass Destruction a relatively modern expression. It was probably first used in print media following the interna- Eric A. Croddy and James J. Wirtz tional uproar over Germany’s aerial bombardment of the Basque city of Guernica in April 1937. (The latter event was famously depicted in Picasso’s painting Guernica y Luno.) Only a year before, an- never particularly enamored by chemical or biolog- other Axis power, Italy, had begun using mustard ical weapons and treated them as a deterrent to be and other chemical warfare (CW) agents in used in retaliation for the use of chemical or bio- Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia).1 During the logical weapons used by the opponent. By the early anxious years leading up World War II, WMD re- 1990s, the U.S. military had abandoned offensive ferred to the indiscriminate killing of civilians by use of these weapons, although it maintained a re- modern weaponry, especially aircraft. It also search and development program designed to pro- echoed the fear of chemical weapons that was un- duce effective equipment, procedures, medications, leashed by World War I, which had come to a con- and inoculations to defend against chemical and bi- clusion just a few years earlier. ological attack. Following the development of the atomic bomb Over the last decade, much has been written in 1945, the term “WMD” came to include nuclear about WMD. The meaning of the term itself is and eventually biological weapons. WMD was ap- somewhat controversial, although there is a formal, parently first used to describe nuclear warfare by legalistic definition. According to U.S. Code Title Soviet strategists. In 1956, during the 20th Commu- 50, “War and National Defense,” per the U.S. Con- nist Party Congress in Moscow, the Soviet Minister gress, the term “weapon of mass destruction”means of Defense—and “Hero of Stalingrad”—Marshal “any weapon or device that is intended, or has the Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov prophesied that capability, to cause death or serious bodily injury to modern warfare “will be characterized by the mas- a significant number of people through the release, sive use of air forces, various rocket weapons and dissemination, or impact of toxic or poisonous various means of mass destruction such as atomic, chemicals or their precursors; a disease organism; thermonuclear, chemical and bacteriological radiation or radioactivity.”4 For its part, the U.S. De- weapons.”2 In that same year, the Hungarian Minis- partment of Defense has a similar characterization ter of Defense echoed Marshal Zhukov, stating that of WMD, although in addition it includes “...the “Under modern conditions, the decisive aspect of means to deliver [WMD].”5 So, what makes a operational planning is the use of nuclear and other weapon massively destructive? Is it the type of inju- weapons of mass destruction.”3 rious agents involved, namely radioactive, chemical, When the West learned of Zhukov’s speech, na- or biological, or is it that the attack itself produces tional security strategists in the United States and significant casualties or destruction? Also what elsewhere became quite concerned. By inference, would “significant” mean in this context: ten, a hun- they concluded that WMD—nuclear, biological, dred, or a thousand casualties? What if very few and chemical weapons—were an integral part of people are actually killed or hurt by at attack? In the Soviet military doctrine. Partly in response to latter respect, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investiga- Zhukov’s ministrations on WMD, the United States tion has a rather unique and somewhat satisfying reviewed its offensive chemical and biological interpretation of the term “WMD,” invoked when weapons program in 1958. The U.S. military was the U.S. government indicted Timothy McVeigh ix
    8. x PREFACE with using a WMD in his 1995 terrorist attack in ture and that civilized people everywhere reject the Oklahoma City. In this case, although the device use of chemical and biological weapons. Interna- used was a conventional bomb (employing ammo- tional law is replete with treaties, agreements, and nium nitrate-fuel oil explosive), “A weapon crosses regimes whose purpose is to proscribe the use of the WMD threshold when the consequences of its these weapons, or mitigate the consequences of any release overwhelm local responders.”6 such use. In particular, the world has successfully Some analysts, however, have suggested that kept nuclear weapons in reserve for almost sixty various technical hurdles prevent chemical and years as truly deterrent weapons of last resort. even biological weapons from causing casualties Our encyclopedia covers a wide range of topics, on a truly massive scale. Some point to the Aum some historical, some drawn from today’s headlines. Shinrikyo sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system We describe many of the pathogens, diseases, sub- on March 20, 1995, which resulted in eleven stances, and machines that can serve as weapons of deaths, as an example of the limits of WMD. They mass destruction, as well as their associated delivery note that high-explosives have been used with far systems. We also describe important events and in- greater lethal effects than sarin in the annals of dividuals that have been influential in the develop- modern terrorism. Others are increasingly con- ment of weapons of mass destruction and doctrines cerned about the destructive potential of even for their use (or control). We have encouraged our rudimentary weapons. Analysts today are worried, contributors to highlight ongoing controversies and for instance, that terrorists might try to employ ra- contemporary concerns about WMD and current diological dispersal devices or “dirty bombs.” international arms control and nonproliferation ef- These weapons do not detonate with a fission re- forts intended to reduce the threat they pose to action, but rather utilize conventional explosives to world peace and security. Even a work of this length, distribute radiological materials and contaminate however, cannot completely cover the history, sci- a given area. Few deaths are likely to result from the ence, and personal stories associated with a topic of effects of a dirty bomb, but the consequences—in this magnitude, so we have included abundant ref- terms of anxiety, clean-up, and the recognized abil- erences to help readers take those initial steps for ity of a terrorist to conduct the very act itself— further study of the topics we survey. would likely be far reaching. Acknowledgments About the Encyclopedia Our deepest debt is to the contributors who made The very presence of chemical, biological and nu- this volume a reality. Many of them joined the proj- clear weapons in international arsenals and the po- ect at its inauguration several years ago and have tential that they might fall into the hands of terror- waited a long time to see their work in print. It is im- ist organizations guarantees that weapons of mass possible for just three people to be experts on all of destruction will be of great policy, public, and schol- the subjects covered in this volume, and without the arly interest for years to come. We cannot resolve the hard work of our contributors, this encyclopedia debates prompted by WMD, but we hope that we would never have been completed. Thanks to our and our contributors can provide facts to help the research assistants, Abraham Denmark and Laura reader sort through the controversies that are likely Fontaine, who uncovered most of the key docu- to emerge in the years ahead. Much that is contained ments in both volumes and wrote a few entries for in these volumes is disturbing and even frightening; us, as well. We also want to express our appreciation it is impossible to write a cheery encyclopedia about to a senior government official who reviewed Vol- weapons whose primary purpose is to conduct ume II for accuracy and sensitive material. We owe postindustrial-scale mass murder. The sad truth of a special debt to Jeff Larsen, our managing editor, the matter is that chemical, biological, radiological, whose help was instrumental in the success of this and nuclear weapons reflect the willingness of hu- project. Not only did he provide editorial support to mans to go to great lengths to find increasingly both volumes, but he displayed a keen ability to deal lethal and destructive instruments of war and vio- with the publisher and our 95 contributors, keep lence. We are pleased to note, however, that much of track of timelines, requirements, and progress, and what is reported in these volumes is historical in na- gently push the two of us when we needed encour-
    9. PREFACE xi agement during this multiyear project that involved Frederick R. Sidell, Ernest T. Takafuji, and David over 500 separate parts. Finally, we also want to ex- R. Franz, eds., Textbook of Military Medicine, press our appreciation to Alicia Merritt, Martha Part I: Warfare, Weaponry, and the Casualty: Whitt, Giulia Rossi, and the behind-the-scenes Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological copyeditors at ABC-CLIO who worked tirelessly to Warfare (Washington, DC: Borden Institute, help get this manuscript into print. We discovered Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 1997), p. 54. 3. Quoted in the archives, “Report of Colonel- that nothing is a trivial matter when it comes to a General István Bata, Hungarian Minister of manuscript of this size. The commitment of our Defense, to Members of the HWP Central publisher to this topic, and the dedication of the Committee on the Conduct of the Staff- production staff at ABC-CLIO, greatly facilitated Command Exercise Held, 17 July 1956,” found at the completion of these volumes. the International Relations and Security We hope that this encyclopedia will help inform Network (Switzerland), documents collection, the public debate about weapons of mass destruc- http://www.isn.ethz.ch/ tion and international security policy, with the goal 4. Title 50, Chapter 40, Sec. 2302. of never again seeing such weapons used in anger. 5. Office of the Secretary of Defense, Proliferation: Threat and Response (Washington, DC: U.S. Notes Government Printing Office, 2001), p. 4. 1. Stanley D. Fair, “Mussolini’s Chemical War,” 6. U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), “The Army, January 1985, p. 52. FBI and Weapons of Mass Destruction,” 4 2. Jeffery K. Smart, “History of Chemical and August 1999, http://norfolk.fbi.gov.wmd.htm Biological Warfare: An American Perspective,” in
    10. Editors Editors and ERIC A. CRODDY (EDITOR, VOLUME I, CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS) Contributors Analyst with U.S. Pacific Command, Pearl Harbor, HI JAMES J. WIRTZ (EDITOR, VOLUME II, JEFFREY M. BALE NUCLEAR WEAPONS) Senior Research Associate, Monterey Institute Professor and Chair, Department of National of International Studies, Monterey, CA Security Affairs, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, and Senior Fellow, ZACH BECKER Center for International Security and Science Applications International Corporation, Cooperation, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA Arlington, VA JEFFREY A. LARSEN (MANAGING EDITOR, ANJALI BHATTACHARJEE VOLUMES I AND II) Research Associate, WMD Terrorism Project, Senior Policy Analyst, Science Applications Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey International Corporation and President, Institute of International Studies, Monterey, CA Larsen Consulting Group, Colorado Springs, CO JENNIFER BROWER Science and Technology Policy Analyst, The Contributors RAND Corporation, Arlington, VA GARY ACKERMAN Deputy Director, Chemical and Biological WILLIAM D. CASEBEER Weapons Nonproliferation Program, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Monterey Institute of International Studies, U.S. Air Force Academy, CO Monterey, CA KALPANA CHITTARANJAN JEFFREY A. ADAMS Research Fellow, Observer Research Senior Analyst, Analytic Services, Inc. (ANSER), Foundation, Chennai Chapter, Chennai, India Arlington, VA CLAY CHUN PETER ALMQUIST Chairman, Department of Distance Education, Bureau of Arms Control, U.S. Department of U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, PA State, Washington, DC WILLIAM S. CLARK ELIZABETH AYLOTT Defense Policy Analyst, Science Applications Plans and Policy Analyst, Science Applications International Corporation, Arlington, VA International Corporation, Ramstein Air Base, Germany CHRIS CRAIGE Graduate Student, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA xiii
    11. xiv EDITORS AND CONTRIBUTORS MALCOLM DAVIS ANDREA GABBITAS Lecturer, Defence Studies Department, King’s Graduate Student, Department of Political College London, London, UK Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA ABE DENMARK Graduate Student, Graduate School of SCOTT SIGMUND GARTNER International Studies, University of Denver, Associate Professor, Department of Political Denver, CO Science, University of California–Davis, Davis, CA JOHN W. DIETRICH MICHAEL GEORGE Assistant Professor, Bryant University, Policy Analyst, Science Applications Smithfield, RI International Corporation, Arlington, VA ANDREW M. DORMAN DON GILLICH Lecturer in Defence Studies, King’s College Nuclear Research and Operations Officer, U.S. London, London, UK Army, Colorado Springs, CO FRANNIE EDWARDS DAN GOODRICH Office of Emergency Services, San Jose, CA Public Health Department, Santa Clara, CA LAWRENCE R. FINK PHIL GRIMLEY Corporate Export Administration, International Professor of Pathology and Molecular Cell Legal Department, Science Applications Biology, F. Edward Herbert Medical School, International Corporation, Arlington, VA Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD STEPHANIE FITZPATRICK Arms Control/Policy Analyst, Independent EUGENIA K. GUILMARTIN Consultant, Arlington, VA Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY SCHUYLER FOERSTER President, World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, JOHN HART Pittsburgh, PA Researcher, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Solna, Sweden LAURA FONTAINE Graduate Student, Graduate School of PETER HAYS International Studies, University of Denver, Executive Editor, Joint Force Quarterly, National Denver, CO Defense University, Washington, DC J. RUSS FORNEY JAMES JOYNER Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry Managing Editor, Strategic Insights, and Life Science, U.S. Military Academy, West Washington, DC Point, NY AARON KARP MARTIN FURMANSKI Professor, Old Dominion University, and Scientists Working Group on Biological and Assistant Professor, U.S. Joint Forces Staff Chemical Weapons, Center for Arms Control College, Norfolk, VA and Nonproliferation, Ventura, CA KERRY KARTCHNER Senior Advisor for Missile Defense Policy, U.S. State Department, Washington, DC
    12. EDITORS AND CONTRIBUTORS xv MIKE KAUFHOLD CLAUDINE MCCARTHY Senior National Security Policy Analyst, Science National Association of County and City Health Applications International Corporation, San Officials, Washington, DC Antonio, TX JEFFREY D. MCCAUSLAND BRET KINMAN Director, Leadership in Conflict Initiative, Graduate Student, Department of National Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA Security Affairs, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA PATRICIA MCFATE Science Applications International Corporation, KIMBERLY L. KOSTEFF Santa Fe, NM Policy Analyst, Science Applications International Corporation, Arlington, VA ROB MELTON Assistant Professor of Military Strategic Studies, AMY E. KRAFFT 34th Education Group, U.S. Air Force Academy, Research Biologist, Department of Molecular CO Genetic Pathology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rockville, MD BRIAN MORETTI Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, U.S. JENNIFER LASECKI Military Academy, West Point, NY Computer Sciences Corporation, Alexandria, VA JENNIFER HUNT MORSTEIN PETER LAVOY Senior Analyst, Science Applications Director, Center for Contemporary Conflict, International Corporation, McLean, VA U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA EDWARD P. NAESSENS, JR. SEAN LAWSON Associate Professor, Nuclear Engineering Graduate Student, Department of Science and Program Director, Department of Physics, U.S. Technology Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Military Academy, West Point, NY Institute, Troy, NY T. V. PAUL MICHAEL LIPSON James McGill Professor of International Assistant Professor, Department of Political Relations, McGill University, Montreal, Canada Science, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada ROY PETTIS Science Advisor to the Office of Strategic and BRIAN L’ITALIEN Theater Defenses, Bureau of Arms Control, U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC State Department, Washington, DC MORTEN BREMER MAERLI RICH PILCH Researcher, Norwegian Institute of International Scientist in Residence, Chemical and Biological Affairs, Oslo, Norway Nonproliferation Program, Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of TOM MAHNKEN International Studies, Monterey, CA Professor of Strategy, Naval War College, Newport, RI ELIZABETH PRESCOTT International Institute for Strategic Studies, ROBERT MATHEWS Washington, DC Asia-Pacific Centre for Military Law, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
    13. xvi EDITORS AND CONTRIBUTORS BEVERLEY RIDER ROBERT SOBESKI Senior Scientist, Genencor International, Inc., Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, U.S. Palo Alto, CA Military Academy, West Point, NY GUY ROBERTS JOHN SPYKERMAN Principal Director, Negotiations Policy, Office of Foreign Affairs Officer, U.S. State Department, the Secretary of Defense, Washington DC Washington, DC J. SIMON ROFE TROY S. THOMAS Lecturer, Defence Studies Department, King’s Fellow, Center for Strategic Intelligence College London, London, UK Research, Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC KEN ROGERS Professor of Political Science, Department of CHARLES L. THORNTON Social Sciences and Philosophy, Arkansas Tech Research Fellow, Center for International and University, Russellville, AR Security Studies, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD STEVEN ROSENKRANTZ Foreign Affairs Officer, Office of Strategic and ROD THORNTON Theater Defenses, Bureau of Arms Control, U.S. Lecturer, Defence Studies Department, King’s State Department, Washington, DC College London, London, UK C. ROSS SCHMIDTLEIN ANTHONY TU Research Fellow, Department of Medical Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Physics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Biology, Colorado State University, Ft Collins, CO Center, New York, NY PETER VALE GLEN M. SEGELL Nelson Mandela Professor of Politics, Rhodes Director, Institute of Security Policy, London, University, Grahamstown, South Africa UK GILLES VAN NEDERVEEN D. SHANNON SENTELL, JR. Independent Consultant, Fairfax, VA Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY MICHAEL WHEELER Senior Defense Analyst, Science Applications JACQUELINE SIMON International Corporation, McLean, VA Independent Consultant, Ottawa, Canada JOLIE WOOD JOSHUA SINAI Graduate Student, Department of Government, Analytic Services, Inc. (ANSER), Alexandria, VA University of Texas, Austin, TX STANLEY R. SLOAN JACK WOODALL Visiting Scholar, Middlebury College, and Visiting Professor, Department of Medical Director, Atlantic Community Initiative, Biochemistry, Federal University of Rio de Richmond, VT Janeiro, Brazil JAMES M. SMITH ROBERT WYMAN Director, USAF Institute for National Security Arms Control Operations Specialist, Science Studies, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Applications International Corporation, Springs, CO Arlington, VA
    14. Volume I: Chemical and Biological Weapons A to Z List of Entries, Aberdeen Proving Ground Abrin Volumes I and II Adamsite (DM, diphenylaminochlorarsine Aerosol Agent Orange Agroterrorism (Agricultural Biological Chemical and Biological Munitions and Military Warfare) Operations Al-Qaeda Chemical Warfare Al Shifa Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) Amiton (VG) Chlamydia Psittaci (Psittacosis) Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil (ANFO) Chlorine Gas Anthrax Chloropicrin (PS, Trichloronitromethane) Aralsk Smallpox Outbreak Choking Agents (Asphyxiants) Arbusov Reaction Cholera (Vibrio cholerae) Arsenicals Conotoxin Atropine Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Aum Shinrikyo Crop Dusters (Aerial Applicators) The Australia Group CS Cyclosarin (GF) Bari Incident Bhopal, India: Union Carbide Accident Decontamination Bigeye (BLU-80) Demilitarization of Chemical and Biological Binary Chemical Munitions Agents Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention Dianisidine (BTWC) Difluor (DF, Difluoromethylphosphonate) Biological Terrorism: Early Warning via the Diisopropyl Fluorophosphate (DFP) Internet Dioxin Biological Warfare Diphosgene Biopreparat Dual-Use Bioregulators Dugway Proving Ground Bioterrorism Bleach EA2192 Blood Agents EMPTA (O-Ethyl Methylphosphonothioic Acid) Botulism (Botulinum Toxin) Enterovirus 70 Brucellosis (Brucella Bacterium) Equine Encephalitis (VEE, WEE, EEE) Ethiopia (Abyssinia) C-4 Explosives Carbamates Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Fentanyl (CDC) Fermenter Chemical Agent Monitor Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus xvii
    15. xviii A TO Z LIST OF ENTRIES Fort Detrick Oklahoma City Bombing Fuel-Air Explosive (FAE) Organophosphates Osama bin Laden Gas Gangrene Oximes Geneva Protocol Glanders (Burkholderia Mallei) Parasites—Fungal Gruinard Island Parathion (Methyl and Ethyl) G-Series Nerve Agents Perfluoroisobutylene (PFIB) Gulf War: Chemical and Biological Weapons Phosgene Gas (Carbonyl Chloride) Gulf War Syndrome Phosgene Oxime (CX, Dichloroform Oxime) Pine Bluff, Arkansas Hague Convention Plague Halabja Incident Plasticized Explosives Heartwater (Cowdria Ruminantium) Point Source Hemorrhagic Fevers Porton Down, United Kingdom Herbicides Precursors Protective Measures: Biological Weapons India: Chemical and Biological Weapons Protective Measures: Chemical Weapons Programs Psychoincapacitants Inversion Pyridostigmine Bromide Iran: Chemical and Biological Weapons Programs Iran-Iraq War Q-Fever Iraq: Chemical and Biological Weapons Programs QL Japan and WMD Ricin Johnston Atoll Rift Valley Fever Riot Control Agents Kaffa, Siege of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Korean War Russia: Chemical and Biological Weapons Programs Late Blight of Potato Fungus (Phytophthora Infestans) Sabotage Libya and WMD Salmonella Line Source Sarin Livens Projector Semtex Lyophilization Shikhany Simulants Marburg Virus Sino-Japanese War Melioidosis Skatole Microencapsulation Smallpox Mustard (Sulfur and Nitrogen) Soman Mycotoxins South Africa: Chemical and Biological Weapons Programs Napalm South Korea: Chemical and Biological Weapons Nerve Agents Programs Newcastle Disease Spore Newport Facility, Indiana Stabilizers North Korea: Chemical and Biological Weapons Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B Programs Stepnogorsk Novichok Sverdlovsk Anthrax Accident
    16. A TO Z LIST OF ENTRIES xix Syria: Chemical and Biological Weapons Programs Acheson-Lililenthal Report Actinides Tabun Airborne Alert Terrorism with CBRN Weapons Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty Thickeners Antinuclear Movement TNT Anti-Satellite (ASAT) Weapons Tobacco Mosaic Virus Arms Control Tooele, Utah Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) Toxins (Natural) Arms Race Toxoids and Antitoxins Assured Destruction Tularemia Atomic Energy Act Tuberculosis (TB, Mycobacterium Tuberculosis) Atomic Energy Commission Typhus (Rickettsia Prowazekii) Atomic Mass/Number/Weight Atoms for Peace Unit 731 United Kingdom: Chemical and Biological Backpack Nuclear Weapons Weapons Programs Balance of Terror United Nations Monitoring, Verification, and Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) United Nations Special Commission on Iraq Ballistic Missiles (UNSCOM) Baruch Plan United States: Chemical and Biological Weapons Bikini Island Programs Bombers, Russian and Chinese Nuclear-Capable Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Bombers, U.S. Nuclear-Capable Boost-Phase Intercept Vaccines Bottom-Up Review V-Agents Brilliant Eyes Vector Brinkmanship VECTOR: State Research Center of Virology and British Nuclear Forces and Doctrine Biotechnology Broken Arrow, Bent Spear Vesicants Vietnam War Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) Reactor Vincennite (Hydrogen Cyanide) The Catholic Church and Nuclear War Chelyabinsk-40 Weteye Bomb Chernobyl World Trade Center Attack (1993) Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado World War I Chicken, Game of World War II: Biological Weapons Chinese Nuclear Forces and Doctrine World War II: Chemical Weapons City Avoidance Wushe Incident Civil Defense Cold Launch Xylyl Bromide Cold War Collateral Damage Yellow Rain Command and Control Yemen Committee on the Present Danger Ypres Compellence Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) Volume II: Nuclear Weapons Conference on Disarmament Accidental Nuclear War Conference on Security and Cooperation in Accuracy Europe (CSCE)
    17. xx A TO Z LIST OF ENTRIES Confidence- and Security-Building Measures Equivalent Megaton (CSBMs) Escalation Containment Essential Equivalence Cooperative Threat Reduction (The Nunn-Lugar European Atomic Energy Community Program) (EURATOM) Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Extended Deterrence Controls (COCOM) Correlation of Forces Failsafe Counterforce Targeting Fallout Countermeasures Fast Breeder Reactors Counterproliferation Fat Man Countervailing Strategy Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Countervalue Targeting Federation of American Scientists (FAS) Coupling Firebreaks Credibility First Strike Crisis Stability Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT) Critical Nuclear Weapons Design Information Fission Weapons (CNWDI) Flexible Response Criticality and Critical Mass The Football Cruise Missiles Forward-Based Systems Cuban Missile Crisis Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS) Fratricide Damage Limitation French Nuclear Forces and Doctrine Data Exchanges Fuel Fabrication The Day After Fusion Dealerting Decapitation G8 Global Partnership Program Declared Facility Gaither Commission Report Decoys Game Theory Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Gas-Graphite Reactors Dense Pack Geiger Counter Department of Defense (DOD) Global Protection Against Limited Strikes (GPALS) Department of Energy (DOE) Graphite Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Gravity Bombs Depleted Uranium (U-238) Ground-Launched Cruise Missiles (GLCMs) Deployment Ground Zero Depressed Trajectory Gun-Type Devices Détente Deterrence Half-Life Deuterium Hanford, Washington Disarmament Hard and Deeply Buried Targets Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line Harmel Report Downloading Heavy Bombers Dual-Track Decision Heavy ICBMs Heavy Water Early Warning Hedge Emergency Action Message (EAM) Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) Enola Gay Hiroshima Enrichment Horizontal Escalation Entry into Force Hot Line Agreements
    18. A TO Z LIST OF ENTRIES xxi Hydrogen Bomb Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) Mixed Oxide Fuel (MOX) Implementation Mobile ICBMs Implosion Devices Moratorium Improvised Nuclear Devices Moscow Antiballistic Missile System Inadvertent Escalation Multilateral Nuclear Force Indian Nuclear Weapons Program Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle Inertial Navigation and Missile Guidance (MIRV) Institute for Advanced Study Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Nagasaki Iranian Nuclear Weapons Program National Command Authority Iraqi Nuclear Forces and Doctrine National Emergency Airborne Command Post Isotopes (NEACP) Israeli Nuclear Weapons Capabilities and Doctrine National Strategic Target List National Technical Means Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Negative Security Assurances (NSAs) Joint Declaration on Denuclearization of the Neutron Bomb (Enhanced Radiation Weapon) Korean Peninsula Neutrons Nevada Test Site Kiloton New Look Kwajalein Atoll Nike Zeus No First Use Launch on Warning/Launch under Attack Non–Nuclear Weapons States Launchers Nonproliferation Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory North American Aerospace Defense Command Light-Water Reactors (NORAD) Limited Nuclear War North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT) North Korean Nuclear Weapons Program Lithium Nuclear Binding Energy Little Boy Nuclear Emergency Search Teams (NESTs) Long-Range Theater Nuclear Forces Nuclear Fuel Cycle Los Alamos National Laboratory Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Nuclear Planning Group Nuclear Posture Review Maneuvering Reentry Vehicle (MARV) Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Manhattan Project Nuclear Risk Reduction Centers (NRRCs) Massive Retaliation Nuclear Suppliers Group Medium-Range Ballistic Missiles Nuclear Taboo Megaton Nuclear Test Ban Megawatt Nuclear Warhead Storage and Transportation Midgetman ICBMs Security (Russia) Military Technical Revolution (Revolution in Nuclear Weapons Effects Military Affairs) Nuclear Weapons Free Zones (NWFZs) Minimum Deterrence Nuclear Weapons States Ministry of Atomic Energy (MINATOM) Nuclear Winter Minuteman ICBM Missile Defense Oak Ridge National Laboratory Missile Gap On the Beach
    19. xxii A TO Z LIST OF ENTRIES One-Point Detonation/One-Point Safe Research Reactors On-Site Inspection Agency (OSIA) Restricted Data (RD) Open Skies Treaty Reykjavik Summit Outer Space Treaty Ride Out Overhead Surveillance Rocky Flats, Colorado Roentgen Equivalent Man (Rem) Pakistani Nuclear Weapons Program Rumsfeld Commission Pantex Facility, Texas Russian Nuclear Forces and Doctrine Parity Payload Safeguard Antiballistic Missile (ABM) System Peaceful Coexistence Safeguards Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Sandia National Laboratories Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty (PNET) Savannah River Site, South Carolina Peacekeeper Missile Sea-Launched Cruise Missiles (SLCMs) Penetration Aids Second Strike Permissive Action Link (PAL) Selective Options Pershing II Sentinel Antiballistic Missile System Phased-Array Antenna Short-Range Attack Missiles (SRAM) Pit Shrouding Plutonium Silo Basing Polaris SLBMs/SSBNs Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP) Portsmouth Enrichment Facility Skybolt Poseidon SLBMs/SSBNs South African Nuclear Weapons Program Post-Attack Command and Control System South Korean Nuclear Weapons Program (PACCS) Space-Based Infrared Radar System (SBIRS) Preemptive Attack Spartan Missile Presidential Nuclear Initiatives Sprint Missile Pressurized-Water Reactors (PWRs) Sputnik Preventive War Standing Consultative Commission (SCC) Primary Stage Stealth Bomber (B-2 Spirit) Proliferation Stockpile Stewardship Program Proliferation Security Initiative Strategic Air Command (SAC) and Strategic Pugwash Conferences Command (STRATCOM) Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I and SALT Quadrennial Defense Review II) Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) Radiation Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II) Radiation Absorbed Dose (Rad) Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) Radiological Dispersal Device Strategic Defenses The RAND Corporation Strategic Forces Rapacki Plan Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT) Ratification Strategic Rocket Forces Reactor Operations Submarines, Nuclear-Powered Ballistic Missile Reasonable Sufficiency (SSBNs) Reciprocal Fear of Surprise Attack Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs) Reconnaissance Satellites Sufficiency Red Mercury Superiority Reentry Vehicles Surety Reliability Surprise Attack Conference Reprocessing Surveillance
    20. A TO Z LIST OF ENTRIES xxiii Survivability Unilateral Initiative United Nations Special Commission on Iraq Tactical Nuclear Weapons (UNSCOM) Telemetry United States Air Force Terminal Phase United States Army Theater High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) United States Navy Theater Missile Defense United States Nuclear Forces and Doctrine Thermonuclear Bomb Uranium Three Mile Island Three-Plus-Three Program Verification Threshold States Threshold Test Ban Treaty (TTBT) Warfighting Strategy Tinian Warhead Titan ICBMs Warsaw Pact Tous Asimuts Wassenaar Arrangement Transporter-Erector-Launcher Weapons-Grade Material Triad Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Trident Trinity Site, New Mexico X-Ray Laser Tritium Two-Man Rule Yield U-2 Zangger Committee Underground Testing Zone of Peace
    21. Introduction: Chemical and In the United States, there are various legal and Biological Weapons academic definitions of weapons of mass destruc- Eric A. Croddy tion (WMD), although not everyone may agree on any of them. The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) defines WMD as, “Weapons that are capa- ble of a high order of destruction and/or of being used in such a manner as to destroy large numbers Army Marshal Georgi Konstantinovich Zhukov. In of people. Weapons of mass destruction can be fact, it was this speech that highlighted for U.S. pol- high explosives or nuclear, biological, chemical, icy makers the real or perceived threat from the So- and radiological weapons, but exclude the means viet Union, particularly in terms of the latter’s pre- of transporting or propelling the weapon where sumed arsenal of chemical and biological such means is a separable and divisible part of the weaponry. As such, Zhukov’s speech invigorated weapon.”1 United States Cold War research into WMD, in- According to the DOD, conventional explosives cluding biological weaponry.4 During the Cold War, also can be considered WMD. And this is reason- the United States—and, to a much greater extent, able, especially when one considers the cumulative the Soviet Union—amassed large chemical and bi- number of deaths caused by gunpowder since its in- ological weapons stockpiles. The threat posed by vention in the tenth century and by nitroglycerine these stockpiles has diminished greatly since the since its invention in the nineteenth century.2 But crumbling of the Berlin wall. the underlying assumption of what makes a Regional threats posed by state-funded mili- weapon massively destructive is the idea that these taries from chemical and biological weapons also weapons can cause simultaneous mass casualties. have declined. By the end of 2003, the U.S. govern- Nuclear weapons (dealt with separately in Volume ment had admitted that there was little evidence II) are an obvious category of WMD, but radiolog- that Iraq had possessed large chemical or biological ical weapons (such as so-called dirty bombs are less weapon stockpiles after the mid-1990s. This has likely to cause mass injury or death (see Radiologi- since led both the United States and British govern- cal Dispersal Device in volume II).3 ments to begin inquiries into the faulty prewar in- Highly toxic chemical compounds—the nerve telligence on Iraq that was in large part the basis for agents being prime candidates—could comprise justifying Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003.5 WMD, for example, if delivered effectively against Other regional threats, however, still remain. an urban target. Biological agents—that is, Among these, states such as Syria and North Korea pathogens and toxins derived from plants or ani- are suspected of possessing chemical and biological mals—might also constitute WMD if delivered effi- weapons. Their bellicose posture regarding their ciently. When compared to conventional and chem- immediate neighbors and regional rivals, as well as ical weapons, biological agents have the greatest their possession of long-range delivery systems potential to cause mass casualties, and, theoretically, (such as Scud missiles), make these threats impossi- theirs could easily exceed the casualties caused by ble to ignore. By contrast, Libyan leader Mohamar the largest nuclear weapon. Qaddafi stated in early 2004 that he would re- In terms of referring to nuclear, chemical—and nounce the possession of WMD, which demon- by inference, biological—weapons, the term strates how quickly the threat of weapons of mass “weapons of mass destruction” first came into use destruction seems to rise and fall on the global in 1956 when it was used in a speech by Soviet Red agenda. xxv
    22. xxvi INTRODUCTION Individuals and terrorist organizations also are of chemical or biological warfare. In an excellent in- reportedly interested in using chemical or biological troduction to chemical weapons, a short book pub- agents in their operations. A salient example was a lished by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army dis- statement by a self-proclaimed spokesman for the cusses a case of CW (chemical warfare) from terrorist organization al-Qaeda, who said in June China’s early history: In the Zuochuan, it is written 2002, “We have the right to kill 4 million Ameri- that in the sixth century to about the fifth century cans—2 million of them children—and to exile B.C.E., “An official of the noble princes of the Xia, twice as many and wound and cripple hundreds of came from the Jin to attack the [forces of] Qin, and thousands. Furthermore, it is our right to fight them poisoned the Jing River, killing more than a division with chemical and biological weapons, so as to af- of men.” Another case is cited: “In the year 1000 flict them with the fatal maladies that have afflicted [C.E.], there was one named Tangfu, who made poi- the Muslims because of the [Americans’] chemical son fire grenades and gave them to the Chao court and biological weapons.”6 of the Song dynasty. The poisonous smoke ball, It is not clear as of this writing whether any indi- containing arsenic oxide (As2O3) and a type of poi- viduals or groups will be able to carry out an attack son derived from crotonaldehyde (see the Arsenicals using chemical or biological warfare agents, at least listing), looked a bit like a precursor to a chemical in a manner that could cause more deaths than the gas grenade. After alighting, this weapon would September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade issue forth smoke to poison the enemy and thus Center (2,749 dead) and the Pentagon (184 dead). weaken their ability to fight.”8 In 2001, the biological agent that causes anthrax These same authors also point out that this is a killed five people when an unknown actor or group far cry from what one expects in modern times, for mailed Bacillus anthracis spores through the U.S. back then chemical warfare “was just in its infancy, postal system. On February 3, 2004, envelopes con- and not only were its methods crude but its utility in taining ricin toxin were discovered at the office of actually killing people was limited. Because of this, the U.S. Senate majority leader and at a mail sorting chemical weapons were regarded as a method to facility for the White House. These incidents involv- generally assist in conducting warfare, and at the ing ricin resulted in no injuries, but justifiably time did not draw any particular attention. Coming caused much concern. into the recent era, as the developments in technol- ogy continued, chemical weapons then really began A Brief History of WMD to demonstrate their real menace.”9 The historical record shows that mass poisonings Another premodern military tactic that is often and the occasional plot to spread disease among described as a form of BW (biological warfare) is armies and civilian populations go back many cen- the siege of Kaffa (1346 C.E.), in modern Feodosia, turies.7 Still, chemical and biological warfare Ukraine. During a campaign by Mongol forces to (CBW)—sometimes referred to in military parlance defeat a heavily defended city of mostly Genoese as “bugs and gas”—is essentially a modern phe- merchants, bubonic plague struck the area: “The nomenon. It is modern in the sense that the science Tartars died as soon as the signs of disease appeared and industry required to produce these types of on their bodies: swellings in the armpit or groin WMD have only existed since the early 1900s. How- caused by coagulating humors, followed by a putrid ever, there may indeed have been designs to use fever. The dying Tartars, stunned and stupefied by chemical or biological agents as a means of warfare the immensity of the disaster brought about by the (or possibly terrorism) before the Industrial Revolu- disease, and realizing that they had no hope of es- tion. Before the late nineteenth century (the time of cape, lost interest in the siege. But they ordered Louis Pasteur and many developments in chem- corpses to be placed in catapults and lobbed into the istry), however, the requisite scientific knowledge city in the hope that the intolerable stench would and engineering capacity were insufficient to bring kill everyone inside. . . .”10 We note here that any such ideas to fruition. Obviously, this is no “stench” was considered in the pre-germ theory era longer the case. to be responsible for disease. Thus, miasmas, “nox- Many books and articles that discuss CBW often ious effluvia,” or “corrupt vapors” (febres pestilen- introduce the subject by bringing up past examples tiales) were synonymous with the spread of deadly
    23. INTRODUCTION xxvii epidemics—plague (causative organism: Yersinia however, that horrific BW experiments were con- pestis) being among the most notorious.11 ducted upon Chinese civilians and prisoners of The suggestion later made by historians that the war.12 It is possible that some Allied soldiers, includ- Mongols were in fact able to spread bubonic ing American and British personnel, were experi- plague by hurling disease-ridden corpses over the mented upon by Ishii Shiro (see the Sino-Japanese fortress walls is an intriguing one. During the four- War listing) and his scientists, but this has not been teenth century, however, a germ theory of disease confirmed. Apart from the East Asian theater of op- did not exist. How would the people of that era erations, however, no offensive use of CBW was have known exactly how the disease could spread? conducted in World War II. Suggestions that the So- What they could not have known is that bubonic viet Red Army used tularemia (caused by the bac- plague is spread by fleas, which collect the bacteria terium Francisella tularensis) against invading Nazi Yersinia pestis (the causative organism of plague) forces at the Stalingrad front are not supported by through feeding upon infected rats. Fleas do not the available evidence.13 German and Allied military linger near the body once the temperature of the scientists did pursue the manufacture of CW agents host (be it rodent or human) cools following in very large quantities, but these never were used in death, making it rather unlikely that the cadavers conflict. would have done much to spread the plague. In the In the Korean War (1950–1953), Chinese offi- end, it was not the use of projectile cadavers, but cials, during armistice negotiations, accused the more likely the exceptionally large rat population United States of using biological weapons. Although around the Black Sea that led to a pandemic there is evidence that at least some of the commu- throughout the region (and indeed much of Eu- nist Chinese leaders truly believed the allegations rope). One could probably conclude, however, that concerning BW in Korea14, there is no evidence that the Mongols did have the intent to spread disease the U.S. military used chemical or biological among their enemy, and at least in this respect they weapons during the conflict.15 conducted an early form of BW. During the Cold War, chemical agents became even deadlier. The United States and the Soviet CBW in the Modern Era Union stockpiled the German G-series nerve agents The stunningly high rate of casualties that occurred (sarin and soman), as well as the newer V-agents. in World War I had much do with the machine gun Perhaps more dangerous was the development of and rapid-fire artillery, but it also was caused in weaponized biological agents. The United States large part by the great number of men that were and its allies during World War II had pursued a brought to the battlefields. World War I marks the rudimentary offensive and defensive BW program. emergence of “gas warfare:” the use of chlorine, Later, work continued using a variety of infectious phosgene, and other toxic chemicals. For the most agents, including the causative organisms of an- part, these were used in vain attempts to achieve a thrax, tularemia, and less deadly—but highly effi- breakthrough against well-defended armies in cient—microbes such as Venezuelan equine en- trenches. Later, chemical warfare agents such as sul- cephalitis. fur mustard entered the scene when previous com- The controversy over the potential use of CBW pounds were found to be less effective on the battle- grew increasingly protracted during the Vietnam field. Unlike chemicals used during the early stages War, particularly when the U.S. military used herbi- of the conflict, mustard is not gaseous, but an oily cides (such as Agent Orange) against Viet Cong- liquid. It did not kill large numbers of troops, but it controlled areas. In a variety of instances, riot con- caused debilitating injury by irritating the skin, eyes, trol agents (RCAs or tear gas) were used against the and upper airways. First used in 1917, it was re- Viet Cong and Viet Minh regular army. Although sponsible for the most injuries caused by chemical such forms of weaponry were not intended to cause weapons during World War I. death, their use in an unpopular war heightened the Japan conducted CBW against China from 1937 sensitivity of the U.S. government to public percep- to 1945. It is unknown whether the use of chemicals tions of its CBW policies. As a consequence of Viet- against Chinese soldiers gave the Japanese army a nam and high-profile incidents involving nerve significant advantage on the battlefield. It is certain, agents at storage facilities in Utah and Okinawa,
    24. xxviii INTRODUCTION President Richard Nixon ended most U.S. chemical tended level of death and destruction, but it caused and biological programs in 1969. significant structural damage. Yousef reportedly When President Nixon renounced offensive BW considered the use of cyanide—a toxic “blood and the United States stopped the production of bi- agent”—during the 1993 bombing. However, tech- ological weapons, the Soviet Union was only getting nical difficulties and other unknown factors pre- started. In 1979, a mysterious outbreak of anthrax in vented Yousef from designing such a device.18 Sverdlovsk, Siberia (now Yekaterinberg) was sus- There was another “wake-up call” to the threat of pected by Western intelligence to have been caused WMD, this time in Tokyo, Japan, when a guru by a BW-related accident. (After many years of de- named Shoko Asahara instructed followers to use nials, Russia admitted in the 1990s that the nerve agents (sarin) against his real or perceived en- Sverdlovsk outbreak was caused by Soviet military emies. In 1995, Shoko Asahara’s cult (Aum Shin- work with BW agents.) By the late 1980s, the Soviet rikyo) struck at the Tokyo authorities by releasing a BW apparatus (Biopreparat) had assembled the nerve agent on the subway system. The death toll world’s largest infrastructure devoted to the devel- was 12, with thousands injured. The end result of opment of biological weapons. The Soviet arsenal the Tokyo subway attack was less than many experts included the standard agents, anthrax, tularemia, expected from a WMD attack. Still, it made a and a particularly virulent form of plague. But it tremendous impact, not only on Japanese society had also weaponized smallpox, placing it in a liquid but also on how governments around the world form to be delivered by intercontinental ballistic reevaluated the CBW terrorist threat. missiles.16 Boris Yeltsin formally ended the program Improvised devices made by Palestinian terror- in 1992.17 ists using toxic chemicals have been a particular Iraq had already used large amounts of chemical concern to Israel. But death and injury caused by (but not biological) weapons against Iranian troops shrapnel (ball bearings, nails, bolts, etc. made into and Kurdish populations during its 1980–1988 con- projectiles by an exploding device) comprise the flict with Iran. After the first Gulf War (1990–1991), largest portion of the casualties inflicted by Palestin- subsequent inspections conducted by United Na- ian suicide bombers. In 2002, however, it was re- tions personnel revealed that Iraq had undertaken a ported that Israeli intelligence believed Palestinian serious effort to develop chemical, biological, nu- homicide bombers to have put rat poison in their clear, and possibly radiological weapons. In 1995, explosive devices. According to this assessment, ter- the western world was particularly alarmed by the rorists put an anticoagulant type of rodenticide on scope of the Iraqi BW program. Suspecting that Iraq shrapnel. Following bombings that occurred in had maintained at least a remnant of its WMD pro- 2002, Israeli doctors made note of excessive bleeding grams, including CBW agents and missile delivery in certain bombing victims. This type of poison systems, the United States led a war against Iraq be- (warfarin) acts very slowly in mammals, making its ginning in 2003 that toppled the Iraqi regime. No utility and effect somewhat doubtful.19 There is caches of CBW agents have yet been found in Iraq other evidence that Palestinian terrorists have been by coalition forces since their occupation of Iraq. attempting to use other types of toxic chemicals in improvised explosive devices.20 The Chemical and Biological Threat Today Now that Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party has lost The world after September 11, 2001 has certainly control of Iraq and Libya has offered to abandon its changed, but even before then experts such as WMD programs, there is a lower risk of seeing Michael Osterholm, Jessica Stern, and Jonathan CBW on the battlefield among national armies. Tucker had worried about the prospect that terror- Syria and North Korea still retain a significant ists might obtain and use WMD. In 1993, Ramzi chemical weapons capability. But even skeptics of Yousef made the first attempt to destroy the World arms control treaties such as the 1993 Chemical Trade Center. Yousef and his cohorts might have Weapons Convention (CWC), the 1972 Biological hoped that the towers would fall over in domino and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), and in- fashion, killing upwards of 250,000 people. Instead, formal arrangements such as the Australia Group the bomb they planted killed six people and injured must concede that some progress has recently been more than 1,000. The attack failed to achieve the in- made on the nonproliferation front. It is increas-
    25. INTRODUCTION xxix ingly apparent that the world community has sus- somewhat justified) fear of “radiation” by the tained the recent momentum toward the elimina- general public would no doubt cause great tion of chemical and biological weapons, despite anxiety at the very least, perhaps even panic. some notable setbacks. Thus, RDDs are sometimes referred to as Although the United States and other developed “weapons of mass disruption,” as opposed to countries seem to be headed toward complete (if WMD. 4. William Patrick, “Biological Weapons Historical slow) chemical and biological disarmament, they Overview,” Chemical & Biological Warfare continue to prepare their militaries for CBW de- Proliferation Course (Washington, DC: Central fense in terms of materials and training. This is pru- Intelligence Agency, Biological Warfare Branch, dent, but one could make the argument that mod- December 1995). ern militaries are not likely to encounter chemical or 5. Global Security Newswire, “Powell Says Knowing biological weapons in organized combat. The more True Iraqi WMD Capability Might Have likely threat is from terrorists using toxic chemicals Affected War Decision,” 3 February 2004, or infectious agents. This is unnerving, but terrorists http://www.nti.org. have thus far made little effective use of these types 6. S. Abu Gheith, In the Shadow of the Lances, of unconventional weapons. And yet, despite recent Middle East Research Institute, Special Dispatch gains in the war against international terrorism, Series no. 388, 12 June 2002, http://memri.org/. WMD will continue to pose a threat to society. It is 7. Erhard Geissler and John Ellis van Courtland Moon, eds., Biological and Toxin Weapons: difficult to conceive of a worse scenario than the ef- Research, Development and Use from the Middle fective use of chemical or biological weapons by ter- Ages to 1945, SIPRI Chemical & Biological rorists who act with little or no restraint. By foster- Warfare Studies, No. 18 (Oxford, UK: Oxford ing an understanding of CBW agents, weapons, and University Press, 1999); James S. Ketchum and their potential role in conflict, it is hoped that this Frederick R. Sidell, “Incapacitating Agents,” in volume will increase awareness—and vigilance—to Frederick R. Sidell, Ernest T. Takafuji, and defeat these threats. David R. Franz, Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, Weaponry, and the Casualty: Notes: Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological 1. U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Technical Warfare (Borden Institute, Walter Reed Army Information Center (DTIC), December 2003, Medical Center: Washington, D.C.: 1997) pp. http://www.dtic.mil/. 289–290. 2. Joseph Needham, Science and Civilisation in 8. Cheng Shuiting and Shi Zhiyuan, Military China, vol. 5, pt. 7: Military Technology: The Technology Information Handbook: Chemical Gunpowder Epic (New York: Cambridge Weapons, second edition (Beijing: People’s University Press, 1986), p. 9. As a British Liberation Army Press, 1999; second printing diplomat (and to his death a committed January 2000), p. 7. Marxist), Needham was among the first to alert 9. Ibid. the world to Japan’s use of chemical weapons 10. Quoted in Mark Wheelis, “Biological Warfare against China during World War II. before 1914,” in Erhard Geissler and John Ellis 3. A radiological dispersal device (RDD) or “dirty van Courtland Moon, eds., Biological and Toxin bomb” employs a high explosive (such as Weapons: Research, Development, and Use from dynamite) to disperse radiological materials the Middle Ages to 1945, SIPRI Chemical & (such as cobalt–60, cesium–137, or Biological Warfare Studies no. 18 (Oxford: strontium–90) across a large area. This would Oxford University Press, 1999), p. 14. not result in a massive radiological hazard as no 11. Michael R. Gilchrist, “Disease & Infection in the fission takes place. Rather, the contaminated area American Civil War,” The American Biology would likely remain off limits to people until it Teacher, vol. 60, no. 4, April 1998, p. 258. was fully cleared of radiating materials—a time- 12. Hal Gold, Unit 731 Testimony. Tokyo: Yen Books, consuming and expensive process. The 1996. immediate effects of the explosion itself might of 13. Eric Croddy and Sarka Krcalova, “Tularemia, course cause death and injury, but few casualties Biological Warfare (BW), and the Battle for would be expected from the radiological sources Stalingrad (1942–1943),” Military Medicine, vol. themselves. Nonetheless, the disproportionate (if 166, no. 10, October 2001, pp. 837–838.
    26. xxx INTRODUCTION 14. Chen Jian, Mao’s China and the Cold War 18. John J. Parachini, “The World Trade Center (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, Bombers (1993),” in John B. Tucker, ed., Toxic 2001), p. 110. Terror: Assessing Terrorist Use of Chemical and 15. “China’s Role in the Chemical and Biological Biological Weapons (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, Disarmament Regimes,” The Nonproliferation 2000), p. 201. Review, vol. 9, no. 1, spring 2002, pp. 16–47. 19. Sue Shaw and Jeremy Anderson, “Warfarin 16. Richard Preston, “The Bioweaponeers,” The New Ingestion,” Evidence Centre Report, Monash Yorker, 9 March 1998, p. 63. Medical Center, Australia, 18 March 1999. 17. Ken Alibek, Biohazard (New York: Random 20. Andrew Chang, “Bombs and Bioterror,” 6 August House, 1998), p. 133. 2002, http://www.ABCnews.com.
    27. Incidents of chemical or biological warfare (CBW) Chronology: Chemical in history are of great interest, but they are also quite problematic—at least until we arrive at mod- and Biological Weapons ern times (the post–World War I era). We say prob- lematic because until the twentieth century, science had not sufficiently explained the roles of toxic chemicals or infectious disease in order to effec- vice causing mass casualties, certainly not all events tively utilize them in warfare. Nor had industry would necessarily qualify. been developed in like fashion to exploit chemistry This will not stop us from trying to delineate a or biology for the purpose of waging battle. When it chronology of examples that are relevant to CBW. comes to chemical weaponry in particular, Augustin Here are listed a selection of historical events, with Prentiss put it quite well: an effort to describe them by category: either chem- ical or biological weaponry. History records numerous earlier but abortive at- tempts to utilize the powers of chemistry for mili- Sixth Century B.C. Assyrians reportedly used tary ends . . ..With the exception of Greek fire [use ergot fungus (Claviceps of petroleum-based incendiaries, ca. 7th century purpurea) to poison their C.E.], none of them produced important results enemy’s water wells and none permanently challenged the supremacy of existing weapons. They are of interest to us only as indicating man’s eagerness to experiment with 431–404 B.C. Spartan armies use sulfur any means that promise to promote his fortunes and toxic arsenic smoke in battle and his final dependence upon technical during Peloponnesian War knowledge to produce such means. (Prentiss, p. xvi) Fourth Century B.C. Chinese engineers use arsenic against Quite the same can be said of biological underground sappers. weaponry. In either case of chemical or biological weapons, the basic knowledge to understand the Circa 200 B.C. Officers in Hannibal’s army scientific disciplines behind them was inadequate adulterate the wine of until the nineteenth century, when significant ad- African rebels with vances were made in fields such as organic chem- mandrake, which contains istry and microbiology. Still, it then took the latter belladonna alkaloids stages of the Industrial Revolution for nations to causing hallucinations. develop the capacity for mass production of chemicals that would play a noteworthy—albeit 187 B.C. Ambraciots (Greece) overall insignificant—role in World War I employ irritating smoke (1914–1918). against Roman soldiers Another criterion to consider is the scope of the purported attack. Was this a poisoning of a few in- 7th Century C.E. The Byzantine architect, dividuals, or a whole army? Keeping in context with Callinicus (“Kallinikos”), a weapon of mass destruction (WMD), that is, a de- reportedly invents the first xxxi
    28. xxxii CHRONOLOGY liquid incendiary—“Greek asphyxiating or deleterious Fire.” gases.” (Mauroni, p. 81) Circa 1040 Scottish king poisons wine 1914 French troops use tear gas using a belladonna-like grenades against German (“sleepy nightshade”) herb positions in World War I and gives to Norwegian enemies as “provisions” 22 April 1915 German military uses under pretense of barrage of chlorine gas surrender. Scots then against Allied trenches in slaughter the incapacitated Ypres, Belgium. Norwegians. 12 July 1917 Germany uses mustard 1347 Mongolians lay siege to agent against Allied troops Kaffa (in modern Ukraine) at Ypres, Belgium. and throw corpses over city walls to spread bubonic 1916–1918 German agents infect beasts plague. May have of burden—including contributed to Black Death, horses bound for use by which killed approximately Allies in Europe—using 50 million people through glanders and anthrax. the fourteenth century. 1919 In midst of the Russian civil 1672 Bishop of Münster war, British troops use attempted the use of adamsite atropine-like drug in (diphenylaminearsine, DM) grenades in siege against against Bolsheviks. city of Groningen. Attack backfires. 1922 The U.S. delegates at the Washington Arms 1767 British plot to supply cloths Conference table a proposal from a smallpox hospital to abolish chemical warfare, ward to American Indian but France ultimately rejects tribes in hopes of spreading the treaty because of disease. Unknown if this stipulations regarding strategy was ultimately submarines. successful. 17 June 1925 Geneva Protocol for the 1855 Sir Lyon Playfair suggests Prohibition of the Use in using cyanide-containing War of Asphyxiating, chemicals against Russian Poisonous or other gases, troops during Crimean and of Bacteriological War, but this tactic never Methods of Warfare is found approval by the signed by nearly thirty British High Command. countries. 29 July 1899 First Hague Convention 1936 German chemists synthesize signed, prohibiting “the use first nerve agents to be of projectiles the sole object weaponized, including of which is the diffusion of tabun (GA).
    29. CHRONOLOGY xxxiii 1937–1942 During Sino-Japanese War, employs riot control Japan employs chemical agents—chiefly CS—in and biological weapons certain military operations, against Chinese troops and creating controversy, civilians. especially for war critics at home and abroad. 1939 Japanese attempt to poison water with Salmonella 1967 With possible support from enterica Typhi (causative the Soviet Union, Egyptian agent in typhoid) in the so- forces use chemical called Nomonhon Incident weapons, including mustard in a biological attack on agent and some kind of Soviet troops, but organophosphate (nerve apparently is unsuccessful. agent) against Yemeni royalists. 1935 Italian troops under Benito Mussolini begin using 25 November 1969 U.S. president Richard M. chemical weapons (mustard Nixon renounces the agent) against Ethiopians. offensive use of biological weapons, ordering that the 1942 United States undertakes U.S. program be study of biological warfare dismantled. (BW) agents, including defensive and offensive 10 April 1972 Great Britain, the Soviet preparations. Union, and the United States sign the Biological December 1943 German Luftwaffe attacks and Toxin Weapons Allied ships carrying sulfur Convention. mustard in Bari, Italy, leading to more than 600 1973 Following the Yom Kippur casualties. War (fought between Israel and Arab countries), 1956 Soviet Marshal and Defense U.S. military analysts Minister Georgy Zhukov discover that Egypt mentions the use of possessed armored “various means of mass vehicles equipped with destruction, such as atomic, protection against nuclear, thermonuclear, chemical chemical, and biological and bacteriological (NBC) warfare. This leads weapons,” stirring great to concern that Warsaw interest and anxiety in the Pact forces, supported by West. (Mauroni, p. 85) the Soviet Union, were prepared to use NBC 1962 The U.S. military begins weapons. herbicide operations in Vietnam War, including the 1973–1974 The Soviet Union initiates use of Agent Orange. and establishes Biopreparat, a civilian organization 1965 As the war in Vietnam devoted to producing escalates, the United States biological warfare agents.
    30. xxxiv CHRONOLOGY 26 March 1975 The Biological and Toxin suspected links to the Weapons Convention enters terrorist organization al- into force. Qaeda detonate 1,500 pounds of explosive in the 1979 Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) basement of the World spores are accidentally Trade Center in New York. released from a biological The attack does not destroy weapons facility in the buildings, but kills six Sverdlovsk, Russia; at least people and injures more 64 people died from than one thousand. inhalation anthrax. Concerns arise over the possibility that the 1983 Iraq begins using chemical terrorists laced the high warfare agents, including explosives with chemical mustard, in the Iran-Iraq weapons in order to War (1980–1988). increase the number of casualties. January–March 1991 A United States–led coalition invades Iraq in 27 June 1994 Aum Shinrikyo, a new Operation Desert Storm. religious cult in Japan, uses The goal is to force Iraqi sarin nerve agent in an compliance with United assassination attempt on Nations resolutions calling three judges in Matsumoto, for its withdrawal from killing seven people and Kuwait and elimination of injuring over 200. its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) 20 March 1995 Aum Shinrikyo releases programs. A newly formed sarin nerve agent on the United Nations Special Tokyo subway, killing 12 Commission on Iraq people and injuring about (UNSCOM) searches for 1,000. Japanese police WMD and oversees the discover nerve agent destruction of known precursors at the cult’s chemical and biological home base near Mt. Fuji weapons arsenals and and also learn that Aum production facilities until attempted to produce 1998, when Iraq defies biological weapons. international mandates and forces UNSCOM 19 April 1995 Timothy McVeigh detonates inspectors to leave the a 4,000-pound ammonium country. nitrate fuel oil (ANFO) explosive device in a rented 13 January 1993 The Chemical Weapons truck, destroying the Alfred Convention (CWC) is open P. Murrah Federal Building for signature. in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and killing 168 26 February 1993 On 26 February 1993, a people. small group of men from the Middle East with 29 April 1997 The CWC enters into force.
    31. CHRONOLOGY xxxv October 2001 A still unknown perpetrator References: mails four letters containing Geissler, Erhard, and John Ellis van Courtland Moon, anthrax spores to eds., Biological and Toxin Weapons: Research, unsuspecting victims in Development and Use from the Middle Ages to 1945, Florida, New York, and two SIPRI Chemical & Biological Warfare Studies, No. 18 U.S. senators in Washington, (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1999). Kern, Paul Bentley, Ancient Siege Warfare (Bloomington, D.C. Five people eventually IN: Indiana University Press, 1999). die of inhalation anthrax, Ketchum, James S., and Frederick R. Sidell, while seventeen others— “Incapacitating Agents,” Frederick R. Sidell, Ernest T. having contracted either Takafuji, and David R. Franz, eds., Textbook of inhalation or cutaneous Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, Weaponry, and the forms of the disease—are Casualty: Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological treated successfully. Warfare (Washington, DC: Borden Institute, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 1997), pp. 287–305. Mauroni, Al, Chemical and Biological Warfare: A March–April 2003 Led by the United States, Reference Handbook (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, coalition forces undertake 2003). Operation Iraqi Freedom, Needham, Joseph, Science and Civilisation in China, Vol. with the stated goal of 5, Pt. 7 (New York: Cambridge University Press, ridding Iraq of its weapons 1986). of mass destruction Prentiss, Augustin M., Chemicals in War—A Treatise on (WMD) programs. Chemical Warfare (New York: McGraw Hill, 1937).
    32. ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND Established in October 1917, Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland is the oldest active location in the United States for the design and testing of mu- nitions and protective military equipment. During A World War I, Edgewood Arsenal, the northern area of the proving ground, was the primary location in troops. During World War II, President Franklin the United States for chemical weapons research, Roosevelt condemned Japan’s use of chemical development, production, and testing. Aberdeen weapons in China, but he reserved the right to re- Proving Ground was also the center of United States spond in kind if such an attack were launched on offensive chemical weapons operations until pro- the Allies. This resulted in a military requirement duction of chemical warfare (CW) agents in the spurring more chemical weapons activity at Edge- United States ended in 1968. wood. But with the exception of Japanese chemical Among the chemical agents the Edgewood facility weapons used in China (1937–1943), and possible produced (in ton quantities) were the choking agents use of cyanide grenades against Allied soldiers in the phosgene and chloropicrin, the blister agent mus- Pacific, no other actor in World War II utilized tard, and the nerve agent sarin (see Choking Agents, chemical weapons on the battlefield. The only U.S. Mustard [military code: HD, for mustard, “H,” dis- chemical casualties suffered during World War II tilled, “D”], Sarin [GB, for “German” nerve agent were accidental (see Bari Incident). type,“B,” second in series]). Throughout the decades Following World War II, Edgewood continued to of the U.S. chemical weapons program, Aberdeen be the center for U.S. chemical weapons research, Proving Ground also has been central to defensive serving as the site for pilot production of the nerve chemical activities. Aberdeen is home to the U.S. agent sarin. In 1969, however, President Richard Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command Nixon stopped U.S. chemical weapons production, (SBCCOM), the Program Manager for Chemical and on November 25 he announced that he would Demilitarization, and the U.S. Army Medical Re- resubmit the 1925 Geneva Protocol for the Prohibi- search Institute of Chemical Defense (USAMRICD). tion of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous, Finally, the Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facil- or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of ity will dispose of 5 percent of the original stockpile Warfare to the Senate for ratification (it had been of United States chemical weapons, which is cur- rejected in 1926). The U.S. Senate, however, did not rently being stored at Edgewood, by 2006–2007 (see ratify the Geneva Protocol until the subsequent Demilitarization of Chemical and Biological Agents). Ford administration (1975). The Chemical Warfare Service (CWS) was cre- Throughout its history, Edgewood has played a ated in 1918 to oversee all United States chemical key role in defensive chemical weapons efforts, weapons activities; during World War I, Edgewood from development and testing of gas masks and Arsenal was the home of offensive weapons pro- other protective equipment, to researching and de- duction by CWS that comprised four production veloping medical treatments for chemical plants and four munitions-filling plants. In the in- weapons casualties. When destruction of the U.S. terwar years, almost all CWS activities were trans- chemical weapons stockpile began in earnest by ferred to Edgewood, where the emphasis shifted the 1990s, Edgewood became home to both the from agent production to defensive research and Program Manager for Chemical Demilitarization development and chemical defense training for (the office overseeing U.S. destruction efforts), and 1
    33. 2 ABRIN the Chemical Demilitarization Training Facility, The abrin toxin itself consists of a large protein where personnel responsible for operating de- chain. Like ricin toxin, the abrin protein attaches it- struction facilities are trained. Destruction of self to a cell with its B portion, and the A segment 1,818 one-ton containers of mustard will take inserts itself into the ribosome, stopping protein place at the Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Fa- synthesis. This leads to cell death and causes nausea, cility beginning in 2004. This disposal will be con- vomiting, and shock. If abrin particles are inhaled, ducted by first using chemicals to neutralize the abrin can cause the death of tissue in the lungs and agent. Afterward, the hazardous waste products airways, leading to severe inflammation and edema. generated will be detoxified by sewage treatment Death from abrin poisoning would likely occur bacteria at an off-site commercial facility. many hours after exposure. —Claudine McCarthy In a military manual published by members of See also: Demilitarization of Chemical and Biological the al-Qaeda terrorist organization (circa 2000), the Agents; United States Chemical and Biological reader is instructed that precatory beans (“red or Weapons Programs; World War I; World War II: black and used in prayer beads”) could be used to Chemical Weapons extract abrin for assassination purposes. The recipe References described in the manual was probably derived from Department of Defense, 21st Century Complete Guide to The Poisoner’s Handbook, an underground pam- the U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Ground and phlet published in the 1980s. Aberdeen Test Center in Maryland (CD-ROM) —Eric A. Croddy (Progressive Management, 12 September 2003). U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Ground website, http:// See also: Al-Qaeda; Bioterrorism; Ricin www.apg.army.mil/aberdeen_proving_ground.htm. References U.S. Army Program Manager for the Elimination of Al-Qaeda, ‘I’alan al-Jihad ‘ala al-Tawaghit al-Bilad (no Chemical Weapons, available at http://www.pmcd. date; seized by British police in 2000, published in army.mil/default.asp. the United Kingdom). Olsnes, Sjur, and Alexander Pihl, “Isolation and Properties of Abrin: A Toxic Protein Inhibiting ABRIN Protein Synthesis,” European Journal of Biochemistry, vol. 35, no. 1, 1973, pp. 179–185. Abrin is a highly toxic protein that can be used as a Olsnes, Sjur, Karin Refsnes, and Alexander Pihl, poison. But like ricin (a toxin found in the castor “Mechanism of Action of the Toxic Lectins Abrin and bean plant, Ricinus communis), abrin is more likely to Ricin,” Nature, vol. 249, 14 June 1974, pp. 627–631. be used as a poison for murder or for assassinating certain targets than as a component in a weapon of mass destruction (WMD). ADAMSITE (DM, DIPHENYLAMINO- Abrin can be extracted from the seeds of the CHLORARSINE) Abrus precatorius plant, the beans of which are The chemical agent adamsite falls between the cate- known as Rosary peas, precatory beans, crab’s eye, gories of moderately toxic chemical warfare (CW) or the jequirity bean. Provided the bean is well mas- agent and riot control agent (RCA). For adamsite to ticated, one such seed from this plant can be enough be used as a WMD,large quantities would be required, to kill a human adult. Both abrin and ricin (another and such a scenario seems implausible. In enclosed plant lectin) share similar structures, toxicological spaces, however, many people could be affected by a properties, and approximately the same molecular release of adamsite. According to a Chinese military weight (60,000 and 65,000, respectively). Research book on chemical weaponry, the United States used conducted in the 1970s demonstrated that abrin adamsite in the Korean War (1950–1953), probably a was approximately 2.5 times more toxic than ricin reference to the use of tear gas—which included when administered to mice. Due to the much larger adamsite at the time—used to control rioting Chinese market for castor beans (as a source for vegetable oil and North Korean POWs. Today, no known modern and for use in lubricants), the worldwide availability military stocks significant amounts of this chemical. of jequirity seeds is relatively small. As a conse- Still, large quantities may remain (most likely in Rus- quence, and despite the disparity in their toxicities, sia) in existence, awaiting destruction as an old chem- ricin probably remains a greater overall threat. ical weapon (produced prior to 1946).
    34. AEROSOL 3 Figure A-1: Adamsite sualty-causing effects of its shrapnel and explosive force are about the same as conventional munitions. This type of CW ordnance is often used intermixed with conventional munitions to produce disorder and exhaustion on the battlefield” (p. 26). There are numerous toxicological studies, but most are based on animal experimentation, and therefore it is difficult to arrive at a precise lethal dose for adamsite in humans. An accidental death was reported in one individual who was exposed to The German chemist Heinrich Wieland is cred- an estimated 1,000–2,000 milligrams per cubic ited with having synthesized diphenylaminochlor- meter of air (mg/m3) concentration of adamsite for arsine in 1915. Three years later in the United States, 5–30 minutes. The estimated median lethal concen- Major Roger Adams also synthesized this com- tration of adamsite is 11 gramsmin/m3, a toxicity pound while conducting his own independent re- which pales in comparison to that of most other search. Thereafter, the U.S. military referred to this CW agents. But adamsite is far more toxic than chemical as adamsite. During the early twentieth other RCAs such as CS tear gas (see Riot Control century, rapid advances in organic chemistry—in- Agents). CS is designator for the tear gas after its in- cluding the mass production of dye-base precursors ventors and chloroacetophenon (CN), both used by such as diphenylamine—made adamsite relatively civilian and military detachments for quelling pub- easy to manufacture in large quantities. Reportedly, lic disturbances. in 1919, the British employed adamsite against Bol- —Eric A. Croddy shevik forces during the Russian Civil War. During See also: Arsenicals; Riot Control Agents its war against China in World War II, Japan used References large quantities of related compounds such as Cheng Shuiting and Shi Zhiyuan, Military Technology diphenylcyanoarsine, and Japan may also have used Information Handbook: Chemical Weapons, second adamsite. edition (Beijing: People’s Liberation Army Press, Adamsite is a yellowish, crystalline solid that can 1999; second printing January 2000). be delivered by means of generating smoke with Sidell, Frederick R., “Riot Control Agents,” in Frederick high heat. Adamsite can also be delivered in the R. Sidell, Ernest T. Takafuji, and David R. Franz, eds., Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, form of a liquid (dissolved in solvent) or fine pow- Weaponry, and the Casualty: Medical Aspects of der. As the term vomiting agent suggests, adamsite Chemical and Biological Warfare (Washington, DC: has been known to cause severe nausea, although it Borden Institute, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, is not entirely clear why it has this effect in humans. 1997), pp. 307–324. Adamsite also has been referred to as a sneeze gas U.S. National Research Council, Possible Long-Term (sternutator) and an irritant smoke. Unlike other Health Effects of Short-Term Exposure to Chemical types of RCAs, the effects of adamsite—which in- Agents, Volume 2: Cholinesterase Reactivators, clude severe irritation of the upper respiratory Psychochemicals, and Irritants and Vesicants tract—are delayed by at least several minutes. (Washington, DC: National Research Council, 1984), Adamsite is practically odorless, and this, coupled pp. 203–211. with its ability to break through the protective masks of the era, was another feature that has made AEROSOL adamsite a potentially insidious and effective CW When it comes to the delivery of chemical or bio- agent. In the United States military, adamsite was logical warfare (CBW) agents, understanding the originally designed to be delivered in the M6A1 physical and chemical qualities of toxic or infectious grenade. The same Chinese military text referred to substances is crucial. One of the most important above describes a former Soviet munition that em- factors in delivering CBW agents is the formation of ployed adamsite: “The former Soviet [KRAV-25] aerosols. In nuclear warfare, aerosols represent a chemical munition is filled with 2.7 kg of adamsite, threat in the form of radioactive fallout. In conven- producing a vapor for about 9–10 minutes. The ca- tional weaponry, fuel-air munitions (thermobaric
    35. 4 AEROSOL weapons) can employ liquid fuel in the form of an (such as fungi) and how these affect human health. aerosol that, upon ignition, causes great destruction Chemical-based aerosols are, of course, very rele- over a wide area. vant when assessing risks from industrial and Although their behavior in the atmosphere may household pollutants. share similarities, aerosols are to be distinguished Aerosols consist of particles that fall out of the from gases and vapors. A gas is an amorphous, mol- atmosphere, but at a low rate of speed. Although ecular form of matter. Vapors are those gases that gravity dictates that all particles must drop to the evolve from liquids, especially those that are in liq- ground, their fall is influenced by the atmospheric uid form at room temperature. Water vapor, for ex- interferences and aerodynamic fluctuations of vari- ample, evaporates from water and can condense ously sized particles. The chart below shows the rel- back into liquid. An aerosol can be briefly described ative rates of fall among particles ranging from 0.2 as a suspension of tiny particles in air, these particles microns to 1 millimeter in diameter. being either liquids or solids. Although some scien- tific disciplines have set strict guidelines on what makes a true aerosol, aerosols generally are airborne Table A-2: Particle Fall Rate at 20 Degrees Celsius particles that stay aloft in the atmosphere for a cer- Weight Terminal velocity tain period of time. Diameter (microns) (microgram) (cm/min) Smoke, mist, and fogs are examples of aerosols 0.2 4.2 x 10-9 0.014 consisting of very small (0.25 microns) to relatively 0.5 6.5 x 10-8 .06 large (40 microns) particles. (A fog is essentially a 1 5.2 x 10-7 .21 cloud formed by particles with water droplets ad- 2 4.2 x 10-6 .77 hering to them.) With strong light and a dark back- 3 1.4 x 10-5 1.6 ground, the human eye can see floating particles in 5 6.5 x 10-5 4.7 10 5.2 x 10-4 18 the air of about 30 microns in size. (For compari- 20 4.2 x 10-3 72 son, human hairs have an average diameter of 75 30 1.4 x 10-2 162 microns.) Atmospheric haze is thought to be largely 51 6.5 x 10-2 432 caused by particles of approximately 0.1 microns or 100 5.2 x 10-1 1,500 even smaller. Objects that are less than 0.2 microns 200 4.2 4,200 cannot be seen even with light microscopy. Com- 300 14 6,900 500 65 12,000 mon substances that can form aerosols are listed in 1,000 [1mm] 525 [.525 mg] 23,100 the table below. Table A-1: Representative Particle Sizes Brownian movement—motion of tiny particles caused by the ongoing dynamics at the molecular Some example particle sizes Diameter, microns level—thermal forces, electrostatic charges, and Tobacco smoke 0.25 other factors affect aerosol stability. However, when Flour dust 15–20 looking at the larger picture, wind and atmospheric Pollens 15–70 changes as well as precipitation dramatically influ- Talc powder 10 ence the nature of aerosols in a variety of contexts. The utilization of aerosols is important for max- imizing concentrations of chemical and biological The word aerosol itself is a throwback to World warfare (CBW) agents. Whether chemical or biolog- War I, when Professor F. G. Donnan first coined the ical, aerosols can be delivered in two basic forms: word. An aerosol in the older context referred to the line source and point source. A line source can be vi- behavior of irritating arsenical smokes. Today, the sualized by using the crop duster model: Aerosols science of aerosols has involved many disciplines, are released from a moving platform, an object that not the least of which concerns biological materials draws a line of cloud in its wake. Wind moving per- that exist in the air. Bioaerosol research involves, pendicular to this line source can then spread the among many other things, the characterization of aerosol over a large swath of territory. Point sources allergens (such as pollen) and infectious organisms rely on single bursts or from releases from a static
    36. AEROSOL 5 position. After point release via spray or detonation volatile liquids present significant challenges to ef- with an explosive, air currents can carry these agents fective delivery. They do not form vapors quickly to saturate nearby targets. Point sources usually re- enough or in dense enough format to be effective. quire redundant applications to achieve wider area Therefore, modern CW has included the use of coverage. aerosols to maximize the effectiveness of delivery of Because their behavior is similar to that of toxic agents on the battlefield. By means of toxic gases, aerosols are greatly influenced by wind ve- aerosols, CW agents are more widely dispersed, and locity and thermal convection currents. CBW under favorable meteorological conditions, they re- agents generally increase their effectiveness as a main in high concentration over time. function of concentration (particles or milligrams Chemical aerosols can be produced by means of of liquid per cubic meter of air, etc.) and time. The explosive munitions, such as artillery shells or aerial longer an aerosolized agent remains on target, bombs, or through the use of spray tanks with spe- while maintaining a high enough concentration to cially fitted nozzles. When aerosols are produced by cause infection (if a biological weapon) or injury explosion, a certain amount of agent will be de- (if a chemical weapon), the more casualties will re- stroyed in the detonation energy and possible con- sult. Therefore, conditions of stable air with little flagration. Loss of CW agent is not expected to be mixing of different temperature layers are ideal for much more than 25 percent, however. A Chinese disseminating aerosolized agents. Such a state is re- People’s Liberation Army book on chemical ferred to as an inversion. An inversion is character- weaponry describes the percentages of droplets, ized by little vertical movement of air, and it usu- aerosol, and destroyed agent in a U.S. chemical mu- ally occurs near dusk or dawn. Aided by low wind nition in the following way: “In the case of the U.S. velocity, CBW agent aerosols released under these 155 mm VX explosive [howitzer] shell, about 60 conditions will linger over the ground and stay rel- percent of the agent is scattered within a 20 meter atively concentrated over time. Less ideal are con- area, 15 percent being disseminated in an aerosol ditions described as neutral, with little change in that floats downwind from the point of detonation air temperature as one reaches higher altitudes. in the air. The remaining CW agent is destroyed due Here, winds are often stronger, with minor convec- to the blast.” tion currents. Finally, air instability in the lapse Especially in the case of biological warfare (BW), phase is least ideal for aerosol delivery. Not only are aerosols are most effective when their average parti- the horizontal winds in this situation unfavorable, cle sizes fall between about 1 and 10 microns. Using but strong vertical gusts of air break up and dissi- experimental animals and corn oil droplets, early re- pate aerosols. search conducted by the United States BW program In chemical warfare (CW), the primary chal- in the 1950s showed the relationship of particle di- lenge in delivering toxic substances on the battle- ameter to particles’ ultimate fate in a model respira- field is to create concentrations high enough to tory system (see table below). cause a large number of casualties. Gases such as Particles that can effectively reach down into the chlorine and phosgene can expand quickly over an lungs and deposit in the alveoli—tiny air sacs where area, but they also disperse just as rapidly, reducing gas exchange takes place between the lung and the their toxic effects. Even those CW agents that are bloodstream—are absorbed more quickly. The Table A-3: Experimental Distribution of Corn Oil Particles in Mice Lungs % Terminal Bronchi and Size microns (Particle % Lung (Number of % Bronchi (Number of alveoli ducts % Alveoli (Number of diameter) particles found) particles found) (Number of particles found) particles found) 0.8–2.5 80 24 26 30 3.3–10 19 10 7 2 12–17 1 0 0 0 Total 100 34 33 32
    37. 6 AEROSOL highest alveolar deposition is for particles from 1 to tion—the essence of BW—is best achieved by alve- 5 microns in diameter. Much smaller particles (such olar deposition of infectious particles. Experiments as the main constituent of tobacco smoke) can be so with animals and with human volunteers have small that they are inhaled and exhaled without shown the direct relationship between optimal par- landing upon inner surfaces of the bronchi or lungs. ticle size and the chances for infection to start via Those particles 10 microns or larger become more the lungs. prone to barriers in the respiratory system, deposit- Even more so than chemical weapons, biological ing on hairs in the upper airways or bronchial tree. agents are difficult to disseminate efficiently in For some agents, such as mustard, however, large aerosols for creating large casualties. First, BW particles will cause severe tissue damage in the agents are sensitive to heat and violent shock. Pro- higher regions of the throat, causing death from res- duction of aerosols by means of explosive devices is piratory blockage due to subsequent formation of likely to kill 99 percent or more of the BW agent. dead tissue. With its predilection for membrane sol- Therefore, to expect battlefield success, bacteria, ubility, VX nerve agent will absorb into skin and viruses, or toxins must be prepared in such a way upper tissues in the respiratory tract. Thus, even if that enough infectious or toxic doses remain effec- the particles are not dispersed in the size of 1–5 mi- tive following detonation. Second, the formulation crons, chemical casualties will still likely occur for of BW agents to retain shelf life and virulence—as unprotected individuals. The only difference may be well as having the right physical properties to create the time before onset and the degree of severity. effective aerosols—takes considerable expertise and development. Finally, the controlled release of aerosolized particles that fit the “sweet spot,” that is, Table A-4: Particle Size and Deposition in the Human in the 1–5 micron average diameter range, has been Respiratory System a difficult hurdle even for advanced BW programs. Areas where deposition is most In more conventional types of weaponry, Particle diameter likely to occur aerosolized explosives can be used to create devasta- tion. In the case of fuel-air munitions (or fuel-air Larger than 10 microns Throat and nasal passages 5 to 10 microns Upper to lower respiratory tract explosives, FAE), combustible fuels can be 2 to 5 microns Lung and bronchioles aerosolized over a target and detonated, causing a Less than 2 microns Alveoli massive detonation with significant overpressures. So-called thermobaric munitions can employ a highly flammable liquid/vapor such as ethylene For biological weapons, average particle sizes are oxide or propylene oxide. These large munitions are even more important, as most, if not all, modern normally dropped from aircraft, their rate of fall applications of BW agents—save the dermally active slowed by parachute, and their contents released trichothecene mycotoxins—utilize inhalation to over a large area. After a delay, this aerosol is deto- cause injury or death. With some notable excep- nated with another charge that, after the cloud has tions, the deliberate cause of disease through inhala- formed something of a pancake shape, ignites the Table A-5: Bacteria Required to Create Medical Conditions Number of bacteria required Number of bacteria required to Number of bacteria required to cause infection/Respiratory cause infection/Respiratory to cause infection/Respiratory virulence (RLD50) Francisella virulence (RLD50) Guinea pig virulence (RLD50) Rhesus tularensis Human volunteers, Particles, diameter (microns) Francisella tularensis monkey Francisella tularensis infectious dose (ID50, nonfatal) 1 2.5 14 10–52 6.5 4,700 178 14–162 11.5 23,000 672 NA 18 125,000 3447 NA 22 230,000 More than 8,500 NA
    38. AGENT ORANGE 7 cloud in a very large blast. One can compare the are included in this discussion on WMD not only large force involved in grain elevator explosions, in because of the controversy surrounding their use, which small quantities of grain dust are ignited by a but also because of their capacity to cause extensive spark, which leads to a massive blast. In a thermo- destruction to forests and jungle. Although the baric device using aerosols, the resultant explosion short-term environmental effects can be devastat- creates very large overpressures capable of flattening ing, most herbicides (when used correctly) have lit- structures in the immediate blast zone and causing tle or no deleterious effect on human health. The considerable damage on the periphery. In addition same also can be said of Agent Orange. to targeting troop concentrations, this type of Spraying liquid herbicides in large quantities aerosolized fuel-air munition has found a role in from aerial applicators (such as crop dusters) was a clearing land mines. Both the United States and pre-World War II idea. In the 1930s, the U.S. Army Chinese militaries, for example, have fielded such Air Corps refined techniques that would prove use- systems for land mine removal. ful for the application of DDT, one of the most suc- —Eric A. Croddy cessful insecticides ever developed. During World See also: Biological Warfare; Chemical Warfare; Fuel-Air War II, the U.S. Army aggressively pursued research Explosive; Line Source; Point Source into producing compounds that could destroy References plants. More than 1,000 different compounds were Alt, Leonard A., C. Douglas Forcino, and Richard I. investigated at Camp Detrick, Maryland. One Walker, “Nuclear Events and Their Consequences,” in chemical code-named LN-8 stood out from the rest. Richard I. Walker and T. Jan Cerveny, eds., Medical This formulation, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, Consequences of Nuclear Warfare (Falls Church, VA: or 2,4-D, proved to be one of the most effective her- TMM Publications, Office of the Surgeon General, bicides ever synthesized. It is still a widely used her- 1989), pp. 1–14. bicide for weed control and other agrochemical ap- Cheng Shuiting and Shi Zhiyuan, Military Technology Information Handbook: Chemical Weapons, second plications. edition (Beijing: People’s Liberation Army Press, Highly effective herbicides based on the phen- 1999; second printing January 2000). oxyacetic acids (chiefly 2,4-D) were tested at bomb- Fothergill, Leroy D., “Biological Warfare and Its ing ranges in Texas and Indiana during World War Defense,” Armed Forces Chemical Journal, vol. 12, no. II. These trials were so successful that U.S. military 5, September-October 1958, pp. 4–28. planners considered the use of herbicides against Punte, Charles L., “Some Aspects of Particle Size in the Japanese during the war in the Pacific. The strat- Aerosol Studies,” Armed Forces Chemical Journal, vol. egy would involve using herbicides to mark the jun- 12, no. 2, March-April 1958, pp. 28–32. gle, leaving lines of dead foliage to guide bombers to Reist, Parker C., Aerosol Science and Technology, second Japanese troop concentrations. This stratagem and edition (San Francisco: McGraw-Hill, 1993). other plans that included attacking Japanese rice Urbanetti, John S., “Toxic Inhalational Injury,” in crops in preparation of a final invasion, however, Frederick R. Sidell, Ernest T. Takafuji, and David R. Franz, eds., Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: were eventually tabled. Warfare, Weaponry, and the Casualty: Medical Aspects During the Korean War (1950–1953), the U.S. of Chemical and Biological Warfare (Washington, Air Force made operational plans to use 2,4-D her- DC: Borden Institute, Walter Reed Army Medical bicide with 2,4,5-T (which would eventually be Center, 1997), pp. 247–270. called Agent Orange during the Vietnam War) to destroy vegetation that could be of use to the enemy. AGENT ORANGE The plan was never implemented because the ecol- Agent Orange was the name given to one type of ogy of the Korean peninsula was entirely different chemical herbicide used by the U.S. military during from that of tropical zones, and there was no per- the Vietnam War. The 1993 Chemical Weapons ceived benefit in the use of herbicides in that con- Convention prohibits the use of herbicides as a flict. Spraying equipment that was initially shipped means of warfare. The United States, however, has to Korea was put in storage, and the chemical agents reserved the right to use these chemicals for weed were destroyed in 1955. control at airfields, for example, and in limited While fighting against Malaysian communist in- amounts for security of its armed forces. Herbicides surgents at about the same time, the British military
    39. 8 AGROTERRORISM used trioxene and diesolene herbicides against the enemy protective cover, especially along the bor- enemy crops. Some operational lessons from this ders with North Vietnam, and to eliminate manioc conflict were useful for future U.S. military engage- (tapioca) groves that were being used by the Viet ments. In the late 1950s, artillery range exercises in Cong guerillas for both cover and as a food source. the United States were hampered with overgrowth, Less than 10 percent of the herbicides used in Viet- and Dr. James W. Brown was brought in from the nam and Laos were directed against enemy crops, U.S. Army Biological Warfare Laboratories to devise the remainder being used to clear fields of fire for a solution to the problem. He supervised the aerial finding and fixing the enemy, and to maintain secu- spraying of sugar maples using a combination of rity around military facilities by removing vegeta- 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T. These practical experiences led to tion that obscured sightlines. Results of the herbi- the use of this mixture in the Vietnam War, espe- cide campaign were mixed. Some studies showed cially during the years 1961–1971. that the Viet Cong were hard pressed to make up for As the United States became more actively in- the food shortages caused by the operation, but oth- volved in the South Vietnamese struggle against ers found Operation Ranch Hand to be politically communist forces, herbicides were considered for and militarily counterproductive. use against enemy cover and food. South Viet- The United States eventually abandoned the namese President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother South Vietnamese, and it may be impossible to assess Ngo Dinh Nhu were enthusiastic supporters of de- fully the merits or demerits of Operation Ranch foliation operations. President John F. Kennedy and Hand. The ecological aftermath of Operation Ranch the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staffs, however, recalled how Hand also offers a mixed picture. Most of the devas- Chinese communist propaganda had (falsely) ac- tation occurred primarily in the mangrove forests; cused the use by the United States of chemical and some estimates claim that it will require 100 years for biological warfare against North Korea a decade ear- the forests to grow back. But most other areas recov- lier. Before authorizing the use of herbicides in Viet- ered within about a year after the last spraying sorties. nam, then, the Kennedy administration first looked Following the Vietnam War, many U.S. veterans into the legality of such a venture. In 1961, Secretary claimed that they suffered illness due to exposure to of State Dean Rusk assured President Kennedy that Agent Orange. Studies subsequently found that the use of defoliant did not violate international law dioxin, a highly toxic and carcinogenic substance, concerning CW and was an accepted tactic of war. was present in small concentrations within Agent Still, the use of herbicides in warfare, along with the Orange. No scientific evidence, however, has thus far use of tear gas (CS) and napalm, drew criticism been able to link Agent Orange and very small con- from both international and domestic circles. centrations of dioxin to significant human disease. Although the U.S. Air Force employed a number —Eric A. Croddy of herbicide formulations during the Vietnam War, See also: Dioxin; Herbicides; Vietnam War Agent Orange was used in the greatest quantity and References was arguably the most effective. Bovey, Rodney W., and Alvin L. Young, The Science of 2,4,5-T and Associated Phenoxy Herbicides (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1980), p. 372. Table A-6: Representative Herbicides Used in South Vietnam, Buckingham, William A., Jr., Operation Ranch Hand: 1965–1971 The Air Force and Herbicides in Southeast Asia, 1961–1971 (Washington, DC: Office of Air Force Herbicide Gallons History, United States Air Force, 1982). Orange (2,4-D and 2,4,5-T phenoxyacetic acids) 10,645,904 Gough, Michael, Dioxin, Agent Orange: The Facts (New White (80% 2,4-D and 20% picloram) 5,632,904 York: Plenum, 1986). Blue (cacodylic acid) 1,144,746 Matolcsy, György, Miklós Nádasy, and Viktor Andriska, Pesticide Chemistry (New York: Elsevier, 1988). The U.S. Air Force conducted a massive defoliant AGROTERRORISM (AGRICULTURAL campaign in Vietnam called Operation Ranch BIOLOGICAL WARFARE) Hand. The initial goal of the herbicide program in Agroterrorism, or agricultural BW, is also referred to Vietnam (and also in neighboring Laos) was to deny as agricultural bioterrorism. None of these terms,
    40. AGROTERRORISM 9 however, seem to discriminate between military teats, as well as ulcerating patches on the hooves programs and smaller, less sophisticated attacks on (thus the name foot-and-mouth). The 1997 out- a food supply (e.g., bioterrorism or sabotage). Still, break probably began with the smuggling of an in- they are interchangeably understood to mean the fected animal across the Taiwan Straits from main- deliberate use of pathogens against crops or live- land China. Although some have suggested this was stock. The social and economic consequences of a a deliberate attack perpetrated by the Chinese, most concerted agroterrorist attack could be quite exten- Taiwanese veterinarians believe it was uninten- sive. Because industrialized countries are increas- tional. Another outbreak of FMD a few years later, ingly dependent upon large-scale, dense, and effi- this time in the United Kingdom, also led to billions cient mechanized farms, there is an acute of dollars in economic losses, primarily in the sheep vulnerability to deliberate attack using plant or ani- rearing industry. These examples of natural out- mal pathogens. Such attacks could cause huge eco- breaks of animal disease demonstrate the potential nomic losses. threat from agroterrorism. Vulnerability of Livestock Food Security: “Farm to Fork” For example, Newcastle disease (caused by a virus) There is another dimension to the threat from primarily affects birds, resulting in severe illness agroterrorism, namely that of food safety. In both with a high mortality rate (between 95 and 100 per- developed and developing economies, there has re- cent). Humans can also be infected with the New- cently been an increased focus on security sur- castle disease virus (though the disease is relatively rounding the “farm to fork” cycle of the food indus- benign in humans, unlike in birds), and it is possi- try—that is, the vulnerability of the food supply to ble for people to spread the virus to animals. In deliberate contamination with toxins or pathogens. 1971, southern California experienced a Newcastle Such an attack could occur at the locations where disease outbreak that led to the slaughter of 12 mil- crops or animals are first raised, at the midpoint lion chickens in an effort to control its spread. An- processing facility, or even on the grocery shelves other serious epizootic, avian influenza virus (fowl and at other points of sale. So far, the deliberate poi- plague), has been known to jump from one species, soning of food or beverages in modern societies has such as fowl or pig, to humans (and vice versa). In largely been a phenomenon reserved for criminal or 1983–1984, an outbreak of avian influenza (H5N5 malicious activity, and not organized warfare or ter- strain) in Pennsylvania led to a campaign to destroy rorism. During the late 1990s, in China, a substan- all infected birds in the vicinity. As a result, prices tial number of cases occurred in which jealousy or for poultry rose some $350 million that year. An- hatred led individuals to contaminate food or bev- other strain of avian influenza, H5N1, killed six erages with rat poison, including the acutely toxic people in Hong Kong in 1997, also demonstrating rodenticide tetramine (tetramethylene disulfote- the virus’s ability (albeit rare) to jump from one tramine). Mass poisonings have sometimes resulted, species to another. including a 2002 incident in which 40 people died In one of the most serious animal disease out- and 300 others were seriously poisoned with breaks to occur in the previous century, foot-and- tetramine. mouth disease (FMD) in 1997 devastated Taiwan’s Attacks on agriculture, however, could stem swine industry, leading to some $25 billion in direct from purely financial motives. For example, after and indirect losses to the country’s economy. Al- deliberately spreading a disease among cattle or though FMD is not nearly as deadly to animals as corn, and thus causing a dramatic rise or fall in other diseases such as rinderpest, a deadly viral dis- their prices on the world market, a malevolent actor ease that can wipe out whole herds of cattle, it is still might be able to take advantage by speculating on among the most feared disease in agriculture, espe- commodity futures. cially in the cattle and swine industries. The disease Like the categories of pathogenic organisms that generally results in many sick and, therefore unpro- affect human beings, BW agents that could be used ductive, animals. In addition to fever, anorexia, and against agriculture include bacteria, viruses, fungi, general malaise, infected animals manifest blister- and insects. Today, a number of possible BW agents like sores on and inside the oral cavity and on the have been recognized that could be used against crops
    41. 10 AGROTERRORISM or livestock animals (see tables A-7 and A-8 below). I, Germany was probably the first to employ infec- These lists, however, are by no means exhaustive. tious agents (such as glanders, or Burkholderia mallei) against the Allies’ horses and mules. These were small-scale sabotage operations, and it is un- Table A-7: Potential Anti-Crop BW agents clear what the ultimate result was of these efforts. Bacterial diseases Bacterial agents Research programs among the Allies to defend against—as well as to offensively employ—crop and Rice blight Xanthomonas oryzae animal diseases began in earnest during World War Corn blight Pseudomonas alboprecipitans II. In 1938, the British scientist J. B. S. Haldane pro- Viral diseases Viral agents posed the notion that both Germany and England could be vulnerable to an attack on their respective Tobacco mosaic Tobacco mosaic virus agricultural industries by the highly destructive Col- Sugar-beet curly top Curly top virus orado potato beetle. In 1939, French veterinary and BW experts even proposed dropping potato beetles Fungal diseases Fungal agents on Germany’s crops. None of these plans, as far as it Late blight of potato Phytophthora infestans is known, were ever carried out. In the early 1940s, Rice blast Pyricularia oryzae the potential BW threat to Allied agricultural tar- Black stem rust of cereals Puccina graminis tritici gets, as well as possible weaknesses in Axis food sup- Brown spot of rice Cochliobolus miyabeanus plies, led to further research into a number of pathogens that could cause disease in crops and do- mesticated animals. Beginning with a recommenda- tion by U.S. governmental experts in March 1942, a Table A-8: Potential Anti-Animal BW Agents number of plant and animal pathogens were con- Rickettsial diseases (Bacteria) Rickettsial agents sidered as possible biological weapons for use by the United States (see table A-9). Heartwater of sheep and goats Cowdria ruminantium Viral diseases Viral agents Anti-Livestock Agents (World War II) Throughout the war years, animal diseases were Foot-and-mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease very much a security concern for the Allies, as well (FMD) (FMD) virus as being potential weapons to be used against the Rinderpest (cattle plague) Rinderpest virus African swine fever African swine fever virus Axis powers. During World War II, as far as U.S. in- Aujeszky’s disease Herpes virus telligence was concerned, rinderpest (cattle plague) Newcastle disease (poultry) Newcastle virus was one of the most threatening of the animal Avian influenza Avian influenza virus pathogens, because it was largely unknown in the Western Hemisphere at the time. Falling into the Fungal diseases Fungal agents same group of viruses (morbillivirus) as human Aspergillosis (poultry) Aspergillus fumigatus measles and distemper virus in dogs, rinderpest only infects animals (primarily cattle). The virus can be transmitted via contact with infected mate- rial, especially animal urine, as well as by airborne Targeting Crops and Animals: World War I and droplets. Rinderpest is so deadly and spreads so fast World War II that—as in the case of FMD—the usual method of The devastating consequences of crop diseases were control is simply to destroy infected animals. In a keenly felt by Germany during World War I, when joint American and Canadian project conducted at large stores of potatoes were destroyed by potato Grosse Ile on the St. Lawrence River, studies were blight (Phytophthora infestans), the same disease led into developing large amounts of rinderpest that accelerated the famines in Ireland during the vaccine against a possible BW attack by Germany mid-1800s. Some have even suggested that this against Allied agriculture. Allied military scientists potato famine contributed to Germany’s capitula- also studied the foot-and-mouth virus during tion and the end of the war. Also during World War World War II.
    42. AGROTERRORISM 11 Table A-9: World War II BW Research in Anti-Crop and Anti-Animal Pathogens (United States and Canada) Project Code Location Anti-crop agent Blight of potatoes LO Main Agricultural Experiment Station, Orono, Maine Rice diseases IR, E Texas Sub-Station No. 4, Beaumont, Texas Southern blight C Bureau of Plant Industry, Beltsville, Maryland Anti-animal agents Fowl plague OE Harvard University Foot-and-mouth disease OO Joint War Research Service–USDA Committee Rinderpest GIR-1 War Disease Control Station, Quebec, Canada The most concerted Allied military program to this disease as a potential weapon (code IR), but attack Germany’s agriculture, however, was dubbed found that the conidia spores—the means by which Operation Vegetarian, in which Great Britain un- the fungal agent reproduces and spreads from plant dertook to kill Germany’s supply of domestic live- to plant—did not survive well in warm weather stock. In 1943, an English soap factory molded some conditions. It was therefore not viewed as having 5 million cakes impregnated with a slurry of an- much potential. By end of World War II, such re- thrax (Bacillus anthracis) spores, which were de- search with fungal agents was largely inconclusive. signed to attract grazing cattle, horses, and sheep. The development of effective growth regulators for Upon consumption, the anthrax bacteria would herbicidal applications—primarily the chemical then cause a gastrointestinal form of the disease. herbicide 2,4-D—replaced schemes that would have (Although the primary goal was to destroy an im- used biological agents to destroy crops during the portant food source, this project also had the poten- war. (Another mitigating factor against targeting tial to cause human anthrax cases as well, via sec- rice crops was concern about the imminent military ondary infection.) The original plans required at occupation of Japan and about the future source of least 1,250 planes to fly across Germany, each air- food for the Japanese population.) craft dropping about 10 boxes of the anthrax cakes The Allies also observed at this time that Ger- per sortie. Ultimately, however, the plan to attack many was economically dependent on potatoes. Germany’s livestock with anthrax-laden cakes never The United States conducted research into Southern materialized, and 30 years later, the last of the re- blight (Sclerotium rolfsii, code C), a fungus that ap- maining cakes were destroyed. peared to have potential as a BW weapon. By war’s end, however, it was found to have little efficacy Anti-Crop Agents against resistant Japanese crops and was not pur- In 1943, Dr. E. C. Tullis at the Beaumont, Texas, fa- sued any further. Another fungus (Phytophthora in- cility noted that Japanese rice varieties grown in festans), the cause of potato blight that had de- Arkansas were often subject to a fungal disease stroyed Irish and German potato crops throughout called rice blast (also known as rotten neck or Pyric- the prior century, was known to be a potentially ularia blight), caused by Pyricularia oryzae. This powerful BW agent. But this fungus was difficult to fungal organism—along with another, brown spot store, and a method of devising its large-scale pro- of rice caused by Helminthosporium oryzae duction remained elusive. One method of delivery (Cochliobolus miyabeanus, code letter E), was re- devised for potato blight involved the use of navy searched for its possible use on Japanese rice fields. beans and specially made pellets. Again, these means Rice blast is a severe threat to rice crops, and an out- of warfare were never used. break of it was partly responsible for the 1942–1943 Bengal famine that led to the deaths of more than 2 Cold War Activity million people. Its fungal spores are now found in During the first half of the Cold War (1950–1969), the Western Hemisphere as well as Africa and Asia. work continued with anticrop agents in the U.S. of- During World War II, the United States investigated fensive biological weapons program. Having revived
    43. 12 AGROTERRORISM earlier work with agents such as Sclerotium rolfsii used fine-powdered silica as a carrier for dry dis- (the cause of Southern blight or Sclerotium rot), the semination of a mixture of aflatoxin and wheat U.S. military later stockpiled some 30 tons of Puc- smut fungi. This could have served as a means to at- cina graminis tritici fungal spores (black stem rust). tack the food supply of Iraq’s neighbor Iran, or per- At that time, the United States considered the Chi- haps Iraq’s Kurdish populations to the north. It is nese rice plantations and the extensive wheat fields noteworthy that Iraqi scientists used silica to dis- in the Soviet Union (Ukraine) as potential targets. tribute the agent in fine particulates, an indicator of Early prototypes of delivery systems used feathers a rather sophisticated BW program. In other areas, that were to be dropped in 500-pound propaganda Iraq apparently worked with camel pox, a close rel- leaflet bombs. These were judged by American ative to human smallpox (Variola major). The ulti- bioweaponeers to “carry a sufficient number of mate goals of this research are unclear. It is possible spores to initiate a cereal rust epidemic” (Rogers, that Iraqi BW scientists were looking to employ an- Whitby, and Dando, pp. 73–74). The former Soviet tianimal attacks against an erstwhile enemy (e.g., Union also led a significant research and develop- Iran), or perhaps were looking for a surrogate for ment program into agricultural BW agents, many of smallpox to use against human targets. these being similar to those studied in the West. The Although vaccines are available for a number of full extent, however, of Soviet and Russian work in animal diseases, such as FMD, rinderpest, and peste offensive agricultural BW is still unknown. All U.S. des petits ruminants (e.g., “goat plague”), for various work regarding the use of BW agents against crops reasons these are not normally used in the devel- and animals was halted in 1969 with President oped world for prophylactic purposes, due to unit Richard Nixon’s announcement forbidding further costs of the vaccine and the demands of regulated offensive biological weapons research. livestock markets. Furthermore, as with human Charges against the United States of using agri- viral diseases, effective chemotherapeutic treat- cultural warfare continued throughout the Cold ments are lacking. Viruses also happen to be the War, however. These included allegations by Fidel cause of the most worrying of animal diseases— Castro’s government in Cuba that the United States FMD, Newcastle, highly pathogenic avian influenza, was deliberately disseminating an aggressive, fruit- etc. As a consequence, the primary defenses against burrowing insect (Thrips palmi) against Cuba’s cit- agroterrorism are early detection of disease out- rus crops. East Germany often accused the West of breaks, the separation of diseased animals (usually using Colorado potato beetles (the so-called Ami- by culling) from healthy ones, and vaccinating a Kafer) against Soviet bloc countries. Even in the late ring around the affected populations to stop the 1990s, the Russian BW expert General Valentin outbreak. In the United States, the primary defense Yevstigneyev suggested that the United States was against exotic and otherwise devastating diseases in responsible for past beetle infestations in the former plants and animals is the U.S. Department of Agri- Soviet Union. These and similar charges were never culture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspec- substantiated. tion Service (APHIS). The research and develop- During the 1980s, the Iraqi bioweapons program ment of diagnostic, surveillance, and detection also conducted investigations into the use of anti- techniques are conducted at the Foreign Animal crop agents, including Tilletia fungus. Recognized as Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Plum Island Ani- a serious disease in wheat since the 1700s (then de- mal Disease Center in New York. To develop an ad- scribed by the English agronomist Jethro Tull), vanced warning capability, the USDA also has estab- Tilletia grows in the kernel of grains and develops lished its own intelligence units to analyze and into a “dirty” black center that completely devours predict future animal disease outbreaks. the food portion of the plant. This wheat cover —Eric A. Croddy smut, or bunt of wheat, continues to devastate field See also: Anthrax; Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus; grains throughout the world. In their work with Glanders; Iran-Iraq War; Newcastle Disease; World fungi, Iraqi BW scientists tested wheat cover smut War I; World War II: Biological Weapons (Tilletia spp.) fungal spores in field trials, in combi- References nation with aflatoxin derived from Aspergillus Cochrane, Rexmond C., History of the Chemical Warfare flavus. During their experiments, Iraqi BW scientists Service in World War II, vol. 2: Biological Warfare
    44. AL-QAEDA 13 Research in the United States (Fort Detrick, MD: Arab mujahideen that remained in the vicinity. After Historical Section, Plans, Training, and Intelligence Azam’s assassination in 1989, bin Laden took over Division, Office of Chief, Chemical Corps, these organizations, forming them into al-Qaeda November 1947). with the goal of developing a broad-based alliance Croddy, Eric, “Rat Poison and Food Security in the among former Arab mujahideen. People’s Republic of China: Focus on Al-Qaeda’s ideology is based on the Wahhabi Tetramethylene Disulfotetramine (Tetramine),” branch of Sunni Islam, which demands the strict Archives of Toxicology, vol. 78, no. 1, January 2004, pp. 1-6. application of Islam to every aspect of political and Frazier, Thomas W., and Drew C. Richardson, eds., Food social life. Additionally, al-Qaeda has elevated the and Agricultural Security (Annals of the New York concept of jihad (holy war) to a position of central Academy of Sciences), vol. 894 (New York: New York importance in its interpretation of Islam. Al-Qaeda Academy of Sciences, 1999). defines jihad as a duty for all Muslims to fight Parker, Henry S., Agricultural Bioterrorism: A Federal against kafir (infidels or unbelievers). For al-Qaeda, Strategy to Meet the Threat, McNair Paper no. 65 unbelievers include all non-Muslims, as well as (Washington, DC: Institute for National Strategic those Muslims it believes do not adequately uphold Studies, National Defense University, 2002). the teachings of Islam. The Saudi royal family is Rogers, Paul, Simon Whitby, and Malcolm Dando, among the Muslims targeted for destruction. “Biological Warfare against Crops,” Scientific Al-Qaeda has four main grievances. First, it American, vol. 280, no. 6, June 1999, pp. 70–75. claims that the Saudi royal family is corrupt and does not uphold its professed Wahhabi beliefs. Sec- AL-QAEDA ond, it opposes Saudi cooperation with and reliance Al-Qaeda (Arabic for base or foundation) is the Is- on the United States. Third, it sees the U.S. military lamic terrorist organization responsible for the Sep- presence in Saudi Arabia since the end of the first tember 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. The Gulf War as an “occupation” of Islamic holy sites. history of al-Qaeda is closely tied to the life of its Fourth, it opposes U.S. support for Israel. Not only leader, Osama bin Laden, and is mostly shaped by is al-Qaeda geographically disparate; it is also ideo- his experiences as part of the Arab mujahideen (holy logically diffuse. In different geographical locations, warriors) in Afghanistan in the 1980s and his role as certain issues are given emphasis by local cells. In all a Saudi political dissident. cases, however, local conflicts between cells are seen In the early 1980s, the Saudi government sup- in the broader context of jihad against unbelievers. ported the mujahideen resistance against the Soviet This ideology of jihad, combined with al-Qaeda’s Union’s invasion of Afghanistan, recruiting and grievances against what it saw as insufferable Amer- sending Arab men from Saudi Arabia and other ican cultural influences, led bin Laden to declare countries to fight in the name of Islam. At that time, jihad against the United States in 1998, even though, bin Laden, with the help of the Saudi government, as a secular leader, bin Laden lacked the religious au- established the Islamic Salvation Foundation with thority to issue this type of edict. The original fatwa the same purpose. After the withdrawal of the Soviet specifically mentions the United States, but also in- Union from Afghanistan—which was seen by the cludes its allies: “The ruling to kill the Americans mujahideen as a victory for Islam produced by their and their allies—civilians and military—is an indi- efforts—many of these volunteer soldiers returned vidual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any to their native Saudi Arabia, only to be disaffected country in which it is possible to do it, in order to and alienated from a government that they felt no liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy mosque longer appreciated them or upheld the values of from their grip, and in order for their armies to Islam. Sharing this sentiment, bin Laden became a move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and un- key player in the founding of a dissident organiza- able to threaten any Muslim. This is in accordance tion known as the Advice and Reform Council. with the words of Almighty God, ‘and fight the pa- Meanwhile, bin Laden was also active in south gans all together as they fight you all together,’ and Asia. The World Muslim League and the Muslim ‘fight them until there is no more tumult or oppres- Brotherhood organizations in Peshawar, Pakistan, sion, and there prevail justice and faith in God’” led by Abdullah Azam, served as the center for the (quoted in Poonawalla, 2003, online). Even before
    45. 14 AL-QAEDA Seventeen sailors on the U.S.S. Cole died in an al-Qaeda–sponsored suicide attack on October 12, 2000. (Reuters/Corbis) declaring jihad against the West, however, al-Qaeda logical weapons. In November 2001, U.S. forces in was on the path to war. Al-Qaeda is believed to have Afghanistan discovered the blueprints for a crude been responsible for attacks against Americans nuclear bomb in a house in Kabul. It has been re- worldwide: eighteen U.S. soldiers killed in Mo- ported that al-Qaeda has tried on numerous occa- gadishu, Somalia, in 1993; five U.S. soldiers killed in sions to obtain uranium or other radioactive mate- a Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, bomb attack in 1995; and rials. Reports by both U.S. and British intelligence nineteen U.S. military personnel killed in Dhahran, sources indicate that al-Qaeda was successful on at Saudi Arabia (Khobar Towers), in 1996. Among the least one occasion. Under interrogation, a senior al- perpetrators of the Khobar Towers bombing was Qaeda official, Abu Zubayda, indicated that al- Ibrahim Salih Mohammed Al-Yacoub, who was in- Qaeda had in fact constructed a radiological “dirty” dicted in Virginia. (Suggestions made in 2003 im- bomb. British intelligence sources have confirmed plied that Iran also may have played a role in the this information, adding that the crude device was Khobar Towers bombing.) Al-Qaeda is also sus- constructed in an al-Qaeda laboratory in the town pected of being involved in the 1992 bombings in of Herat, Afghanistan. Aden, Yemen; the 1993 World Trade Center bomb- Al-Qaeda has also made attempts to develop ing; a 1994 plot to assassinate President Bill Clinton; chemical and biological weapons. Bin Laden has ex- and a 1995 plan to blow up a dozen U.S. jetliners pressed his desire for the group to develop a CBW over the Atlantic Ocean. More recently, al-Qaeda has capability. Files recovered from al-Qaeda computers been charged with perpetrating the U.S. embassy and equipment found in al-Qaeda laboratories in bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, as well as Afghanistan support bin Laden’s statements and in- the attack on the U.S.S. Cole in 2001. dicate that the group at one time had the capability Since its formation, al-Qaeda has attempted to to produce limited quantities of some CBW agents. acquire or develop weapons of mass destruction, For example, one lab near Kandahar was equipped including nuclear, chemical, biological, and radio- to produce anthrax. Finally, in August 2002, the
    46. AL SHIFA 15 Cable News Network (CNN) broadcast al-Qaeda– ning in 1997, Human Rights Watch and various Su- produced videotapes that it had obtained in Af- danese opposition groups began to claim that three ghanistan that showed dogs being killed by clouds facilities within Sudan were involved in CW activi- of unknown toxic chemicals. These were probably ties: Kubar, Kafuri, and Shegarra. All three were lo- trials or demonstrations of hydrogen cyanide gas. cated near Khartoum. Neither Human Rights —Sean Lawson Watch nor the Sudanese opposition groups men- See also: Al Shifa; Osama bin Laden; Terrorism with tioned Al Shifa. CBRN Weapons; World Trade Center Attack (1993) After the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in References Africa, U.S. intelligence linked Al Shifa to Osama bin Ackerman, Gary, and Jeffrey M. Bale, Al-Qa’ida and Laden, his global terrorist network, and his attempts Weapons of Mass Destruction (Monterey, CA: Center to acquire WMD (see Osama bin Laden and Al- for Nonproliferation Studies, 2002), available at Qaeda). The United States alleged that the factory http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/other/alqaidawmd.htm. was a closed facility, guarded by elements of the Su- Fandy, Mamoun, Saudi Arabia and the Politics of Dissent danese military, and that it did not produce any (New York: St. Martin’s, 1999). commercial pharmaceutical products. The United Gunaratna, Rohan, Inside Al Qaida: Global Network of Terror (New York: Columbia University Press, 2002). States claimed to have evidence indicating that Iraq Poonawalla, Aziz H., “Bin Laden’s Fatwa: A Call to was involved in CW activities at Al Shifa and that its Harabah,” The American Muslim, March-April 2003, new owner, Salaheldin Idris, was connected through online, http://www.theamericanmuslim.org. the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organization to bin Originally published in Al-Quds al-’Arabi on Laden. Finally, the cornerstone of U.S. allegations of Febuary 23, 1998. CW activities at Al Shifa was a soil sample pur- ported to show high levels of a VX nerve agent pre- AL SHIFA cursor chemical (O-ethyl methylphosphonothioic On August 20, 1998, in response to the U.S. embassy acid, also known as EMPTA). U.S. officials claimed bombings in Kenya and Tanzania two weeks prior, that EMPTA had no legitimate commercial use and the United States struck the Al Shifa Pharmaceutical was therefore an indicator of illicit CW activities at Factory in Khartoum, Sudan, with twelve cruise the Al Shifa facility (see EMPTA). missiles, destroying the factory, killing one person, Within days following the U.S. strike on Al and injuring ten. Al Shifa was located in an indus- Shifa, U.S. allegations regarding the plant came trial area northeast of Khartoum. It consisted of under serious scrutiny. Since the incident, the four buildings, one for administration and three United States has been accused of acting hastily production buildings. Construction of the factory, based on limited intelligence and without the par- funded by Bashir Hassan Bashir and Salem Baboud, ticipation of the full U.S. intelligence community. began in 1992 and was completed in 1996. In March After the incident, U.S. documents apparently un- 1998, Bashir and Baboud sold the plant to Sala- known to those who decided to strike Al Shifa, as heldin Idris, a Sudanese-born Saudi businessman. well as eyewitness accounts from the factory, indi- Al Shifa was the largest of six pharmaceutical fac- cated that the factory did indeed produce com- tories in Sudan, employing approximately 300 peo- mercial pharmaceutical products. Eyewitness re- ple and providing 50 to 60 percent of the country’s ports from the factory before the strike also pharmaceutical needs. The factory produced veteri- indicated that it was not closed, nor was it guarded nary medicines, as well as medicines for the treat- by the Sudanese military. Furthermore, indepen- ment of malaria, diabetes, hypertension, ulcers, dent, unclassified reports were inconclusive as to rheumatism, gonorrhea, and tuberculosis. the relationship between the factory’s owner, Sala- Prior to 1998, the United States had neither offi- heldin Idris, and either Osama bin Laden or the cially nor publicly identified the Sudan as a chemi- Sudanese government. Finally, after the strike, cal weapons proliferation state of concern. There spokespersons for the Organization for the Prohi- had been previous accusations leveled by the West, bition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) announced including the U.S. government, of CW activity in that EMPTA is considered a dual-use chemical, Sudan dating as far back as 1989, however, although with applications in the production of fungicide, few of these charges had appeared credible. Begin- pesticide, and antimicrobial agents.
    47. 16 AMITON Although the presence of EMPTA in the afore- Figure A-2: Amiton (VG) mentioned soil sample is persuasive, it is still unclear whether Al Shifa had been involved with the manu- facture of VX agent, whether at the time of the strike or perhaps several months earlier (see V-Agents). —Sean Lawson References Barletta, Michael, “Chemical Weapons in the Sudan: Allegations and Evidence,” The Nonproliferation etrating the skin. Therefore, considering its potency Review, vol. 6, Fall 1998, pp. 115–136. as a nerve poison, VG could be manufactured by Croddy, Eric, “Dealing with Al Shifa: Intelligence and state military programs trying to achieve a chemical Counterproliferation,” International Journal of weapons capability inexpensively, or perhaps by ter- Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, vol. 15, Spring rorist organizations looking for a simple method for 2002, pp. 52–60. producing a highly toxic OP compound. Rashid, Ahmed, Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil, and —Eric A. Croddy Fundamentalism in Central Asia (New Haven, CT: See also: Parathion (Methyl and Ethyl); V-Agents Yale University Press, 2001). Reference Marrs, Timothy C., Robert L. Maynard, and Frederick R. AMITON (VG) Sidell, Chemical Warfare Agents: Toxicology and Treatment (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1996). Originally developed as a pesticide, amiton was among the first series of phosphonothiolate esters synthesized by Ranajit Ghosh, a chemist at British AMMONIUM NITRATE FUEL OIL (ANFO) Imperial Chemical Industries, in the 1950s. Later, a Ammonium nitrate fuel oil (ANFO) is a low-veloc- commercial insecticide included amiton in an ox- ity (meaning the speed of expansion following a alate salt for civilian uses. Although not as toxic as blast is less than higher-yield explosives such as other V-agent analogues, amiton (also known as TNT), pushing-type secondary explosive (see defin- Tetram; U.S. military code VG) had potential for use ition below) used primarily to move earth and rock. by the military as a nerve agent. A highly toxic Because the materials involved in its production are organophosphate (OP), amiton has since been readily available, it is easy for individuals in the agri- made obsolete due to safety concerns. Because of its cultural industry to produce large volumes of highly toxic nature and its potential for use as a ANFO without attracting attention. chemical warfare (CW) agent, it is listed as a Sched- In the 1650s a chemist by the name of J. R. ule 2 toxic compound in the Chemical Weapons Glauber prepared what he called “Nitrum Flam- Convention (CWC). The chemical structure of ami- mans,” now known as ammonium nitrate. He did ton is quite similar to that of VX nerve agent, the di- not recognize its utility as a component in explo- rect carbon-phosphorus bond being the significant sives. In the early nineteenth century, researchers chemical group separating VG from VX. Grindel and Robin looked to develop black pow- In mammals, the toxicity of amiton is signifi- der—the classic explosive of the time until smoke- cantly lower than that of VX. For example, tests on less powder was introduced—using ammonium ni- laboratory rats show the average lethal dose for oral trate instead of potassium nitrate. The results of this administration of amiton to be 5 milligrams per excursion are unclear. In the early years of mass pro- kilogram of body weight. The lethal dose for VX, by duction and use of ammonium nitrate, numerous comparison, is estimated at 12 micrograms for the and sometimes disastrous incidents including ex- same animal and route of exposure, or about 400 plosions occurred. Still, its utility as an explosive times more toxic than amiton. Still, amiton is rela- went largely unnoticed until the twentieth century. tively easy to manufacture, especially when com- pared to other nerve agents such as VX. Its chemical Texas City Disaster: 1947 structure is also likely to provide a relative degree of A French cargo vessel, the S.S. Grandcamp, docked at persistency in terms of physical characteristics, and Texas City on 16 April 1947, was carrying a supply of its moderate oil solubility makes VG capable of pen- ammonium nitrate fertilizer. (The shipment was des-
    48. AMMONIUM NITRATE FUEL OIL 17 tined for use as fertilizer as part of the Marshall Plan selected ANFO for several reasons. The primary for the reconstruction of war-ravaged Europe).When components were easily acquired in bulk in the agri- a fire accidentally broke out on the ship, subsequent cultural communities of the American Midwest attempts to douse the flames resulted in pressurized without drawing any attention from law enforce- steam, and put the ammonium nitrate cargo under ment, and the materials for bomb construction were pressure. Meanwhile, black smoke issued from a inexpensive. McVeigh created a very large device be- bright orange flame, and local inhabitants decided to cause he believed that, due to the lower yield of go outside to witness the spectacle. Despite the fact ANFO in relation to other high explosives, a large that ammonium nitrate was known to be a poten- container would be needed to construct a very pow- tially hazardous oxidizer—known to react explosively erful weapon. McVeigh probably did not realize that with a variety of fuels such as oil and kerosene—none the compressed air shock wave produced by slower- seemed to be aware of the danger. detonating materials (e.g., ANFO) is highly effective At 9:12 A.M., the ammonium nitrate on the boat against rigid building components. detonated. Someone immediately speculated that McVeigh rented a delivery truck, filled it with “the Russians” had dropped an atomic bomb on the ANFO in 55-gallon drums, added booster charges, city of 18,000 people. The event registered as far and parked it at the curb next to the Murrah Build- away as Oklahoma City (480 miles) on a seismo- ing. The tricky part of the operation involved set- graph. Creating a two-thousand-foot mushroom ting all the detonators to go off simultaneously. cloud—and an explosion that could be heard for Due to the comparatively low sensitivity of ANFO, 150 miles—it probably could have been mistaken a single detonation might have pushed most of the for a nuclear device. Secondary fires erupted at the AFNO harmlessly away from the primary blast. Ul- Monsanto Chemical Plant, while additional confla- timately, McVeigh succeeded in creating a simulta- grations spread to nearby petroleum refineries. An- neous detonation of the AFNO, which produced other blast occurred early the next morning at about extensive damage to the Federal Building and hun- 1 A.M., when another vessel carrying ammonium ni- dreds of casualties. The federal courthouse across trate, the High Flyer, erupted in even more spectac- the street was severely damaged, and glass was bro- ular fashion. This time nearby oil depots were set ken in the windows of many downtown buildings. ablaze, along with warehouses and a grain elevator. Injuries in other buildings from the shock wave and In all, at least 581 people died, and over 3,500 were flying glass added to the numbers of victims. injured. Over 30 percent of the residential homes in The Murrah Building tragedy, coming just weeks Texas City, or about 500, were seriously damaged, after the Aum Shinrikyo attack on the Tokyo subway and two thousand people were subsequently made system, led the U.S. Congress to take action to help homeless. This horrific incident showed the obvious the nation’s largest cities to prepare to respond to ter- dangers of handling ammonium nitrate, while also rorist attacks. The Nunn-Lugar-Domenici amend- highlighting its potential utility as an explosive. ment to the 1997 Department of Defense Appropria- Ammonium nitrate fuel oil was developed in the tion Bill provided funding for the Department of 1950s as a low-cost earth-moving charge to replace Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, dynamite. The primary problem encountered in Department of Justice, Federal Emergency Manage- using this explosive is water ingress: ammonium ni- ment Agency, Environmental Protection Agency, and trate readily absorbs water, which decreases its sen- Department of Energy to join the nation’s 122 largest sitivity and slows its detonation. The introduction cities in the Domestic Preparedness Program. of fuel oil helps to dissipate this effect, and it pro- motes uniform caking of the material, leading to Technical Aspects more efficient combustion. Ammonium nitrate fuel oil is a secondary explosive (the more powerful of the two types; see Explosives) Oklahoma City Bombing, 1995 and may require a booster to detonate it, depending The most horrific domestic use of ANFO as a on its water content. ANFO produces shock waves weapon has been the bombing of the Murrah Fed- that cause indirect shattering or compression of its eral Building in Oklahoma City in 1995. In seeking target (as compared to some other explosives, which out an explosive for his purposes, Timothy McVeigh work by direct shattering or “cutting” through the
    49. 18 ANTHRAX target material). Ammonium nitrate has 42 percent References of the efficiency of TNT. Thus, it detonates at a veloc- Akhavan, Jaqueline, The Chemistry of Explosives, second ity of only 8,900 feet per second as compared to TNT, edition (Cambridge, UK: Royal Society of which detonates at 22,600 feet per second. Given that Chemistry, 2001). the prime ingredient of ANFO is ammonium nitrate, Blaster’s Handbook (Wilmington, DE: DuPont de most high-grade fertilizer is acceptable as a compo- Nemours, 1977). Ledgard, Jared B., The Preparatory Manual of Explosives nent. A minimum of 32 percent of the fertilizer, by (Columbus, OH: Paranoid Publications Group, weight, must be ammonium nitrate, and the material 2002). must be as dry as possible. The secondary ingredient, Military Explosives, Technical Manual No. 9-1910 fuel oil, can be either diesel fuel oil or a 1 to 1 mixture (Washington, DC: Departments of the Army and the of motor oil and gasoline. The less ammonium ni- Air Force, 14 April 1955). trate that is present in the fertilizer, the more fuel oil U.S. Army Field Manual 5-250, Explosives and is needed to offset the moisture. Demolitions (Washington, DC: Department of the As mentioned previously, ANFO is used in in- Army, 1992). dustry as an earth- and rock-moving charge for mining and earthworks. In commercial use, ANFO ANTHRAX is mixed at the site, and only as needed. The Ameri- Anthrax is an acute infectious disease and one of the can military also uses ammonium nitrate for earth- most feared BW agents, due, in part, to its high fa- moving and as a cratering charge to destroy build- tality rate. Anthrax is classified by the Centers for ings, fortifications, and bridge abutments. The Disease Control (CDC) as a category A bioterror military munition is a 40-pound device containing threat because it can be easily disseminated, it can 30 pounds of ammonium nitrate and 10 pounds of result in high mortality rates, it has the potential for TNT-based explosive as the booster. a major public health impact, it can cause public The simplicity of ANFO and availability of mate- panic and social disruption, and it requires special rials have made it popular among various terrorist action for public health preparedness. Although nu- groups for decades. In Europe, ANFO explosives have merous other category A threats are deadly, anthrax been used so widely that government regulations re- in particular elicits a sense of fear since September quire AN to be produced in prills too large to be able 2001, when it was deliberately spread through the to be used in explosives. Vehicle-borne ANFO bombs U.S. postal system. This attack caused twenty-two became a standard item, particularly with the Provi- cases of infection and five deaths. This act of bioter- sional Irish Republican Army. Over time, these vehi- rorism caused the first death from inhalatory an- cle bombs grew in size to include trucks. thrax since 1976. Ammonium nitrate is used every day by law- abiding individuals in their legal pursuits. Follow- Background ing the Oklahoma City bombing, increased law en- Anthrax was the first disease for which a microbial forcement awareness and legislation has been origin was definitively established (by Robert Koch pursued surrounding fertilizers with heavy ammo- in 1876). Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of an- nium nitrate concentrations. Due to the huge vol- thrax, is a disease of grazing mammals (sheep, cattle, ume of this material used in agricultural and com- etc.) that can be transmitted to humans (zoonose), mercial operations, it is highly unlikely that although this is uncommon nowadays. This large, complete control over its sale and movement will gram-positive (absorbs the color stain), nonmotile ever be established. Policing is left largely to the re- bacterium occurs in two distinct forms: the vegeta- tail fertilizer industry, and that policing relies on tive, rod-shaped form, which is the actively growing making note of individuals seeking this material and replicating phase, and the spore form, which is based on its composition and dryness, as well as the dormant, resistant phase. When conditions be- keeping track of the location, volume, and method come unfavorable for this microbe’s survival (e.g., of payment for each purchase. lack of nutrients), it forms a rigid outer shell through —Dan Goodrich and Eric A. Croddy a process called sporulation. These spores are oval, colorless, odorless, tasteless, microscopic, and hardy, See also: High Explosives; Oklahoma City Bombing capable of surviving in the soil for years.
    50. ANTHRAX 19 An envelope tested positive for anthrax spores at the Daily Jang newspaper offices in Pakistan (November 2, 2001). (Reuters/Corbis) Although humans are more resistant to anthrax sulted in a fatality rate lower than previously esti- than grazing mammals (such as sheep), B. anthracis mated, however. can cause three distinct diseases in humans de- The second and most common form of anthrax, pending on the route of exposure. The first and making up some 95 percent of all cases, is cutaneous deadliest form, inhalation anthrax, is contracted by anthrax. This type usually occurs after contact with inhaling the spores and is the only form that poses infected animals or animal products and is usually a serious BW threat. Inhalation anthrax is charac- related to occupational exposure (anthrax was once terized by flulike symptoms including a sore throat, called wool sorter’s disease). The bacterium gains fever, muscle aches, and malaise. After this acute entry through a break in the skin, and infection be- phase, there is sometimes a brief improvement, fol- gins as a papule, progressing into an ulcer with a lowed by respiratory failure and shock, with central black necrotic area. Other symptoms include meningitis also frequently developing. Chest X-rays fever, malaise, headache, and regional lymph node usually show a characteristic widening of the medi- swelling. The term anthrax is derived from the astinum—tissues surrounding the lymph in the Greek word for coal, anthrakis, because of the char- chest—due to hemorrhaging of local lymph nodes. acteristic black skin lesions. Fatality of this type is (For more information on how anthrax spores less than 1 percent with treatment and between 5 cause disease in the body, see Biological Warfare.) and 20 percent without. Case-fatality estimates are extremely high even with The third form, gastrointestinal anthrax, is rare treatment, and close to 100 percent of those in- (no confirmed cases in the United States), usually fol- fected with inhalation anthrax will die without lows consumption of contaminated meat, and is treatment. In 2001, five of eleven inhalatory an- characterized by severe gastrointestinal symptoms. thrax cases ended in death. Improved treatment re- The fatality rate is 25–60 percent even with treatment.
    51. 20 ANTHRAX Symptoms can appear within 7 days of contact for all risk. The government intends to make AVA more three disease types but can take up to 60 days to ap- widely available once further requirements are met. pear for inhalatory anthrax. The immunization involves six shots over a period of 18 months, with annual boosters. Diagnosis and Treatment During a quest for improved vaccines, the U.S. There is no rapid screening test for early inhalatory military researchers at Fort Detrick, Maryland, re- anthrax diagnosis, and because many illnesses begin quested a strain of anthrax from the Department of with flulike symptoms, the disease is difficult to Agriculture. They received a particularly virulent spot. Diagnosis is made by isolating and culturing B. strain from Texas A&M University in 1981 (but mis- anthracis from the blood, skin lesions, or respiratory takenly attributed it to the USDA laboratory in secretions, measuring serum antianthrax antibod- Ames, Iowa) and have since referred to that strain as ies, or DNA testing. Results are usually obtained the Ames strain. During the bioterrorist incidents in within 24 hours. 2001, this strain was the same used in the anthrax Upon infection, B. anthracis multiply fast, letters mailed in the United States. rapidly producing toxins and spreading from the Anthrax has played a long and devastating role in lungs into the bloodstream, resulting in death human history. An epidemic in seventeenth-century within days. Once flulike symptoms appear, the bac- Europe caused 60,000 deaths. Today, only approxi- teria have already produced copious amounts of mately 2,000 human cases are reported worldwide toxins, against which antibiotics are useless. There- annually; these are mostly the cutaneous type and fore, once a victim is symptomatic, anthrax has occur mostly in developing countries (rarely do any nearly always progressed too far for treatment. An- cases occur in the United States). The largest inter- thrax is usually susceptible to the antibiotics amox- national outbreak in modern times has been in icillin or doxycycline, but in a BW attack, antibiotic Zimbabwe (1979–1980), with more than 10,000 resistance is possible due to the potential of genetic people infected and over 180 deaths. Nearly all of manipulation by the weapon designer; therefore, al- these were of the cutaneous form of anthrax, al- ternate antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin (“Cipro”) though some cases of inhalational and gastrointesti- may need to be used. Before the 2001 attacks, nal anthrax cannot be ruled out. ciprofloxacin was considered the first line of defense Before the advent of safer handling processes, for anthrax. To avoid individuals’ developing resis- vaccines, and improved veterinary management of tance to ciprofloxacin, however, the CDC now rec- domesticated animals, “wool sorter’s disease” was a ommends initially considering other antibiotics that relatively common occupational hazard in wool-re- are equally effective (in the absence of resistance), lated textile mills, especially during the eighteenth- are less expensive, and have fewer side effects. Treat- century Industrial Revolution. This deadly job-re- ment is continued for 60 days due to the possibility lated illness was caused by inhaled anthrax spores of delayed spore germination. liberated from newly spun wool, causing not only cutaneous but also the more deadly inhalational an- History thrax. This hazard became much less common in In 1876, Robert Koch first described B. anthracis as the twentieth century, however, and is nearly un- the cause of anthrax, which helped lead to the first heard of today. According to the Center for Non- animal anthrax vaccine, developed by Louis Pasteur proliferation Studies, between 1900 and 1978 only in 1881. Max Sterne developed an improved attenu- eighteen cases of inhalatory anthrax were reported ated (mutated) live animal vaccine in the 1930s, in the United States. Two of those occurred among which is still used today. researchers working in a medical laboratory. Human vaccines (live attenuated) were devel- One landmark case occurred in 1957 in Man- oped in the Soviet Union in 1940 and in the United chester, New Hampshire, when nine workers at a States and Great Britain (bacteria-free filtrates from goat hair processing plant became infected after attenuated strains) in the 1950s. An improved ver- handling a contaminated shipment of skins from sion called Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed (AVA) is pro- Pakistan. Four of the five workers who contracted duced by BioPort and was approved in 1970 by the inhalation anthrax died. Interestingly, the individu- U.S. Food and Drug Administration for those at als who died were not vaccinated against anthrax.
    52. ANTHRAX 21 Although the numbers of actual cases were too anthrax epidemic in this century. The official Soviet small for a proper scientific conclusion, one of the statistics reported years later that 96 people were in- lessons learned from this incident is that inoculating fected, resulting in 64 deaths. Others have estimated workers with anthrax vaccine probably protected that between 68 and 600 deaths were caused by this them from the inhalational form of the disease. accidental release of anthrax. Soviet officials attrib- uted the outbreak to contaminated meat, but in Bioterrorism 1992, Russian President Boris Yeltsin acknowledged Evidence suggests that during World War I, Ger- that military-related anthrax study was conducted many used covert operations with anthrax-infected at the research institute. In addition, Soviet BW test- animal feed and livestock against the Allied forces ing was conducted on Vozrozhdeniye Island in the and injected anthrax into American livestock. Japan Aral Sea in the 1970s and 1980s. also conducted BW research in occupied In 1997, Russian scientists reported that they had Manchuria, China from 1932 to 1945. Approxi- created a genetically engineered vaccine-resistant mately 3,000 scientists worked to weaponize an- strain that caused anthrax in laboratory animals, thrax and other disease agents. The Japanese re- but have denied other researchers access to their dis- search program, designated Unit 731, tested anthrax covery. The Pentagon announced plans to copy the bombs on humans. Anthrax-contaminated food Russian experiment to test the efficacy of the cur- was dropped on Chinese cities, and anthrax-filled rent U.S. vaccine. Currently, the United States and chocolates were given to children in Nanking, Russia are in discussions over how to obtain this China. By the end of World War II, the Japanese BW strain for additional testing. program had stockpiled nearly 900 pounds of an- In 1985, Iraq began an offensive BW program thrax, to be used in specially designed fragmenta- and, after the Persian Gulf War, Iraq admitted to the tion bombs. After the war, Unit 731 leaders were UN Special Commission (UNSCOM) that it had granted immunity from war crimes prosecution in amassed 6,000 liters of anthrax, deployed 5 Scud return for the disclosure of their research. missiles and several 122-mm rockets filled with an- The United States and Great Britain thrax, and produced 50 bombs filled with anthrax weaponized anthrax during World War II as a po- spores. They also had spray tanks fitted to aircraft tential retaliatory weapon against a German BW that could distribute biological agents over a specific attack. In 1942, the United States formed the War target. These “death-drones” were targeted during Research Service. About 5,000 anthrax-filled Desert Fox, the joint U.S./U.K. air attack on Iraqi bombs were produced at Camp Detrick, Maryland BW installations in December 1998. (now Fort Detrick). The British tested anthrax Aum Shinrikyo, the doomsday cult behind the bombs on Gruinard Island off the northwest coast deadly sarin gas attack in Tokyo’s subway in 1995, of Scotland (1942–1943). They also stockpiled an- tried twice to disperse aerosol anthrax from the roof thrax-laced cattle cakes. of Aum Shinrikyo’s office building in Tokyo in 1993. President Richard Nixon terminated the U.S. of- The attacks failed, partly because they used the non- fensive BW program in 1969, and the U.S. Army toxic vaccine strain (Sterne). Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases The threat from state-sponsored programs using (USAMRIID) was established to develop BW de- anthrax as a biological weapon is difficult to assess, fenses. The United States, Soviet Union, Iraq, and as many countries are capable of producing and de- many other countries later signed the 1972 Biologi- livering this weapon. But, as the case below demon- cal Weapons Convention (BWC). strates, even smaller groups or individuals are capa- Despite their treaty obligations, however, the So- ble of causing great harm and anxiety using anthrax viets maintained a huge BW program until at least as a weapon of terror. 1992. They built a production facility for anthrax bombs at Stepnogorsk (located in Kazakhstan). On The 2001 U.S. Anthrax Attack April 2, 1979, Military Compound 19 (the Microbi- Shortly after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade ology and Virology Institute) in Sverdlovsk (now Center and Pentagon on September 11, 2001, four Yekaterinburg) accidentally released anthrax spores anthrax-laced letters were mailed from Trenton, into the atmosphere, causing the largest inhalatory New Jersey, to the New York Post, the NBC Television
    53. 22 ANTHRAX studios in New York, and Senators Tom Daschle and Table A-10: Chronology of Events in 2001 U.S. Anthrax Patrick Leahy. A fifth letter (sent to American Attacks Media, Inc.) was apparently discarded after being 9/18, Trenton, NJ Anthrax letters mailed to NBC, NY opened. An estimated total of 10 grams of spores Post, and probably to the were contained in the letters, leading to 22 anthrax National Enquirer (AMI). cases in 4 states (New York, New Jersey, Florida, and 9/19–25, NYC NBC received and opened anthrax Connecticut) and the District of Columbia. The letter; not recognized as dangerous and not reported by CDC confirmed that eleven victims were infected media. from inhalatory anthrax (five of these victims died), 9/22, NYC First suspected case of cutaneous and eleven others suffered from cutaneous anthrax. anthrax, 30-year-old woman, NY Genetic analyses of the anthrax in the letters Post employee. matched perfectly with Fort Detrick’s 1980 Ames 10/5, Boca Raton, FL First death from inhalatory anthrax (Stevens, 63, photo editor, strain. Therefore, the source of anthrax was proba- American Media, Inc. [AMI]). bly the U.S. biological warfare program, which had 10/8, Boca Raton, FL Second AMI person sick (Blanco, 73, officially destroyed its stores of weaponized anthrax mailroom worker); inhalatory in 1969. Given the origin of the anthrax and the anthrax later confirmed; FBI warnings contained in the letters (“We have this an- takes over investigation. thrax. You die now. Are you afraid?”), the perpetra- 10/9, Trenton, NJ Anthrax letters mailed to Daschle and Leahy. tor’s motive was probably not to kill large numbers 10/10, Boca Raton, FL Third AMI worker (mailroom of people but to raise public fear. Although the worker) tests positive for death toll was relatively low, the strikes crippled anthrax. Anthrax strain appears business, government, and postal services and to be Ames. strained the public health system. 10/12, NYC Cutaneous anthrax case reported at NBC (Tom Brokaw’s assistant). 10/13, NYC NBC anthrax letter first reported. Technical Aspects 10/13, Boca Raton, FL At least 6 workers at AMI have tested To reach the lower lung and be most effective, an- positive for anthrax. thrax spores need to be delivered in particles 1–10 10/5, Washington, DC Daschle's office opens anthrax letter. microns (µm). Particles of much larger size are 10/16, Trenton, NJ Two postal workers report more apt to stick in upper airways and the throat, symptoms; by 10/20 are diagnosed with inhalatory where a higher dose is required to cause infection. anthrax. As the spores measure approximately 1 um, a pow- 10/19, NYC Anthrax letter found unopened in der of individual spores is best, but natural surface mailroom. charges cause spores to clump and to stick to sur- 10/20 First mention that source is probably faces, making aerosolization difficult. domestic. 10/21, Washington, DC Several DC postal workers may have Anthrax “weaponization” is the purification, sep- anthrax. Second anthrax death aration, and concentration of spores into fine parti- (Morris, 55, postal worker). cles capable of aerosolization (i.e., having a neutral- 10/22, Washington, DC Third anthrax death (Curseen, 47, ized surface charge), with a very narrow size range postal worker). (1.5–3 microns in diameter) and an extraordinary 10/31, NYC Fourth death (Nguyen, 61, hospital concentration (one trillion spores per gram) and worker). Presumed cross- contamination of mail. purity. The anthrax spores contained in the 2001 11/6, CT Fifth anthrax death (Lundgren, 94). senators’ letters were uniformly tiny and had no sur- Presumed cross-contamination face charge, and were therefore weaponized. of mail. Inhalatory anthrax is the most likely form of dis- ease to follow a BW attack and will likely involve the aerosolized delivery of spores. An aerosol spray of spores would leave little to no indication of disper- ington, D.C., would result in up to 3 million deaths sal until a resulting, sudden outbreak of inhalatory (WHO Expert Committee, 1970). anthrax occurred. It has been estimated that a re- Current anthrax defensive research involves im- lease of 100 kilograms of spores upwind of Wash- proving rapid diagnostic methods and prophylactic
    54. ARALSK SMALLPOX OUTBREAK 23 and advanced therapeutic regimens. Some new was a smallpox outbreak at Aralsk or that the Soviet treatment methods might include specially pre- Union had weaponized the smallpox virus was un- pared antibodies, and substances designed to block known until the 1990s. the anthrax toxin at the cellular level. From about 1936 to 1992, Vozrozhdeniye (Re- —Beverly Rider naissance) Island, located between Kazakhstan and See also: Aerosol; Bioterrorism; Sverdlovsk Anthrax Uzbekistan, was the site of open-air field testing of Accident BW agents developed by the Soviet military. At References various times, Soviet military scientists tested the Alibek, K., and S. Handelman, Biohazard: The Chilling BW agents Francisella tularensis (tularemia), True Story of the Largest Covert Biological Weapons Yersinia pestis (bubonic plague), Bacillus anthracis, Program in the World (New York: Random House, and smallpox virus (Variola major) at the Vozrozh- 1999). deniye Island facility. Vozrozhdeniye Island lies on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the Aral Sea, as does the city of Aralsk, then a city anthrax website, http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/ with a population of about 50,000. In fall 1971, an diseaseinfo/anthrax_g.htm. Department of Defense Anthrax Vaccine Immunization outbreak of smallpox infected ten people, three of Program (AVIP) website, http://www.anthrax.osd.mil. whom died. Officially, the Soviet Union had eradi- Friedlander, Arthur M., “Anthrax,” in Frederick R. Sidell, cated smallpox as a disease on its extended terri- Ernest T. Takafuji, and David R. Franz, eds., Textbook tory by 1940. (Cases of smallpox had been re- of Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, Weaponry, and ported by the Soviet Union in 1961, but apparently the Casualty: Medical Aspects of Chemical and these infections were brought into the country by Biological Warfare (Washington, DC: Borden travelers.) Institute, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 1997), In 1952, concerned that the United States could pp. 467–478. use offensive BW against the Soviet Union, the So- Inglesby, Thomas V., et al. “Anthrax as a Biological viet military restarted a field testing program for bi- Weapon, 2002: Updated Recommendations for ological weapons at Vozrozhdeniye Island. Two Management,” Journal of the American Medical years later, the Soviet military established a center Association, vol. 287, no. 17, May 2002, pp. 2236–2252. for smallpox research at Zagorsk (now Sergiyev Meselson, Matthew Jeanne Guillemin, Martin Hugh- Posad). At first, the mission of the Scientific Re- Jones, Alexander Langmuir, Ilona Popova, Alexis search Institute of Medicine (now called the Virol- Shelokov, and Olga Yamplskaya, “The Sverdlovsk ogy Center of the Scientific Research Institute of Anthrax Outbreak of 1979,” Science, vol. 266, Nov. Microbiology) at Zagorsk was to develop smallpox 18, 1994, pp. 1202–1208. vaccine, but by the 1960s, intense efforts to World Health Organization, Expert Committee, Health weaponize BW agents, including Variola virus, were Aspects of Chemical & Biological Weapons, first underway. edition (Geneva: United Nations, 1970). On about July 15, 1971, a Soviet research boat began an extended voyage in and around the Aral ARALSK SMALLPOX OUTBREAK Sea, starting from Aralsk. It made about twenty- Although smallpox has been eradicated for more five stops at various research stations before re- than 25 years and was nearing extinction as a disease turning home. On board were a number of scien- in many parts of the world, an outbreak of smallpox tific researchers and staff, including an expert on occurred in 1971 in Aralsk, Kazahkstan (at the time fisheries (ichthyologist). The job of this individual, still part of the Soviet Union). Alan P. Zelicoff, M.D., who would turn out to be smallpox patient num- a researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy’s San- ber 1, was to cast nets and collect fish and plant dia National Laboratories, has reported (2002, specimens. Because her duties required her to be Tucker and Zilinskas) that the origin of the small- outside on the boat, it is possible that she was more pox outbreak in Aralsk was most likely the result of vulnerable to exposure to smallpox from Soviet Soviet biological weapons testing of Variola major open-air testing. On August 6, the researcher de- virus, the causative agent of smallpox. Other experts veloped symptoms that would later be diagnosed are more reserved, and some wholeheartedly dis- as smallpox, but only after she had infected nine agree with Zelicoff. In the event the fact that there more people.
    55. 24 ARBUSOV REACTION If indeed the researcher had acquired her infec- ARBUSOV REACTION tion as a result of open-air testing of Variola major Two giants in the development of organophospho- virus, it was mostly a function of Soviet military se- rus chemistry—Carl Arnold August Michaelis (d. crecy that prevented early diagnosis of smallpox 1916) and Aleksandr Erminingeldovich Arbuzov (d. among the victims of Aralsk. Because the Soviet 1968)—are often cited in the scientific literature as Union had officially eradicated smallpox 30 years having described a chemical reaction that is typical prior to the incident, attending physicians first as- in nerve agent synthesis. Both Michaelis and Arbu- cribed the illness to various causes and did not ini- zov conducted groundbreaking research in the syn- tially consider smallpox as the source. Eventually, thesis and description of countless phosphorus- three of the ten people who became ill with small- containing substances. The German chemist pox died. The three who died had not been vacci- Michaelis was in many ways the founder of this par- nated against the disease and developed the most se- ticular subset of chemistry, and Arbuzov (as well as rious form of hemorrhagic smallpox. Thirty years his son and daughter) continued this work. Today, later, during an interview with the Russian press in there still stands the A. E. Arbuzov Institute of Or- November 2001, Dr. Pyotr Burgasov, former chief ganic and Physical Chemistry of the Kazan Scien- hygiene medical officer for the Soviet Union, said tific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences that a female researcher on a research boat that had (Volga region). neared Vozrozhdeniye Island had been infected with The Arbuzov (or Michaelis-Arbuzov) reaction smallpox and had subsequently spread the disease occurs when a carbon atom or chain (alkylation) is to others in Aralsk. Dr. Burgasov claimed that the combined to a trivalent phosphoric ester, that is, an outbreak was caused by the open-air test release of acidic phosphate surrounded by three alcohol about 400 grams of smallpox virus. Because Dr. groups. The carbon-phosphorus bond—a key fea- Burgasov had previously been known to deny the ture of the more toxic nerve agents (e.g., Sarin, VX, existence of a Soviet BW program (particularly con- etc.)—can then be produced by an alkyl halide (a cerning the Sverdlovsk anthrax outbreak in 1979), carbon group with a halogen), such as methyl io- his anecdote is especially important to support the dide. According to Japanese sources, the terrorist theory that the smallpox outbreak in 1971 indeed cult Aum Shinrikyo used an analogous route of syn- was caused by Soviet BW testing at Vozrozhdeniye thesis when producing sarin nerve agent. Aum op- Island. eratives disseminated sarin on at least three occa- Although the exact cause of the Aralsk small- sions, resulting in the deaths of seven people in 1994 pox outbreak has not been officially determined (Matsumoto City), and in twelve deaths and more by any government—including that of Russia— than 1,000 people being injured during an attack on the preponderance of evidence leads to the con- the Tokyo subway in 1995. clusion that an accidental exposure from open air Curiously, neither Michaelis nor Arbuzov them- testing on Vozrozhdeniye Island was the source of selves produced organophosphate esters that were the infection. exceptionally toxic to mammals—or if they did so, —Eric A. Croddy these went unreported. This would have to wait for See also: Biopreparat; Russia: Chemical and Biological German chemists who synthesized tabun (quite by Weapons Programs; Smallpox accident) and other nerve agents in the late 1930s. References —Eric A. Croddy Elkin, I. M., “Military-Epidemiological Doctrine (Based See also: Aum Shinrikyo; Nerve Agents on the Lessons from Anti-Epidemic Protection of References the Troops in the Great Patriotic War in Engel, Robert, Synthesis of Carbon-Phosphorus Bonds 1941–1945),” Zhurnal Mikrobiologii, Epidemiologii y (Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1988). Immunobiologii, no. 5, May 1980, pp. 11–13. Kosolapoff, Gennady M., Organophosphorus Compounds Tucker, Jonathon B., and Raymond Zilinskas, eds., The (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1950). 1971 Smallpox Epidemic in Aralksk, Kazakhstan, and the Soviet Biological Warfare Program, Occasional Paper #9 (Monterey, CA: Center for ARSENICALS Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of Arsenic (As) has long been recognized for its highly International Studies, July 2002). toxic properties, as a pure metal or, more often, in its
    56. ARSENICALS 25 oxide form. Chemical experts in the Chinese Peo- the American chemist Major Roger Adams in ple’s Liberation Army (PLA) have written: “In the 1918. This RCA is often referred to as adamsite. It year 1000 (A.D.), there was one named Tangfu, who is not likely to be considered a CW agent with made poison fire grenades and gave them to the enough toxicity to warrant being used as a WMD. Chao court of the Song dynasty. The poisonous Even so, this and other arsenicals are extremely smoke ball, containing arsenic oxide (As2O3) and a toxic, much more so than compounds such as CS type of poison derived from crotonaldehyde, looked tear gas (see adamsite). a bit like a precursor to a chemical gas grenade. After One of the first arsenic-based chemicals used as lighting its fuse, this weapon would belch out smoke a means of warfare was arsine gas (AsH3). Despite poisoning the enemy, and thus weakening their abil- its high toxicity, early efforts in weaponizing arsine ity to fight” (Cheng and Shi, p. 7). were frustrated by its flammability. (Attempts dur- Metallic arsenic (and its use as a poison) has ing World War I to use hydrogen cyanide [HCN] been responsible not only for countless murders, failed for the same reason.) Chemical weapons de- but it was also responsible for a horrific environ- signers in World War I then looked to organic com- mental catastrophe in Bangladesh. By the late twen- pounds containing arsenic, such as ethyldichlorar- tieth century, some 70 million people in Bangladesh sine, the effects of which had been well described as were at risk from arsenic poisoning from contami- early as 1880. As LaCoste wrote, “[Ethyl dichlorar- nated groundwater. sine] has a very powerful irritant action on the mu- In CW, numerous toxic compounds containing cous membranes of the eyes and nose, causes arsenic, roughly categorized as arsenicals, were de- painful blistering of the skin, and is very dangerous veloped during World War I. Arsenicals first ap- for those working with it, since its vapor causes res- peared in the form of substances that are immedi- piratory [distress], faintness, and long lasting paral- ately irritating to the eyes, nose and throat—such as ysis and [numbness] of the extremities” (Vedder, diphenylcyanoarsine—but blister-causing types of 1925, p. 173). Drawing upon this knowledge, Ger- agent (vesicant) also formed a significant part of the man chemical weapons scientists first used an ar- chemical weapons used during the war. (Lewisite, senical in an artillery munition called Blue Cross, arguably the most important arsenical agent, was which contained mostly diphenylchlorarsine and not used in World War I because it was invented too diphenylcyanoarsine. late for use on the battlefield.) The Japanese military There were specific, tactical reasons for choosing made use of arsenicals, especially diphenylcyanoar- arsenical compounds for battlefield use. By 1917, sine, against Chinese troops on the mainland and most belligerents were well prepared against inhala- Taiwan in the 1930s. Japanese forces also may have tion threats on the battlefield. Since the introduc- used lewisite (or a close analogue) during World tion of gas warfare in 1915, the use of improved pro- War II, but only against Chinese forces. Other refer- tective masks had reduced casualties produced by ences have suggested that lewisite has never been chlorine, phosgene, and other agents. Military used in appreciable amounts in warfare. By the end chemists had not been able to devise substances that of World War II, both the United States and Ger- could break through gas masks, directly attack the many had stockpiled large quantities of lewisite for skin, or both. The use of arsenicals such as chemical munitions, but those were later sup- diphenylchlorarsine (“Clark I”) and diphenyl- planted by more effective CW agents such as the cyanoarsine (“Clark II”) was intended to render gas highly toxic organophosphates (i.e., nerve agents). masks ineffective by delivering these agents in a fine It is difficult to conceive of most arsenicals in aerosol, producing very small particles that would the same vein as weapons of mass destruction penetrate the filters used in protective masks at the (WMD). Highly toxic lewisite is certainly a well- time. (In fact, the term aerosol has its origins in re- known CW agent, but other arsenic-based organic search in the early twentieth century regarding the compounds are better described as irritating or behavior of irritating arsenical smokes. See also riot control agents (RCAs, or tear gas). Also re- Aerosol.) Because of their extreme irritation of the ferred to as a vomiting agent, diphenylaminochlor- nose and throat, these CW agents earned the appel- arsine (DM) was independently invented by the lation of sternutators or sneeze producers. Their use German chemist Heinrich Wieland in 1915 and was intended to force removal of the mask, making
    57. 26 ARSENICALS the enemy vulnerable to further assault with other some degree in World War I. By 1918, however, sul- toxic agents. fur mustard became the dominant blister agent on In September 1917, Germany launched the first the battlefield and the cause of most chemical casu- significant barrage against Russian troops using alties in the entire war. German military comman- diphenylchlorarsine at Uexhuell near the Dvina ders saw a potential role for a CW agent that was River. In July 1918, German military headquarters fast-acting, more volatile, and would clear an area reported the following about Blue Cross shells: “In more quickly than mustard. Ethyldichlorarsine had sufficient concentrations it penetrates the French such properties. In contrast, sulfur mustard caused mask effectively and the English mask to a lesser de- injury only after considerable delay but was much gree, in which case it forces the enemy to tear off more persistent, making it more suitable for defen- their masks. For this reason a mixture of blue and sive operations. Because Germany was planning a green cross [that is, pulmonary irritants such as major offensive by spring 1918, ethyldichlorarsine phosgene] is recommended” (Vedder, p. 174). was produced for the western front by March of that The German development of diphenylcyanoar- year. Referred to by the Germans as Dick and coded sine was even more effective than its predecessor, Yellow Cross I (differentiating it from Yellow Cross, diphenylchlorarsine. Augustin Prentiss, a World War which was sulfur mustard), its overall impact as a I contemporary and expert on chemical weapons, vesicant was largely overshadowed by its lung-irri- commented on this CW agent:“In diphenylcyanoar- tating properties. It is not clear how many casualties sine, we have the extreme limit of effectiveness in low were caused due to Yellow Cross I, including its less concentrations of all chemical agents used in the war. toxic relative, ethyldibromarsine. Thus, a concentration of 0.00025 mg. per liter is in- Dr. W. Lee Lewis, an American chemist, invented tolerable if inhaled for 1 minute. As a man at rest chlorovinyldichloroarsine, which was subsequently normally inhales 8 liters of air per minute, he would named lewisite in his honor in 1917. It also was absorb only 0.0002 mg of the substance in that time. called the dew of death, given its possible use by dis- This is, however, sufficient to incapacitate him for an semination from aircraft. Lewisite is a true vesicant hour. For an average man, weighing 154 lbs as well as a highly irritating CW agent, and it may (70,000,000 mg), this means that diphenylcyanoar- have been manufactured by Germany at the same sine is effective in the ration of 1:35,000,000 of body time of Lewis’s discovery. If Germany did manufac- weight, which makes it the strongest of all the known ture lewisite in quantity, it is unknown why they did irritants” (Prentiss, p. 211). not use it. Full-scale manufacture of lewisite by the It proved difficult, however, to deliver these Blue United States began at a facility in a Cleveland, Cross agents in particles small enough to achieve the Ohio, suburb in 1918. Before the Allies could em- desired effect of being a reliable mask breaker. ploy lewisite in World War I, however, the armistice Among the American Expeditionary Forces that had brought an end to the conflict. Lewisite had al- had by this time entered the fray, statistics compiled ready been shipped across the Atlantic, and due to found that only 577 casualties and 3 deaths were its instability, it was dumped into the ocean for caused by these respiratory-irritant chemicals. quick disposal. Other statistics from casualty reports of the war Lewisite is absorbed through membranes of the support the conclusion that Blue Cross agents were skin, causing extreme irritation and blistering, as not very successful. well as destruction of tissue in the upper respiratory By September 1918, Germany also had intro- tract. Lewisite has potent damaging effects on the duced phenyldichlorarsine, ethyldichlorarsine, and eyes, and exposure without adequate decontamina- ethydibromarsine as toxic lung agents. In addition tion may cause blindness. It is believed that the tox- to its highly irritating effects, ethyldichlorarsine was icological action of lewisite focuses upon inhibition recognized for its toxicological properties as a vesi- of enzymes in the body. cant or blister agent. Following World War I, military chemists com- pared the inhalation exposure toxicities of various The Arsenical Vesicants arsenicals and blister agents (e.g., mustard), ranking The blistering effects of some compounds, includ- them in order of most toxic to least toxic (figures are ing the arsenical ethyldichlorarsine, were utilized to from Prentiss, 1937):
    58. ARSENICALS 27 Table A-11: Toxicity of Arsenical Vesicants treating victims of lewisite exposure is thorough de- contamination. But there is also a chemical antidote Agent using chelation therapy, that is, the use of chemicals Lewisite Most Toxic to “grab” arsenic from solution. Because arsenic has Mustard affinity for certain chemical groups, especially sul- Phenyldibromarsine fur, compounds such as dimercaprol, traditionally Phenyldichlorarsine Ethyldichlorarsine called British Anti-Lewisite (BAL), have been found Methyldichlorarsine effective in treating lewisite poisoning. Not enough Dibromethyl sulfide Least Toxic data exist on human cases, however, to determine the extent of its efficacy. More recent improvements upon BAL include therapeutics that can be admin- According to a Chinese text on chemical istered orally, namely the water-soluble dimercapto- weaponry, which draws upon a reference by Franke succinic acid (DMSA) and dimercapto–1-propane- (1967): sulfonic acid (DMPS). Although arsenic is poisonous, it has multiple Lewisite is a colorless, oily liquid that in its actual uses in civilian applications. Due to its ubiquity, production takes on a brown color. Very low con- some arsenic compounds are controlled out of con- centrations of Lewisite vapor produce an odor cern that they could be used to produce chemical similar to geraniums. The volatility of lewisite is weapons. For example, a common method of man- greater than that of mustard, easily forms high ufacturing lewisite is to start with arsenic trichloride densities on the battlefield, and one does not need (AsCl3), a precursor that is restricted by the Chemi- to add anti-freezing solvents to use lewisite during winter. Because of these properties, and the very cal Weapons Convention (CWC). By the same close relationship between lewisite and mustard, token, existing stocks of lewisite that are slated for they are often used in tandem. Lewisite hydrolyzes destruction may be recycled for peaceful uses. Be- in water faster than mustard, but in this instance cause the former Soviet Union had a considerably the degradation products are toxic. Additionally, large stockpile of lewisite-filled munitions (often lewisite in its liquid form penetrates the skin at a mixed with sulfur mustard), chemical demilitariza- rate 3–4 times faster than mustard (Cheng and tion efforts have focused upon extracting arsenic Shi, p. 17). from lewisite stocks for recycling. Arsenic is used in a variety of industrial process, including gallium-ar- The mixing of lewisite with mustard was, in fact, senide semiconductor chips, although it is unclear a common practice in the Japanese military’s use of whether such a venture is economically viable. Ar- vesicants, as well as in Soviet doctrine for chemical senic is still utilized in formulations for insecticides munitions. The need for this chemical cocktail was and in fungicidal treatments for lumber. caused by the fact that sulfur mustard congeals at a —Eric A. Croddy relatively high temperature. Mixing mustard with See also: Vesicants; World War I solvents, including not only lewisite and other chlo- References rinated hydrocarbons but also the nerve agent diiso- Cheng Shuiting and Shi Zhiyuan, Military Technology propyl fluorophosphate (DFP), has been done to Information Handbook: Chemical Weapons, second bring down the freezing point of mustard for use in edition (Beijing: People’s Liberation Army Press, winter. 1999; second printing, January 2000). In addition to the blistering and the irritant ef- Franke, Siegfried, Manual of Military Chemistry, vol. 1, fect on skin, eyes, and the respiratory system, Chemistry of Chemical Warfare [Lehrbuch der Militärchemie der Kampfstoffe], (East Berlin: lewisite also serves as a systemic poison. Skin dam- Deutscher Militärverlag, 1967). age as a result of lewisite exposure, however, is ex- Prentiss, Augustin M., Chemicals in War: A Treatise on pected to heal faster than that caused by mustard. Chemical Warfare (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1937). Effects of lewisite on skin, including extreme pain Sidell, Frederick R., “Riot Control Agents,” in Frederick and redness, occur within minutes of exposure, with R. Sidell, Ernest T. Takafuji, and David R. Franz, eds., blisters forming about 10–15 hours later. As in the Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, case of mustard exposure, the first approach to Weaponry, and the Casualty: Medical Aspects of
    59. 28 ATROPINE Chemical and Biological Warfare (Washington, DC: effects include scopalomine. The latter drug has sig- Borden Institute, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, nificant hallucinogenic properties and is the toxic 1997), pp. 307–324. principle in Jimson’s weed (Datura). This family of Vedder, Edward B., The Medical Aspects of Chemical compounds has been thoroughly investigated by Warfare (Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1925). chemical warfare programs in the United States, former Soviet Union, and Warsaw Pact nations (in- ATROPINE cluding East Germany). Some analogues were The first line of defense against nerve agent poison- found to have potential value as incapacitating ing is a drug called atropine. This compound has agents, such as BZ, the code name of one of these been used for centuries in various ways, one of agents (3-quinuclindinyl benzilate). these being to cause the dilation of the pupils in the The effects of the belladonna and Datura alka- eyes. At one time, it was very fashionable in Europe loids on the human body have been known for cen- for women to have dilated pupils, and extracts from turies. Symptoms of atropine intoxication can be the belladonna plant were used for this purpose. described in well-known similes: Blind as a bat (The same is done today for eye examinations; at- (pupils become excessively dilated, blurring the vi- ropine is used to widen pupils to allow the practi- sion); dry as a bone (atropine shuts down the sweat tioner to see better into the patient’s retinal space.) glands); red as a beet (atropine causes the skin to This drug and others like it are still referred to as flush through dilation of the blood vessels); mad as the belladonna group of compounds, from the Ital- a hatter (for its hallucinogenic and behavioral mod- ian for beautiful lady. Atropine, a so-called alkaloid ification); and hot as a hare (lack of perspiration (nitrogen-carbon compounds that are noted for causes body temperature to rise). Although very their pharmacological effects), is found in the small amounts of these drugs can cause physiologi- deadly nightshade plant (Atropa belladonna) and in cal symptoms, humans can tolerate significant doses other related species of the genus Solanaceae, such of atropine. One immediate danger from atropine as henbane. Related compounds that have similar intoxication is the propensity for hyperthermia. Militaries and emergency responders can treat nerve agent casualties with atropine and oxime. (Reuters/Corbis)
    60. AUM SHINRIKYO 29 Atropine is primarily known for its life-saving, tion of 2 milligrams of atropine. A Chinese military diagnostic, and therapeutic uses in health care set- textbook recommends the following doses for nerve tings. There have, however, been instances when at- agent exposure, which are typical of those found ropine has been utilized as a potential mass casualty prescribed by various armed forces: “1–2 mg for weapon, including a plot to cause mass poisoning. light injuries, 3–5 mg for moderate, and 5–10 mg for In the late 1950s, a large number of saltshakers in a serious exposures. If symptoms have not lessened in cafeteria that served employees of Radio Free Eu- their severity after 10–30 minutes, one should con- rope were adulterated with atropine, enough to have sider increasing the above dosage. Datura and other caused serious poisoning at least (although proba- Chinese medicinal herbs can also provide therapeu- bly not death). The plot was foiled when a spy tic benefit.” (Cheng and Shi, p. 82). alerted the authorities about the poisoned salt, later The effects of atropine injected in humans at assayed to find about 25 milligrams of atropine per varying doses have been described in the existing lit- shaker. erature. At 0.5 milligrams, there is dryness of the Relatively large doses (up to 1 gram) of atropine skin with a slowed heart rate. Between 1 and 2 mil- may be called for to treat cases of exposure to ligrams, one sees dilation of pupils (madriasis) and organophosphate insecticides, and there is a very faster heartbeats. Above 10 milligrams, there is delir- different set of treatment protocols and treatment ium, apathy, and hallucinations, followed by uncon- duration for these than for military nerve agents. sciousness. In the absence of nerve agent poisoning, Following exposure to a toxic organophosphate, ad- the doses delivered in autoinjectors (2 milligrams) ministration of atropine counterbalances danger- are tolerated quite well. In the false belief of a nerve ously high levels of the neurotransmitter acetyl- agent attack during the Gulf War (1991), many Is- choline, a condition brought on by the effects of raeli citizens self-administered atropine in the midst nerve agents (e.g., sarin). Nerve agents, having of Iraqi Scud missile raids. No untoward effects were blocked or inhibited the function of acetyl- reported. cholinesterase (AChE) enzyme that keeps the acetyl- —Eric A. Croddy choline levels in balance, results in an increase in See also: Nerve Agents; Psychoincapacitants acetylcholine molecules. This chemical stimulates References receptors in the nervous system, causing exhaustion Cheng Shuiting and Shi Zhiyuan, Military Technology in the breathing muscles, changes in heart rhythm, Information Handbook: Chemical Weapons, second and secretions in the throat that can asphyxiate the edition (Beijing: People’s Liberation Army Press, victim. Atropine, on the other hand, is a so-called 1999; second printing, January 2000). anticholinergic compound: it partially blocks recep- Franke, Siegfried, Manual of Military Chemistry, vol. 1, tors in the nervous system, protecting them from Chemistry of Chemical Warfare [Lehrbuch der Militärchemie der Kampfstoffe] (East Berlin: excessive levels of acetylcholine stimulation. Al- Deutscher Militärverlag, 1967). though atropine does little for involuntary twitch- Sidell, Frederick R., “Nerve Agents,” in Frederick R. ing in skeletal muscles, it does help to dry up secre- Sidell, Ernest T. Takafuji, and David R. Franz, eds., tions and restore some normalcy to the rest of the Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, nervous system. Weaponry, and the Casualty: Medical Aspects of Longer-term treatment of nerve agent poisoning Chemical and Biological Warfare (Washington, DC: may include administering chemical compounds Borden Institute, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, called oximes. These help restore the normal activ- 1997), pp. 129–196. ity of AChE by releasing the enzyme (via dephos- phorylation, the breaking of the phosphate-enzyme AUM SHINRIKYO bond) from the nerve agent’s blockage. Oxime treat- The Japanese apocalyptic group Aum Shinrikyo ment in conjunction with atropine increases the (“Supreme Truth”) is generally credited with chances of survival for victims exposed to nerve opening the Pandora’s box of WMD terrorism agents. with its sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system Atropine for treatment of nerve agents is fielded on March 20, 1995. Although this was not the first in the form of autoinjectors. These are spring- ever chemical or biological terrorism attack, it was loaded syringes that deliver an intramuscular injec- of such a scale (5 trains on 3 separate lines attacked
    61. 30 AUM SHINRIKYO nearly simultaneously, resulting in 12 deaths and Their preparedness to assume governmental func- more than 1,000 people seriously injured) that it is tions complemented their absolute opposition to generally regarded as the benchmark for the begin- the existing government, inspiring preparation for ning of modern WMD terrorism. The subway at- violent action to accelerate or augment the coming tack was not the first Aum Shinrikyo chemical ter- apocalypse and to protect the group until that day ror attack. It was preceded by attempts to develop arrived. Aum Shinrikyo developed hierarchical op- and employ biological weapons. Thus, Aum Shin- erational organs, a highly sophisticated infrastruc- rikyo stands as a valuable case study regarding both ture, and extensive support mechanisms. Using the the dangers of WMD terrorism and of the signifi- broader religious periphery for first-level recruit- cant difficulties that even a well-financed group ment and basic funding, Aum Shinrikyo developed with internal technical expertise might encounter business enterprises and internally selected techni- in employing WMD for mass casualty effects. cal experts to support its action program. These in- Aum Shinrikyo represented, at once, a “new reli- cluded both conventional, chemical, and biological gion,” a political movement, and a fanatical apoca- weapons labs derived from legitimate cover enter- lyptic cult willing to use mass casualty terrorism to prises. The Aum Shinrikyo weapons program was accelerate and achieve what it saw as its preordained ultimately as well financed and technically sup- destiny. Aum Shinrikyo was founded by Shoko Asa- ported as many smaller programs of Japan’s actual hara, based on the belief that Armageddon was in- government. So, although Aum Shinrikyo was a evitable and that only the devout believers in Aum broad-based and large, horizontal religious move- Shinrikyo would survive the end of the world. As a ment, it contained a vertically stratified and tightly religion, Aum Shinrikyo was successful in drawing disciplined action cadre at its political center. recruits and donations. The group specifically tar- The several violent actions carried out by the geted its recruitment at technical universities, and Aum Shinrikyo cadre looked much like traditional the group enjoyed a relatively well-educated and terrorism—the same individuals were involved in wealthy membership. At the same time that it was planning and executing the organization’s terrorist experiencing growth in membership and wealth, acts, this group acted in close concert with an Aum Shinrikyo was singularly unsuccessful as a le- equally small and disciplined direct support cadre, gitimate political movement, losing all of the Japan- and all were under the direct control of the central ese elections in which it fielded candidates. The leadership of the group. The major difference be- group was able to employ its wealth and some of its tween Aum Shinrikyo and traditional terrorists was technically expert members, however, to support its that Aum Shinrikyo only used WMD in its attacks. WMD terrorism program. Even though Japanese Aum Shinrikyo tried to develop and employ bio- authorities compiled a growing body of evidence on logical and chemical weapons as early as 1990. Tes- Aum Shinrikyo’s terrorist objectives and chemical timony during the legal proceedings following the and biological programs preceding the Tokyo sub- 1995 Tokyo subway attacks indicated that the targets way attacks, they hesitated to take action against the of the mostly unsuccessful attempts included the group because of provisions in Japanese law pro- general Japanese public, specific group rivals, disaf- tecting religious freedom and practice. Aum Shin- fected cult members, investigative journalists, the rikyo enjoyed the benefits as a self-described reli- Japanese legal system and government, members of gious organization in furthering its political agenda the Japanese royal family, and United States military through terrorism. installations in Japan. The inner cadre of Aum Shinrikyo’s leadership Aum Shinrikyo had extensive biological and was organized into a “shadow government,” with a chemical agent development programs, but their ac- structure directly mirroring Japan’s executive de- tual employment of WMD presents a very mixed partment and functions. Individual Aum Shinrikyo story. As early as April 1990, the group attempted to leaders were assigned positions in the shadow gov- employ botulinum toxin for mass casualty effects in ernment to prepare them to assume the corre- Tokyo. The attack coincided with an island retreat sponding duties in the new order. Aum Shinrikyo by the Aum Shinrikyo leadership and membership, blended a “new religion” veneer with a political core so that the group itself would not fall victim to the that was characteristic of traditional terrorism. attack. The group attempted to disperse the toxin
    62. AUM SHINRIKYO 31 from truck-mounted dispensers: one outside the The group’s second sarin attack, in June of 1994, Diet (national parliament) building downtown, one also was not fully successful. It was intended to kill outside the U.S. naval facilities in the southern port three judges who were presiding at a trial involving suburbs, and one at Narita International Airport. Aum Shinrikyo. The plan to gas the judges, their The attack failed when the dispenser sprayers may courthouse, and an adjacent police station was have killed the toxin in the dispersal process, or meant to be an attack on the justice system that was more probably the toxin was ineffective from the posing a threat to Aum Shinrikyo. Poor planning beginning. Aum Shinrikyo was forced to return to caused the attack team to arrive after the judges had the drawing board. left the courthouse, and the subsequent plan to at- The group again attempted to disperse botu- tack their apartment complex failed when the gas linum toxin in June 1993, again from a truck- dispersed too widely and the wind shifted, leading mounted spray dispenser. The target in this attack to only limited effects on the specific apartments of was the gathering of world dignitaries in conjunc- interest. The target judges fell ill, but they were not tion with the wedding of Crown Prince Naruhito. among the seven who were killed in the attack. This attack suffered the same fate as the 1990 botu- The March 1995 Tokyo subway attacks repre- linum attack: The dispersal system exceeded the en- sented a direct application of terrorism for the vironmental parameters and would likely have ren- dual purposes of producing mass casualties and dered the toxin ineffective. intimidating the authorities for self-preservation. Aum Shinrikyo then turned to anthrax as its Japanese national police under the Ministry of Jus- agent of choice. Just weeks after the 1993 royal wed- tice had finally amassed sufficient evidence to ding attempt, the group dispensed anthrax from the mount a raid on the Aum Shinrikyo compound roof of a cult-owned building in downtown Tokyo. and chemical weapons laboratory. The raid was set Although a few people reported being affected by for March 22. Aum Shinrikyo first attempted to noxious fumes, this attack also failed to cause casu- cause mass casualties at the Kasumigaseki subway alties. The anthrax strain Aum Shinrikyo used was station using botulinum toxin on March 15. Be- an American animal vaccine strain, not a toxic sides the disruptive effects of a mass casualty at- strain. tack, Kasumigaseki station served as the Ministry Aum Shinrikyo’s initial unsuccessful experiences of Justice headquarters, and the timing would have with biological weapons caused the group to switch meant that many of the passengers on those trains to chemical weapons. Beginning in 1993, reports should be Ministry of Justice employees. Aum suggested they had successfully experimented with Shinrikyo hoped to delay or divert the Justice raid sarin employed against sheep on a cult-owned on their own headquarters, which they had been ranch in Australia. (Later investigations, however, tipped off was imminent. In this case, the group showed that tests on the sheep carcasses may have used dispensers hidden in briefcases, but the dis- confused sarin with commercial pesticides used in persal again failed. “sheep dip.”) Early in 1994, they chose the leader of Aum Shinrikyo then reverted to sarin, and they a rival “new religion” and its associated political again attacked the subway system on March 20. This party as their victims, but the field application of subway attack employed an unsophisticated disper- their chemical weapon was unsuccessful when their sal method—plastic bags of liquid sarin punctured effort to create a gaseous form of sarin resulted in by the pointed ends of umbrellas. The operation in- the dispersal van catching fire. Aum Shinrikyo con- volved rush-hour attacks on five separate subway tinued to rely on chemical attacks as their primary trains in the Tokyo system, trains that were all due to form of action, both to exploit their economic and arrive at Kasumigaseki station shortly before eight technical capabilities in this arena and to further o’clock on a weekday morning. The earlier purpose their end goal of creating broader effects to hasten and plan still applied: targeting Ministry of Justice the ultimate global conflict that would usher in their employees, many of whom would be on those trains. rise to power. Toward this end, Aum Shinrikyo was Because of the primitive dispersal method, the five certainly willing to accept mass casualties; however, attacks resulted in many fewer casualties (12 killed, they continued to encounter problems with disper- 1,000 injured) than might have been anticipated sal and application of WMD. given the quantity of sarin involved, and the attack
    63. 32 AUM SHINRIKYO ultimately precipitated a much more complete inves- Although the Aum Shinrikyo leadership, terror- tigation and prosecution of Aum Shinrikyo. ist planning and operational cadre, and WMD tech- Finally, as the investigations and arrests follow- nical development personnel were arrested, tried, ing the March 1995 subway attacks began, Aum and imprisoned after the Tokyo subway attacks, the Shinrikyo returned to the Tokyo subway system one group as a religious movement still exists in signifi- more time. On May 5, 1995, the group attempted to cant numbers, primarily in Japan and in Russia. Es- employ cyanide in Shinjuku station. In this case, the timates from 1995 were that Aum Shinrikyo had dispersal system involved sequential use of acid, more than 40,000 followers, with almost 30,000 of then cyanide, but the device was discovered before it those in Russia, approximately 10,000 in Japan, and could do any harm. smaller numbers in other countries, primarily the Aum Shinrikyo had only limited success in four- United States and Germany. That same year, Aum teen separate biological and chemical attacks. The Shinrikyo’s financial assets were estimated at 1 bil- group employed or attempted to employ sarin and lion dollars. cyanide, as well as VX and phosgene gas. In terms of Aum Shinrikyo stands as the “poster child” for biological weapons, Aum Shinrikyo at various times both the extreme threat of WMD terror and the dif- was developing or seeking to develop anthrax, bot- ficulties faced by a nonstate actor in delivering on ulinum, Q-fever, and even Ebola for use as weapons. that threat. Aum Shinrikyo had several unique ad- Aum Shinrikyo had up to twenty people dedicated vantages that allowed it to advance its WMD terror- to biological weapon production and testing. After ism program. It had a multilayered organization the Tokyo subway attack, Japanese police found that allowed its religious component to serve as enough sarin precursors in the group’s possession to both cover and sponsor for its terrorism element. It produce tons of sarin nerve agent. At that time, had access to an array of resources—from millions work at Aum Shinrikyo labs also suggested that the of dollars in funding to member scientists to group- group was continuing to develop or experiment owned chemical companies for facilities and cover. with a variety of nerve agents—including VX, And, significantly, the nature of its religious founda- soman, and tabun—and other chemical weapons tion—particularly as interpreted after the breakup such as mustard and sodium cyanide. As many as of the Soviet Union and the concurrent display of eighty Aum Shinrikyo members worked on chemi- United States conventional military power in the cal weapons development. 1991 Gulf War led Aum Shinrikyo’s leaders to con- Aum Shinrikyo also was involved with, and had clude that a global apocalypse was not as imminent specific interest in, both nuclear and conventional as they once thought—allowed the group to turn weapons. Nuclear weapons represented the ultimate conventional wisdom that terrorists want many ob- apocalyptic tool to Aum Shinrikyo’s leadership. The servers and few casualties on its head. group widely sought nuclear weapons materials and Even with all these advantages, however, Aum expertise—from Australian uranium to Russian Shinrikyo’s experience highlights several of the lasers (an experimental technology for producing daunting obstacles that stand in the way of any fissile materials). They also showed interest in other group seeking to develop and employ WMD for the “exotic” weapons that had relevance to Japan, in- purposes of terrorism. First, although Aum Shin- cluding seismological weapons. They also procured rikyo was able to procure dangerous chemical and and produced conventional weapons, notably the biological agents, it was not able to gain access to AK-74 rifle. The group’s AK-74s were used for train- some of the highly lethal biological strains that it ing and arming a small paramilitary cadre, and they sought. Safeguards on these strains do provide some served as a source of some revenue to Aum Shin- significant protection against groups without state rikyo. The variety of weapons and systems that Aum sponsorship attaining specific materials. Second, the Shinrikyo procured, as well as insight into their fu- dispersal problem for chemical and biological ture plans, was demonstrated by their efforts late in agents is very real, and even a well funded and tech- the group’s action phase to employ a Russian mili- nically gifted cadre within a terrorist group will face tary helicopter as well as some unmanned drone air- significant challenges in agent dissemination and craft, all outfitted with aerial spray dispersal systems utilization in the field. Third, the cold scientific ra- for chemical weapons. tionality required to overcome these technical hur-
    64. THE AUSTRALIA GROUP 33 dles can be overshadowed by the emotional and ide- attempts were being made to use this lack of uni- ological imperatives of terrorist leaders—the “ac- formity to circumvent these initial controls. This tion program” may not have the patience needed to led Australia to propose, in April 1985, that repre- allow the agent development side to complete its sentatives from the fifteen countries that had in- work. In the end, WMD terrorism remains a very troduced licensing for exports should meet to ex- real but difficult-to-deliver-on threat. amine ways to standardize the measures taken at —James M. Smith the national level to prevent illicit trafficking in See also: Bioterrorism; Nerve Agents; Sarin chemical weapons precursors. References The first meeting of what came to be known as Brackett, D.W., Holy Terror: Armageddon in Tokyo (New the Australia Group (AG) took place in Brussels, York: Weatherhill, 1996). Belgium, in June 1985. Participating countries Kaplan, David E., and Andrew Marshall, The Cult at the agreed that there was benefit in continuing the End of the World: The Incredible Story of Aum process, and meetings of the group are now held in Shinrikyo (London: Hutchison, 1996). Paris on an annual basis. The emergence of increas- Lifton, Robert Jay, Destroying the World to Save It: Aum ing evidence of diversion of dual-use materials to Shinrikyo, Apocalyptic Violence, and the New Global biological weapons programs in the late 1980s led Terrorism (New York: Metropolitan, 1999). participants to take steps to address the increasing problem of the spread of BW. THE AUSTRALIA GROUP The Australia Group is an informal network of Technical Details thirty-three countries and the European Commis- AG participants have developed, through a consen- sion that aim to ensure that their exports do not sus approach, common export control lists, which contribute to the development of chemical or bio- specify items that each AG participant undertakes to logical weapons. The Australia Group does this by control through its respective national export li- licensing the export of certain chemicals, biological censing procedures. agents, and dual-use chemical and biological manu- Licensing procedures allow each participating facturing equipment that can be used in CBW pro- country to consider whether a particular export grams, based on common control lists. could contribute to CBW and therefore breach the country’s obligations under the Biological and History Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) or the Chem- In April 1984, a special investigation mission sent by ical Weapons Convention (CWC). Every export li- the UN Secretary General to Iran found that chem- cense application is examined by the national au- ical weapons (CW) had been used against Iran in thority on a case-by-case basis, with the decision the Iran-Iraq war, which was a clear and unequivo- about whether to supply the requested items resting cal violation of the 1925 Geneva Protocol. There solely with the country approached. An export re- was also evidence that Iraq had obtained materials quest is denied only if there is particular concern for its CW program from the international chemical about potential diversion for CBW purposes. industry. In response to these findings, a number of Australia Group participants have committed to countries placed licensing measures on the export of consult each other before exporting items that an- certain chemicals used in the manufacture of chem- other participant has previously denied because of ical weapons. proliferation concerns. This commitment to con- The countries concerned saw an urgent need to sult is referred to as a no-undercut policy, but it address the problem posed by the spread of CW and does not constitute a binding ban. Group partici- ensure that their industries were not, either deliber- pants also have implemented a catch-all provision, ately or inadvertently, helping other countries to ac- whereby a participant will not supply an item that quire and use such weapons in violation of interna- is not on export control list when there is particu- tional law and norms. lar concern about potential diversion of the item The measures originally imposed by these for CBW purposes. countries, however, were not uniform either in Group participants ensure that their countries’ scope or application. It also became apparent that private sectors are informed of the dangers inherent
    65. 34 THE AUSTRALIA GROUP in the uncontrolled export of dual-use chemicals and biological products for peaceful purposes is not and biological materials and equipment. Chemical hindered, in accordance with Article XI of the CWC and biotechnology companies, and traders con- and Article X of the BTWC. scious of their public image and corporate respon- sibilities, have welcomed the assurances provided Future Developments by the controls implemented by Australia Group Since its inception, the Australia Group has proven participants. The transparency generated by the to be an important element in ongoing interna- Australia Group’s activities increases confidence, tional efforts to impede the proliferation of chem- creating an environment more conducive to the ical and biological weapons. Recent developments, normal flow of commercial goods, equipment, and however, have challenged the effectiveness of na- technology. tional export licensing measures. Economic glob- alization has seen the number of potential chemi- Current Status cal supplier countries grow considerably. The Participating countries in the Australia Group are rapid pace of technological change, particularly in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the biotechnology sector, also poses new challenges Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Fin- for keeping common control lists up to date. Mon- land, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, itoring intangible technology transfer (know-how) Ireland, Japan, Republic of Korea, Luxembourg, is being increasingly complicated by rapid ad- Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portu- vances in communications and information trans- gal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, fer. Terrorists, not state actors, are now seen as Turkey, United Kingdom, and United States. The being a potential CBW threat, but the Australia European Commission is also a participant. Aus- Group has not developed controls that are opti- tralia chairs the group and provides a secretariat mized to prevent terrorists from acquiring chemi- within its Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. cal precursors. There are presently five common control lists In response, recent technical reviews of the Aus- covering fifty-four CW precursors: dual-use chemi- tralia Group’s common control lists have taken into cal manufacturing facilities and equipment and re- account changing technologies and chemical and lated technology; dual-use biological equipment; biological terrorism issues. In addition, group par- and biological agents, including plant pathogens, ticipants are encouraging all exporting and trans- animal pathogens, and toxins. shipping (that is, goods being shipped across na- The common control lists are reviewed and tional borders) countries to implement similar adjusted periodically to ensure their continued measures. In recent years, the group has maintained effectiveness. Australia Group members believe a practice of briefing a large number of nonpartici- that export control measures should be effective pating countries on the outcomes of its meetings. in impeding the production of chemical and bio- These briefings make available lists of chemical and logical weapons, be practical and reasonably easy biological agents and related equipment and tech- to implement, and not impede the normal trade nologies that are of proliferation concern, and they of materials and equipment used for legitimate have helped other countries to adopt export control purposes. measures. All countries participating in the Australia Although a small number of countries criticize Group are State Parties in good standing to both the the Australia Group for what they claim are restric- CWC and BTWC. These countries consider the im- tions on legitimate trade and technology transfers, plementation of national licensing procedures there appears to be an increasing acceptance by based on the various AG lists as an essential means most countries of the idea that adopting national to ensure that they are fully implementing their export licensing measures based on the Australia nonproliferation obligations under Article I of the Group’s common control lists raises the barriers to CWC and Article III of the BTWC. In applying ex- both chemical and biological weapons proliferation port licensing procedures, group participants also and chemical or biological terrorism. Many coun- seek to ensure that international trade in chemical tries also believe that the group provides a tool for
    66. THE AUSTRALIA GROUP 35 implementing nonproliferation obligations under cal materials of concern are likely to increase in the the CWC and BWC. A number of group partici- years ahead. pants and other countries have also used the various —Robert Mathews common control lists as a basis for domestic moni- See also: Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention; toring of listed items, as a means to increase the bar- Chemical Weapons Convention; Dual-Use riers to terrorism. The importance of the Australia Reference Group and the use of lists of chemical and biologi- Australia Group website, http://www.australiagroup.net.
    67. BARI INCIDENT On December 2, 1943, in what came to be referred to by some as a second Pearl Harbor, German JU- 88 bombers attacked the port city of Bari, Italy, sinking seventeen Allied ships and damaging sev- B eral others. Among the American vessels fatally struck that night was the Liberty class cargo ship Being oil miscible, liquid mustard released into the SS John Harvey, which, in addition to its typical harbor waters mixed with oil from stricken vessels. load of conventional arms, food, and other sup- This mustard agent came into contact with sailors plies, carried 2,000 one-hundred pound M47A1 who had dived into the water to escape their sinking bombs filled with the blister agent sulfur mustard ships. Sulfur mustard vapors were also released into (see Mustard [Sulfur and Nitrogen]). Due to the the air. Because medical personnel were unaware of sensitive nature of, and thus the compartmental- the mustard’s presence, rescued seamen were allowed ized information regarding this cargo, only a se- to remain in their oil-soaked clothing while those in- lect few crew members were aware of this danger- jured in the blasts were treated, prolonging contact ous freight. Unfortunately, all of these crew with the agent. Victims began to exhibit the delayed members were killed in the attack, leaving med- effects of mustard exposure within hours, with burns ical personnel ashore unaware of the need to treat on their skin, swollen eyes and genitals, and tempo- casualties for blister agent exposure. Of approxi- rary blindness. More serious casualties were those in- mately 800 American military casualties hospital- volving respiratory exposures of mustard agent. ized following the raid, more than 600 were even- After the bombing, medical personnel at Bari, tually diagnosed with gas exposure, and 83 of finding the symptoms exhibited by their patients to be those died. Numbers of civilian casualties are less consistent with blister agent use, called for an investi- well documented, but estimates run as high as gation. U.S. Army Medical Corps Lieutenant Colonel 1,000. Stewart Alexander, a chemical warfare expert, trav- Although he had issued a statement denounc- elled to Bari, where he determined mustard to be the ing the use of chemical weapons by any actor in source of the nonblast casualties. In February 1944, World War II, President Franklin Delano Roo- the U.S. government issued a statement acknowleging sevelt had also reserved the right to retaliate in the presence of mustard in the John Harvey’s cargo. kind if chemical weapons were used by the Axis. After the war, the United States disposed of un- He therefore ordered mustard-filled munitions to specified amounts of phosgene, hydrogen cyanide, be forward deployed in Europe to provide the ca- cyanogen chloride, and additional quantities of pability to launch a retaliatory strike in the event mustard off the coast near Bari. Studies performed that the Germans initiated gas warfare. In 1943, by the University of Bari as recently as 1997 have the Germans were on the defensive. As a conse- discovered cases of mustard exposure among fisher- quence, or so the Allies believed, Germany could man trawling these waters. have been desperate enough to use poison gas on —Claudine McCarthy the battlefield. To avoid triggering a preemptive See also: Mustard (Sulfur and Nitrogen); Vesicants; strike by Germany with chemicals, however, the World War II: Chemical Weapons presence of the Allies’ chemical munitions was References kept secret. This was to play a tragic role in what Infield, Glenn B., Disaster at Bari (New York: transpired off the Italian coast. Macmillan, 1971). 37
    68. 38 BHOPAL, INDIA: UNION CARBIDE ACCIDENT Reminick, Gerald, Nightmare in Bari: The World War II chemical that has specific groupings of carbon, ni- Liberty Ship Poison Gas Disaster and Coverup (Palo trogen, and oxygen) pesticide carbaryl (marketed Alto, CA: Glencannon, 2001). under the trade name Sevin[r]). The Bhopal plant had experienced a number of BHOPAL, INDIA: UNION CARBIDE ACCIDENT incidents prior to December 1984. Between 1981 The Bhopal, India, Union Carbide accident is an ex- and 1982, two separate phosgene gas (a chemical ample of how industrial chemicals—whether in precursor of MIC) accidents claimed the life of one precursor, intermediate, or finished form—have the worker and injured twenty-four others. The plant potential to create massive casualties. The accident suffered its first MIC leak in 1982. That incident in- also provides a window into the possible outcomes jured four workers. Between 1980 and 1984, the of an intentional release of CW agents. number of UCIL operators assigned to the MIC On the night of December 3, 1984, Bhopal and unit was downsized to half its original strength. In its environs fell victim to the worst industrial acci- May 1982, a confidential safety audit was conducted dent in human history. As the city slept, approxi- by a United States-based team. The team identified mately 40 tons of the highly toxic industrial chemi- “61 hazards, 30 of them major and 11 in the dan- cal methyl isocyanate (MIC) escaped from two gerous phosgene/MIC units.” Corrective measures underground storage tanks, blanketing the highly were subsequently taken (Kalelkar, 1988). concentrated population in an invisible, choking The details of exactly how the lethal MIC was able cloud. The gas cloud, trapped under a nocturnal to escape into the atmosphere on December 3, 1984, temperature inversion, engulfed a 5-mile-wide are still contested today. Much of the attention has perimeter, claiming the lives of thousands of men, focused on activity in the plant involving the use of women, children, and animals in its wake. The dis- water to flush the lines in the MIC manufacturing aster is explained by the high toxicity of MIC, a unit. This water, according to the Indian govern- more potent choking gas than phosgene. To com- ment’s explanation, seeped inside the MIC storage pare, the safety limit for MIC exposure in humans tanks due to leaking valves. However, post-event in- over an 8-hour period is 0.02 parts per million vestigations conducted by Union Carbide, the parent (ppm), but phosgene is rated at 0.1 ppm. company, and by Arthur D. Little, an independent Union Carbide India Ltd. (UCIL), a subsidiary of chemical industry consulting firm, found evidence Union Carbide Corporation, first set up shop in of sabotage. In this scenario, a disgruntled worker 1934. Constructed in 1969, the company’s Bhopal may have deliberately introduced water into the facility was originally designed for pesticide produc- tanks containing MIC, knowing that this would ruin tion, which required the mixing of stable chemicals. the chemical used in the preparation of the final Finished pesticide would then be sold directly to the product. The individual probably had no inkling as Indian government. The factory was located in close to the ultimate consequences of his action. proximity to established working-class settlements Adding to the conditions that would portend in order to take advantage of the Bhopal-Ujain rail disaster, three essential safety measures had been line. offline at the time of the incident. The refrigera- In 1974, UCIL was licensed by the Madhya tion unit, which would have kept the tank temper- Pradesh (MP) government to manufacture 50,000 ature close to 0° centigrade, had been shut down in tons of pesticides per year. Soon, however, the mar- June 1984. Cooling the MIC to low temperatures ket for finished pesticides began to wane, due in part might have reduced the ultimate reaction rate and to a decrease in cases of malaria and therefore in the volatility, but this is only speculation. Also, months need for mosquito abatement measures, but also be- before the incident, process vents—exhaust units cause of aggressive competition from more than 300 for excess gases—were taken out for maintenance. smaller manufacturing firms. To cut production Thus, the flare tower used to incinerate chemical costs, UCIL began to manufacture key chemical in- exhaust that could have treated unwanted emis- termediates instead of purchasing them from a sep- sions was not available. Finally, the safety scrub- arate supplier. In 1978, the plant was reconfigured to ber—another means of treating toxic effluents— produce MIC, a volatile intermediate chemical used had been turned off, although it was usable at the in the production of the carbamate (a category of time of the incident.
    69. BHOPAL, INDIA: UNION CARBIDE ACCIDENT 39 In December 1984, up to 3,000 people died in the Bhopal, India, methyl isocyanate gas release. (Alain Nogues/Corbis Sygma) The introduction of water into the tank with a duction facility was closed at the cost of 650 perma- volatile chemical at ambient temperature triggered a nent jobs. Months later, the neighboring research fa- runaway, exothermic reaction. Although desperate cility was cut to a skeleton staff. Two massive 3-week efforts were taken by workers to control the gas re- evacuations of the area led to business losses rang- lease, these were futile and may have even added to ing from $8–$65 million. Although the government the problem. Making the hazard worse still, numer- took steps to compensate the survivors, including ous shantytowns had been built up around the monetary reparations and the construction of area plant, mostly because the land was government- hospitals, these efforts paled in comparison to the owned and therefore rent-free. As a result, thou- traumatic effects brought on by the accident. sands of people were located close to the site of the At the same time, a number of lawsuits were filed MIC release. against the Union Carbide Corporation in both the Though the government reported that 3,800 United States and India. After a long legal battle be- people perished, other casualty estimates have tween the Indian government and the Union Car- ranged from 2,000 to 8,000 dead immediately fol- bide Corporation, which included a number of lowing the accident. The government also reported Congressional hearings and a battle over legal juris- that 40 people were left with permanent total dis- diction, an agreement was reached that ordered abilities and 2,680 people were left with permanent Union Carbide to pay $470 million to the Indian partial disabilities. Damage to renal, respiratory, re- government in compensation. By 1993, after a num- productive, and sensory systems compounded most ber of bureaucratic procedural hurdles, distribution of the immediate injuries. of the compensation finally began. As part of the The years following the Union Carbide accident dispersal plan, the Indian government intended to have seen a number of actions, each with varying re- use the award for general community rehabilitation. sults. In addition to medical recovery, the people of Because this was not the original intent of the set- Bhopal now faced economic disaster. Immediately tlement, a public uproar ensued over the govern- following the accident, the $25 million Bhopal pro- ment’s plan. As recently as 2002, the government
    70. 40 BIGEYE backed down from this posture, stating that the flight (the bomb was to be delivered by plane). This money would be used for compensation to the vic- separation would have extended the storage shelf tims. Relatives of the dead, and survivors suffering life of the bomb and eased munitions maintenance serious injuries, received an average of $3,000 requirements. Bigeyes were to be carried by tactical apiece. fighters, such as the A-6 and F-111, and they were to UCIL maintained a low profile in the post- be used to attack second-echelon forces such as air- Bhopal period. The aftermath of the accident fields and ammunition dumps to disrupt enemy op- sapped the economic strength of the corporation, erations behind the front lines. leading to a buyout by its major competitor, Dow General Accounting Office investigations uncov- Chemical. Further lawsuits aimed at garnering addi- ered fusing, mixing, and detonation problems with tional compensation for the accident from Dow Bigeye, which led the U.S. Senate, especially Senator Chemical are currently pending. Richard Pryor (D-Ark.), to withhold funding and —Brian L’Italien production go-ahead for the Bigeye bomb. There See also: Carbamates; Choking Agents; Phosgene Gas were two other binary chemical weapons in the U.S. References arsenal: a multiple-launch rocket system submuni- Bhopal Medical Appeal website, http://www.bhopal.org. tion that never reached the prototype stage, and the Dow Chemical website, http://www.bhopal.com. 155-millimeter artillery projectiles called M-687, Kalelkar, Ashok S., and Arthur D. Little, Inc., which did reach full-scale production. “Investigation of Large-Magnitude Incidents: Bhopal The originally proposed deployment of the Big- as a Case Study,” paper presented at the Institution of eye bombs to Europe led to further controversy. The Chemical Engineers Conference on Preventing Belgian government nearly fell over the question, Major Chemical Accidents, London, May 1988. Mehta, Pushpa S., Anant S. Mehta, Sunder J. Mehta, and and the West German government only approved Arjun B. Makhijani, “Bhopal Tragedy’s Health the deployment in a subministerial forum. A full Effects,” Journal of the American Medical Association, ministerial approval would have led to a parliamen- vol. 264, no. 21, 5 December 1990, pp. 2782–2783. tary debate that the government in Bonn did not want on the heels of the bruising Intermediate Nu- clear Force deployment debate over deployment of BIGEYE (BLU-80) American nuclear weapons on European soil. The Bigeye was the code name for a 500-pound binary European NATO allies were also disturbed by the chemical bomb designed by the U.S. navy for the de- adoption of the AirLand battle doctrine, which livery of VX nerve gas. Binary refers to the concept called for the use of chemical and nuclear weapons of using two nontoxic but poisonous substances to achieve victory over Warsaw Pact forces in the that are mixed in flight to produce a lethal nerve event of war on the inter-German border. agent. (See Binary Chemical Munitions.) This was With the signing of the Chemical Weapons Con- done to ensure safer storage and handling of chem- vention, the Pine Buff facility (where Bigeyes were ical munitions. Munitions already filled with chem- produced) was inspected and then sealed in 1997 by ical agents—so-called unitary weapons—had the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical started to leak in the 1970s, and the Department of Weapons, the implementing body established by the Defense was well aware of the negative public re- convention. sponse to the dangers of these unitary chemical —Gilles Van Nederveen weapons. The Department of Defense needed a weapon that citizens would accept. See also: Binary Chemical Munitions; QL; V-Agent References The Bigeye concept was conceived in 1959. Test- 98th Congress, 1st Session, 13 July 1983; page S-9804, ing on Bigeye started in 1972, and about 200 test ar- vote no 184, Omnibus Defense Authorization/Binary ticles were produced at Pine Buff Arsenal, Arkansas. Chemical Weapons. (Production never commenced, however, because 100th Congress, 1st Session, 24 September 1987; page S- the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to a 12704, vote no. 269, Defense Authorization chemical weapons destruction plan in 1990.) One Bill/Bigeye Binary Chemical Bomb. canister of this binary weapon would be stored sep- Badelt, J., Chemische Kriegsfuehrung—Chemische arately from the bomb itself and added just prior to Abruestung: Die Bundesrepublik Deutschland und das
    71. BINARY CHEMICAL MUNITIONS 41 Pariser Chemiewaffen-Uebereinkommen (Berlin: in any conflict. Another idea considered during the Berliner Verlag, 1994). 1940s included the formation of a vesicant (blister Hernahan, John F., “The Nerve Gas Controversy,” The agent). For this CW agent, a nontoxic molecule Atlantic Monthly, September 1974, pp. 52–56. would react with another to form the toxic chemical Zanders, J. P., “The Debate on Binary Chemical product, the nitrogen-based blister agent methyl N- Weapons in Belgium: The Act of 11 April 1962 (2-chloroethyl)-N-nitrosocarbamate (code named Revisited,” Vredeonderzoek 7 (Brussels: Vrije KB-16). As far as it is known, this design was never Universiteit Brussel, December 1992). fully developed into a chemical weapon. Since the advent of modern chemical warfare, BINARY CHEMICAL MUNITIONS chemical weapons scientists traditionally have con- Binary chemical munitions consist of two separate sidered binary forms of weaponry in order satisfy components that by themselves are relatively non- three basic requirements. The first was to build a toxic, but when mixed together produce a toxic chemical weapon that could combine components chemical warfare (CW) agent. Offering advantages to produce a constant and prolonged release of toxic particularly in their safer production and handling, chemicals. Another reason for binary designs was to binary chemical weapons are more advanced (if not add stability to the chemical components, avoiding generally superior) to unitary chemical munitions, the constant problem of shelf life found in unitary which simply contain the CW agent (the final toxic chemical munitions. The blister agent mustard and chemical product) in the warhead fill. Some binary- the blood agent hydrocyanic acid (HCN), for exam- type designs may be used in terrorist attacks, with ple, were notorious during World War I (and dan- simple designs most likely using more common gerous, in the case of HCN) for being unstable dur- chemical ingredients (e.g., cyanide). ing storage. Finally, from the production base to During the late 1980s, the United States pro- logistics on the field, binary chemical munitions duced a number of binary weapons, including ar- were designed to produce a weapon that was safer tillery projectiles (containing the nerve agent sarin) and easier to handle than highly toxic unitary and the Bigeye VX nerve agent glide bomb—a weapons. This has become especially important ground attack weapon that sprayed agent as it flew since the discovery and development of modern over a defined area. Since the signing of the 1993 nerve agents. One of the most important benefits of Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), all compo- producing nontoxic binary components is that nents of binary chemical weapons are undergoing these can be manufactured at chemical production destruction in the United States. It is possible, even plants without a special safety process and control likely, that the former Soviet Union also produced system. Furthermore, when the two parts are stored binary chemical weapons, including one that pro- in different locations (as is done in the United States duced a novel CW agent called novichok. As of this with its binary artillery shells), the chance of cata- writing, no details on Russian-held binary chemical strophic accidents during handling is less likely with weapons are found in the open literature. Russia, binary weapons than with unitary ones. like other CWC signatories, is enjoined to destroy all Maritime traditions are replete with exacting of its chemical weapons stockpiles. standards of safety. It should not be surprising that The idea of binary chemical munitions is not the hazards involved in transport and handling of new. Some concepts for binary chemical weapons chemical weapons were of special concern to the were devised during World War II. In one design of U.S. Navy. During the mid-1960s, the U.S. Navy had an aerial bomb, for example, military chemists sep- patented a design for a binary chemical weapon uti- arated two components, magnesium arsenide and lizing two chemicals—one liquid and one solid— sulfuric acid, into chambers divided by a partition. that would react to form a toxic CW agent. This was When the bomb struck the ground, the partition probably the prototype for the VX Bigeye bomb that would be shattered and the chemical components was developed two decades later. In 1969, the U.S. mixed to produce arsine (AsH3) gas, considered to Navy submitted requests for proposals to defense be a blood agent, that is, it attacks the blood-respi- firms that included research and development of “a ratory system in the body. It does not appear, how- chemical cluster weapon capable of mixing and re- ever, that this chemical ordnance ever found service acting two non-toxic chemicals to generate toxic
    72. 42 BINARY CHEMICAL MUNITIONS agent within the cluster payloads” (SIPRI, p. 307). can afford the cost of producing large numbers of This was a requirement for a binary chemical muni- this type of ordnance. Also, as one would expect in tion, probably involving the production of nerve any synthesis, the chemical reaction in a binary sys- agents such as sarin (GB) or soman (GD). By 1972, tem is not instantaneous. Furthermore, portions of the U.S. military had been able to build a prototype the round consist of various non-CW chemicals, in- of a binary chemical weapon for use in land-based cluding some containing fluorine, which generate artillery. This would later become M-687, the 155- distinctive odors that could be quickly detected by millimeter howitzer projectile. an enemy. During the Cold War, the U.S. approach to bi- nary chemical ordnance focused on two types: bi- Other Designs nary sarin (for an artillery projectile) and VX (Big- Because of its ability to fire a large and redundant eye) agents. The M-687 projectile produced sarin by number of volleys, the multiple-launch rocket sys- mixing difluoromethylphosphonate (or difluor) tem (MLRS) has long been considered one of the and isopropyl alcohol. After the weapon was fired, more effective delivery platforms to increase the the membrane separating the component chemicals concentration of chemical warfare agent on a given would be shattered by the force of gravity. Now target. The U.S. Army had produced both sarin and spinning at thousands of revolutions per minute, VX unitary warheads for the M55 rocket used by the the weapon’s rotation in flight facilitated the mixing MLRS. of the binary components to form sarin. When the A binary design that only made it to the proto- projectile neared its target, a special fuse mechanism type stage was for a so-called intermediate-volatile ensured efficient dissemination of the agent nerve agent munition for the MLRS. Although exact through the back of the projectile. One component details are not available, it is possible that the binary of the M-687 projectiles was stored in Umatilla, components would have produced a nerve agent Oregon, and the other was held in storage at Pine that had moderate persistence, perhaps soman Bluff, Arkansas. All are soon to be destroyed pur- (GD) or cyclosarin (GF). When using rockets in a suant to the CWC. direct-fire weapon like the MLRS—as opposed to a During the 1980s, the Ronald Reagan administra- shell with a ballistic trajectory—one would have to tion revamped the U.S. military’s offensive chemical consider the target and trajectory, allowing for weapons arsenal as a means to better counter War- enough time for components to fully react. saw Pact forces. In part because of its relatively sim- Because of the ongoing interest by the United ple design, significant numbers of the M-687 how- States in refurbishing its chemical arsenal, com- itzer binary chemical round were produced until bined with the massive Soviet military threat in 1991, when offensive chemical weapons were re- the 1980s—or perhaps a combination of the nounced by the George H.W. Bush administration. two—China began to study the production of bi- The VX Bigeye glide bomb, developed under the nary chemical munitions for its People’s Libera- auspices of the U.S. Navy, was intended to spray VX tion Army. Whether or not these munitions went from an aerial munition that would glide over the beyond the blueprint stage is unknown. One dia- target. Two relatively nontoxic compounds, sulfur gram found in Chinese military writings on and a chemical code-named QL , would combine to chemical warfare depicts what appears to be a form VX within the bomb itself. Although a work- rough design for a binary warhead, perhaps a ing prototype was built, the project was plagued sketch of the HY-1 (Hai-Ying) cruise missile with technical problems, not the least of which was (based on the original Soviet Styx). It is not cer- a tendency for the munition to burst prematurely tain if such a design would be effective, or if its because of expanding internal gases. The BLU- aerodynamics would affect its trajectory. Chinese 80/Bigeye was designed to deliver some 180 pounds publications also have shown a design for a puta- of VX nerve agent. tive binary rocket for their MLRS that could be Although binary chemical weapons clearly offer based on a real prototype. It features the binary many advantages, they also have their drawbacks. components being mixed inside the rocket war- The design used in the Bigeye VX bomb was clearly head, and explosive charges along the center being difficult and complex to engineer, and few countries used to disperse the nerve agent.
    73. BIOLOGICAL AND TOXIN WEAPONS CONVENTION 43 Having signed and ratified the 1993 Chemical printing (Beijing: People’s Liberation Army Press, Weapons Convention (CWC), China has vowed to 1999). declare and destroy any past or remaining chemical Stockholm International Peace Research Institute weapons in their inventories. Little is known about (SIPRI). The Problem of Chemical and Biological past or present Chinese production or deployment Warfare, vol. 2: CB Weapons Today (Stockholm: of binary chemical weapons. Anecdotal evidence Almqvist & Wiksell, 1973). suggests that China considered producing binary chemical weapons, including those for artillery BIOLOGICAL AND TOXIN WEAPONS rockets, but considered the associated per unit costs CONVENTION (BTWC) to be exorbitantly high. The 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Conven- Western intelligence has long suspected that the tion (BTWC—often referred to as the Biological former Soviet Union developed binary chemical Weapons Convention, or BWC) prohibits the devel- weapons. It is likely that Soviet chemical weapons opment, production, and stockpiling of biological designers developed designs for sarin binary and weapons. There are currently 147 countries that are perhaps VX nerve agent munitions. Following the party to the BTWC. Although not explicitly stated in breakup of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, an its preamble, by inference the BTWC prohibits the intriguing story that came to light was the research use of microbial or other biological agents, or tox- into novel CW agents conducted by Soviet chemical ins, whatever their origin or method of production. weapons scientists. These included novichok (Rus- Unlike the Chemical Weapons Convention (signed sian for newcomer) chemical compounds, some in 1993), however, as of 2004, the BTWC has no ver- being up to ten times more toxic than VX nerve ification protocol—that is, the BTWC has no set agent. According to Russian dissident scientists, rules or guidelines to verify compliance by its mem- novichok agents were to be used in binary weapons. bers. Although its current status as a “toothless” dis- The usual means of treating nerve agent casualties armament treaty does not make its obligations any would not be effective against this highly toxic less binding upon its parties, the BTWC is little chemical. Details on this and other novel CW agents more than a gentleman’s agreement. A verification reportedly developed in the former Soviet Union protocol for the BTWC is not likely to be concluded are still classified. by the end of the first decade of the twenty-first cen- Terrorists may also utilize the basic concept of bi- tury. Because it has thus far lacked verification pro- nary chemical systems for sabotage or even large- visions, confidence-building measures (CBMs) scale attacks. In 1995, immediately following the were adopted during the second BTWC Review sarin nerve agent attack on the Tokyo subway by the Conference in 1986, and parties to the Convention Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo, cyanide binary de- are now submitting BW-related reports on an an- vices were discovered in subway restrooms. Consist- nual basis to the United Nations. After failed at- ing of two containers, one holding solid cyanide salt tempts to arrive at an acceptable protocol, the and the other a dilute acid solution, a crude timer United States and other treaty members are engag- was to have combined the components to form hy- ing in efforts to enhance the effectiveness of the drocyanic acid (HCN) gas. Fortunately, these chem- BTWC with biosecurity initiatives. ical devices were deactivated before they could do any harm. Another design found in the open litera- Background: CBW History ture proposes to mix two relatively nontoxic com- The first effort to prohibit the use of biological pounds that would form phosgene gas, a toxic lung weapons—albeit with important loopholes and ex- irritant. It is uncertain if such a system could create ceptions—can be found in the 1925 Geneva Proto- sufficient concentrations of phosgene gas to cause col, sometimes called the Gas Protocol. Its full title death or injury. was Geneva Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use —Eric A. Croddy in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous, or Other Gases, See also: Bigeye; Difluor; QL; V-Agents and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare. The in- References clusion of the term bacteriological methods of war- Cheng Shuiting and Shi Zhiyuan, Military Technology fare was made nearly at the last minute by the sug- Information Handbook: Chemical Weapons, second gestion of the Polish delegate. (Viruses were poorly
    74. 44 BIOLOGICAL AND TOXIN WEAPONS CONVENTION understood in 1925, but they certainly would have concern about the threat posed by incendiary been included in the title, had they been better un- bombs or toxic biological and chemical mists in- derstood at the time.) As in the case of chemical creased. Elvira K. Fradkin, in a 1934 treatise called weapons, the Geneva Protocol of 1925 only prohib- The Air Menace and the Answer, described how bi- ited the first use of such weapons against other par- ological agents could rain death from the skies: “An ties to the treaty, and not the development, produc- airplane could carry enough of the botulinus toxin tion and stockpiling of such weapons. to destroy every living thing in the world if admin- Prior to the 1925 Protocol, there had been acts of istration of the toxin were as simple a process as sabotage in World War I that used bacteria. The production and transportation” (Fradkin, p. 57). German-American agent Anton Dilger conducted a And although never quite certain of what threat ex- number of attacks on Allied horses and pack mules isted from germ warfare, in 1938, the British scien- from 1915–1916, using the causative agents of glan- tist John Burdon Sanderson Haldane warned that ders (Burkholderia mallei) and anthrax (Bacillus an- yellow fever could be utilized as a biological thracis). Working from a makeshift laboratory in weapon. A year later, Imperial Japanese agents vis- Washington, D.C., Dilger hired other agents—in- ited the Rockefeller Institute in the United States in cluding longshoremen—to infect animals in their an attempt to acquire cultures of yellow fever virus. stockades along ports in the eastern United States. As yellow fever was not a disease endemic to the Far These acts of biological warfare (BW), however, East, these surreptitious inquiries aroused suspi- were barely noticed by Allied authorities. cions by Western intelligence. These reports of During the 1930s, biological weapons were still Japanese efforts to obtain and develop potential very much an unknown quantity. In December BW agents—as well as (often spurious) intelligence 1932, a report from the Special Committee on indicating that Nazi Germany had an interest in bi- Chemical, Incendiary, and Bacterial Weapons—for ological weapons—encouraged the Allies to initiate the Conference for the Limitation and Reduction of their own BW programs. Armaments—stated: “Chemical warfare is known During World War II, the United States, Canada, from actual experience; bacteriological warfare, on and the United Kingdom initiated substantial pro- the other hand, is a hypothesis. Nor are there any re- grams for BW defense and offense, including the sults of laboratory experiments on which knowledge production of virulent organisms such as anthrax can be based. The behavior of pathogenic microbes spores. Although committed not to use such intentionally transported from the laboratory to nat- weapons unless for retaliation in kind, Presidents ural media is practically unknown to us. It must nev- Roosevelt and Truman continued offensive research ertheless be admitted that such warfare is possible” and development of biological weapons. North (Fradkin, pp. 58–59). The Conference also predicted Korea and the People’s Republic of China alleged the future conundrum faced by arms control and that the United States used biological weapons dur- disarmament in the realm of biological weaponry: ing the Korean War (1951–1953). These allegations are not supported by any credible evidence. We are not at present in a position to subject bac- Throughout the Cold War and until renouncing teriological research to effective supervision. Viru- biological weapons in 1969, the United States tested lent bacteria, such as might cause epidemics, are to and weaponized several offensive BW agents, in- be found in all bacteriological laboratories (both cluding Brucella, anthrax, tularemia, staphylococcal public and private), and also in hospitals treating enterotoxin B, and anticrop agents. Although U.S. contagious diseases. There can be no question of military commanders were usually somewhat skep- hindering the progress of medical bacteriology, the objects of which are humanitarian (the prepara- tical of their utility, American BW scientists were tion of sera, vaccines, etc.), by supervising and re- confident by the 1960s that their validated biologi- stricting experiments with virulent cultures. Such cal delivery systems could be effective in shutting supervision, moreover, would never be complete down enemy ports, or indeed in bringing a whole and therefore always ineffective. (Fradkin, p. 59) country to its knees by the use of debilitating viruses, bacteria, or toxins. As military aviation made rapid advances dur- Until the late 1960s, for much of the U.S. public, ing the early twentieth century, public and official the idea of using chemical and biological agents was
    75. BIOLOGICAL AND TOXIN WEAPONS CONVENTION 45 not particularly controversial, or at least it appeared 1970, biological toxins (not just disease-causing that way. The use of chemical herbicides (including pathogens) were included in the unilateral renunci- Agent Orange) and CS tear gas during the Vietnam ation of BW by the United States. War, however, led to protests against the perception In the years 1970 and 1971, negotiations in that chemical warfare (CW) agents were being em- Geneva over a biological and toxin weapons treaty ployed by the United States in that conflict. In had been making little progress for a number of rea- March 1968, some 6,000 sheep were killed near sons, mostly having to do with an insistence by the Dugway Proving Ground, Utah. Their owner Soviet Union that chemical weapons also be in- claimed that the U.S. Army was responsible when cluded in the treaty. The Soviets finally relented on aircraft dropped VX nerve agent during training this point, however, and the final version of the runs near Skull Valley, Utah. Although the U.S. BTWC was approved on September 28, 1971, Army paid the farmer $1 million in restitution, it opened for signature in April 1972, and put into did not admit to being culpable. Still, the impact of force in March 1975. this incident—and ongoing operations by the Five years following the treaty’s entry into force, United States in destroying obsolete chemical the first Review Conference of the BTWC was held weapons by dumping them into the ocean—led to in March 1980. Intense discussions at this confer- public questions concerning U.S. offensive CBW ence were spurred in part by the advances already policies. In response, the Nixon administration re- made in genetic engineering, as well as by the in- viewed the U.S. position with regard to both CW creased military interest around the world in the bi- and BW in May 1969. Two months later, a chemical ological sciences. Two controversies were brought spill on a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan, ex- forward during this time: the Sverdlovsk anthrax posed twenty-four people (including one civilian) outbreak in 1979 and U.S. allegations of yellow rain to sarin nerve agent. Protests erupted in Japan as a (T-2 mycotoxin) being used by Soviet client states in result, and further revelations that U.S. chemical the Middle East and southeast Asia. Reports con- weapons were stored in West Germany added more cerning the Sverdlovsk outbreak appeared at the fuel to the controversy. same time as the first Review Conference took place. Not surprisingly, the then-suspected (now con- Makings of a Convention firmed) release of a biological warfare agent (an- As the public outcry in the United States against thrax spores) raised great concerns, not only about chemical and biological weapons grew, the United Soviet BW programs but also about the implica- Kingdom brought forth a proposal on July 10, 1969, tions of future verification, inspections, and BTWC to the UN’s Eighteen-Nation Disarmament Com- compliance. mittee that would ban production, development, During the second Review Conference in 1986, and stockpiling of biological weapons. In 1968, this four important confidence-building measures committee had considered a comprehensive ban on (CBMs) were established in order to increase the all forms of chemical and biological of warfare. At level of trust among signatories and improve trans- that time, however, Western countries such as the parency: (1) Annual provision by signatories of data United Kingdom did not believe that BW would be on high-containment facilities designed for work on as important as the immediate threat posed by dangerous biological materials; (2) Annual notifica- chemical weapons, and they preferred that CW and tion to signatories of outbreaks of unusual diseases; BW be treated separately. In 1969, President Nixon (3) Encouragement of publication of results of bio- made the decision to renounce biological warfare— logical research related to the BW convention; and specifically the use of disease-causing organisms— (4) Promotion of contact between scientists en- mostly because of their perceived technical prob- gaged in research, including exchanges of staff for lems, but also because enemies could plausibly joint research. threaten large populated cities in the United States. The overall response to the CBMs was tepid, By supporting biological weapons disarmament, with fewer than forty countries reporting regularly Nixon also hoped that this decision would improve on an annual basis since the 1986 review. Most de- the public image of his administration and the veloping nations either did not send declarations, or United States. After some further internal debate by their declarations were incomplete. Although China
    76. 46 BIOLOGICAL AND TOXIN WEAPONS CONVENTION and the Soviet Union did supply information detail- biotechnology should also be included. Later, the Ad ing their BW-related programs, by 1991 only 40 sig- Hoc Group held three meetings in 1995, two sub- natories out of 117 had established their own do- stantive meetings in 1996, and other meetings dur- mestic legislation for implementing proper ing 1997–1998. The eleventh session (June 22 to July declarations, and only 70 (out of 135) had done so 10, 1998) involving the fifty-two-nation Ad Hoc by 1996. Group concluded with a 250-page “rolling text,” At the 1991 review, considerations for strength- which contained about 3,000 reservations from in- ening the BTWC were inspired by the recent Gulf dividual parties. War. Several proposals were made, including a mea- sure to extend Article 1 to cover BW agents against Current Status plants and animals. CBMs added to the convention In late 2001, BTWC protocol negotiations came to included: an impasse. In rejecting the last iteration of the draft protocol text, U.S. Undersecretary of State John • Declaration of data on national biological Bolton said on November 19, 2001: “The draft pro- defense programs and facilities, as well as tocol that was under negotiation for the past seven high-containment facilities years is dead in our view. Dead, and is not going to • Better definition of an unusual outbreak of be resurrected. It has proven to be a blind alley” disease (U.S. Department of State, 2001). This pronounce- • Emphasis on publication of results ment not only crystallized U.S. officials’ opposition • Promotion and publicizing of contacts to what they saw as a seriously deficient protocol; it between staff involved in BW defense also led to widespread doubt that little, if anything, • Declaration of legislation and other would be accomplished at the fifth Review Confer- regulations to implement the provisions of ence. Upon concluding the November 2002 review, the Convention and to control the export however, the parties were able to agree on some sub- of BW agents stantive issues and to plot a course for annual meet- • Declaration of past activities in offensive or ings before the next conference in 2006. In sum- defensive biological programs since mary, the parties agreed to the following scheduled January 1, 1946 agenda: in 2003, domestic legislative initiatives and • Declaration of production facilities for rules to govern the safe use and transfer of danger- vaccines against human diseases ous pathogens would be considered; in 2004, in- creased efforts for global disease surveillance and To develop the technical means to verify compli- better mechanisms to evaluate the cause of disease ance with the BTWC, the Ad Hoc Group of Gov- outbreaks would be discussed; and in 2005, an ernment Experts (Verification Experts or VEREX) agreed protocol for scientists and researchers con- was established at the 1991 review. Within the two ducting research relevant to the BTWC would be categories of on-site and off-site inspection mea- negotiated. sures,VEREX determined twenty-one means of ver- Although it seems naïve to suggest that criminal- ifying BTWC compliance. izing biological weapons will dissuade individuals Additional meetings of the VEREX group were or governments determined to acquire them, many held in Geneva between March 1992 and September believe that making the possession or use of biolog- 1993, resulting in a final report to the BTWC parties. ical weapons a universal crime could further biolog- Though VEREX was able to conclude that at least ical weapons disarmament. some combination of the measures listed above was —Eric A. Croddy promising, it did recognize that the dual-use nature See also: Australia Group; Chemical Weapons of BW-related technology, basic equipment, and Convention; Geneva Protocol starting materials made verification of the conven- References tion problematic. During the Ad Hoc Group meet- Fradkin, Elvira K., The Air Menace and the Answer (New ings in 1994, additional discussions called for mea- York: Macmillan, 1934). sures to strengthen the BTWC, suggesting that Sims, Nicholas A., The Evolution of Biological Disarmament challenge inspections and peaceful transfer of (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001).
    77. BIOLOGICAL TERRORISM: EARLY WARNING VIA THE INTERNET 47 Tucker, Jonathan B., “A Farewell to Germs: The U.S. 48 hours’ advance warning could have made a Renunciation of Biological and Toxin Warfare, vital difference in terms of alerting physicians to 1969–1970,” International Security, vol. 27, no. 1, look for suspicious symptoms in persons from the summer 2002, pp. 107–148. area, perhaps as they carried the disease to other U.S. Department of State, “Bolton Says BWC Draft countries. Protocol Is Dead and Won’t Be Resurrected,” 19 Smallpox virus is another agent that has been November 2001, http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/ listed as a potential bioweapon. All cases of suspi- pol/arms/stories/01112001.htm. cious smallpox-like rashes must be investigated and immediately reported to local health authorities and BIOLOGICAL TERRORISM: EARLY WARNING WHO. On June 7, 2003, the U.S. Centers for Disease VIA THE INTERNET Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a press re- The use of a biological weapon can be recognized by lease on its website: About seventeen cases of pox- the appearance of a deadly pathogen or toxin in an like rash had occurred in people living in the west- unexpected place or an unexpected season, or by the ern United States who had come into contact with appearance of a previously unknown agent. The key sick pet prairie dogs. Onset of the first cases had to containing the resulting outbreak of disease is been in early May 2003. The diagnosis was monkey rapid detection and reporting. In recent years, out- pox, a disease never before seen in the Americas, and breaks of the previously unknown viruses Hendra, the source was eventually traced not to bioterror- Nipah, and SARS (severe acute respiratory syn- ism, but to infected Gambian giant rats from Africa. drome) in Asia and of anthrax, West Nile, and mon- The rats, sold as pets, had been in contact with the key pox viruses in the United States have met the prairie dogs in pet stores and at pet sales. As a result above criteria. Although only the anthrax that ap- of this public announcement, fifty-four more cases peared in the U.S. postal system turned out to be a were identified and 3 more states were found to be terrorist attack, the Internet played a crucial role in involved in the outbreak of monkey pox. providing early warning of many of these disease On June 23, 2003, a report appeared on the In- outbreaks. ternet of an outbreak of a pox-like disease in a re- The free, independent, public Internet network mote area of the Republic of the Congo (Brazza- ProMED (Program for Monitoring Emerging Dis- ville). The report was sent in by a missionary doctor eases) was launched by the Federation of American working in the region. Patient specimens were sent Scientists in 1994 to give early warning of bioterror to the CDC, which diagnosed them to be cases of attacks. It is now operated by ISID (the Interna- monkey pox, not smallpox. That was the first public tional Society for Infectious Diseases). On Novem- notice of these cases, which had reportedly been oc- ber 18, 2001, Dr. D. A. Henderson, director of the curring since mid-April 2003. Public health officials Office of Public Health Preparedness of the U.S. De- across the globe need to be informed rapidly of all partment of Health and Human Services, wrote, such cases so that smallpox can be ruled out, or so “ProMED-mail with CNN was our main source of that vaccination can be provided if smallpox does information through most of the recent anthrax reemerge anywhere in the world. outbreak!” (Henderson, 2001). On February 10, 2003, both WHO and ProMED Plague is considered to be a potential biological received e-mail queries about an outbreak of a viru- weapon. On June 22, 2003, ProMED sent a lent form of pneumonia in Guangdong, China, sub- newswire report of an outbreak of bubonic plague sequently named SARS (severe acute respiratory in Algeria by e-mail to its 30,000 subscribers in syndrome). WHO immediately asked for official 150 countries, a report that was also seen by thou- confirmation, forcing the Chinese government to sands more who accessed ProMED’s website. Two admit to the outbreak, but clearance for WHO to days later, the World Health Organization (WHO) issue a public warning took 48 hours to obtain. in Geneva posted an alert on its website after it ProMED is an independent network, so it was able obtained clearance from the country concerned to to post the news by e-mail and on its website imme- publish the report. If this had been a terrorist at- diately. Once again, if this had been a terrorist at- tack—Algeria has suffered from a number of non- tack, advance warning could have made a crucial biological terrorist attacks in the past—the extra difference in terms of response and containment.
    78. 48 BIOLOGICAL TERRORISM: EARLY WARNING VIA THE INTERNET The real importance of this episode was that indi- Health Organization (OIE is its French acronym) viduals, not governments or public health officials, posted news of the initial outbreak on its website, informed the world health authority and a public ProMED copied it by e-mail to its 20,000 U.S. sub- Internet list directly about a deadly outbreak. scribers, reaching a much broader audience. This in- It was later discovered that cases of SARS had cident suggests that a comprehensive early warning been noted at least as far back as November 2002, system for bioterrorism events must also cover ani- and news about them had been circulating on the mal and plant diseases. Early warning is important Chinese internet, so the early warning had been out because it enables owners to look for symptoms in there for anyone who knew where to look and could their animals and to take precautions. A warning read Chinese. Health Canada’s GPHIN (Global network can also raise suspicion in the minds of vet- Public Health Intelligence Network) had distributed erinarians treating sick livestock. reports of outbreaks in the original Chinese with Brazil is the world’s largest orange producer and English headlines to a closed subscriber list. exporter of frozen concentrated orange juice, gener- ProMED is developing a Chinese language website ating annual revenues of about $5 billion. The Brazil and e-mail list, and translations will feed into the orange crop is being progressively infected by citrus open English language list. sudden death (CSD) disease, which had by 2003 Internet reporting had earlier helped to uncover spread into the state of Sao Paulo, an area that ac- another new virus in Asia. In October 1998, fatal counts for 85 percent of Brazil’s 280 million trees. cases of encephalitis began to be seen in parts of There is no cure for CSD; trees simply have to be re- peninsular Malaysia where pig farming was prac- placed by planting resistant varieties, which take ticed. The outbreak was initially attributed to Japan- years to come into production. An attack on an im- ese encephalitis virus (JEV), but on January 17, portant food or export crop such as oranges would 1999, a virologist posted a message on the Internet therefore cause economic havoc and damage na- pointing out that the profile of the cases did not fit tional food supplies; hence, important outbreaks of that of JEV infection. List moderators continued to plant pathogens need to be reported widely in a query the official diagnosis thereafter, and two timely manner. Here, there is room for improve- months later, the Malaysian government officially ment. The European and Mediterranean Plant Pro- declared that a new virus was involved, which was tection Organization (EPPO) sends out a monthly named Nipah virus. report by e-mail, but other regional plant protection By contrast, the arrival of West Nile virus in the organizations have yet to connect their members United States was not uncovered on the Internet. through the Internet. ProMED picks up food crop When crows were found dead in the Bronx Zoo in reports from the newswires and its own subscribers, New York City in 1999, nobody thought to send a but it does not cover economically important non- report on them to an Internet list with a wide, inter- food crops. disciplinary readership such as ProMED. Such an alert might have alerted investigators to a possible Technical Aspects connection between the avian deaths and the con- Web spiders and bots have been created by a num- current epidemic of human encephalitis in New ber of organizations to comb the Internet for re- York City. ports of outbreaks, using keywords. One of them is GPHIN, operated by Health Canada, whose output Agroterrorism Warnings is made available to WHO but is otherwise closed to Agroterrorism, or terrorism involving attacks on the public. There also are a number of similarly con- livestock or crops of major food or economic value, structed military networks. The University of is now recognized as a potential threat. The huge Guelph, Canada, operates networks on food safety and costly outbreak of Newcastle disease in poultry and agriculture topics, FSNet and AgNet, which are in four western and southern U.S. states, which was open for paid subscription. San Diego State Univer- recognized in late 2002, probably did not enter the sity hosts MiTAP (MITRE Text and Audio Process- country through the commercial poultry trade, but ing), developed by defense contractors but open to via imported fighting cocks kept in private back the public. MiTAP monitors infectious disease out- yards. On the same day that the World Animal breaks and other global threats. Hundreds of infor-
    79. BIOLOGICAL TERRORISM: EARLY WARNING VIA THE INTERNET 49 mation sources are automatically captured, filtered, also evident that even a global network cannot catch summarized, and categorized into searchable news- every outbreak of potential importance. It needs to groups based on disease, region, information be supplemented by national networks, preferably sources, person, and organization. Critical informa- with the same independence of operation. tion is automatically extracted and tagged to facili- ProMED-style networks have already been set up in tate browsing and sorting, and an information re- Brazil and the Netherlands, and one will soon be set trieval engine supports source-specific, full-text up in South Korea. Using subscribers’ own comput- keyword searches. The system processes thousands ers, university servers, and part-time staff, these na- of articles daily, delivering up-to-date information tional networks are highly cost-effective. to more than 600 users. The capability to handle The examples given here show that the Internet foreign languages is being developed. MiTAP com- has repeatedly proved its worth as a medium for plements GPHIN and ProMED in the outbreak early warning about outbreaks of disease that could early warning field, but both MiTAP and ProMED have been caused deliberately. face serious funding problems. —Jack Woodall MiTAP requires the user to visit its site and See also: Agroterrorism (Agricultural Biological browse, whereas ProMED, in addition to posting out- Warfare); Bioterrorism break reports on its site, sends reports by e-mail so References that subscribers get them as soon as they check their Damianos, L., J. Ponte, S. Wohlever, F. Reeder, D. Day, G. e-mail. ProMED is presently the only independent, Wilson, and L. Hirschman, “MiTAP, Text and Audio free to the user, publicly accessible, global network Processing for Bio-Security: A Case Study,” in that gives early warning of outbreaks of human, ani- Proceedings of IAAI-2002: The Fourteenth Innovative mal, and plant diseases that have the potential to im- Applications of Artificial Intelligence Conference, pact international trade and travel. It is unique in that Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, July 28–August 1, 2002, it receives reports not only from the major newswires, http://mitap.sdsu.edu/publications/MiTAP_IAAI02. but also from local media; from its subscribers pdf. Henderson, D.A., from November 2001 correspondence, (through forwarding of new items); and from physi- quoted in editorial, September 2003, http://www. cians, veterinarians, researchers, hospitals, and labo- infectiousdiseasenews.com. ratories working with actual disease outbreaks. For ProMED, “JE—Australia (First Record),” ProMED-Mail, instance, ProMED had contact with a physician in 27 April 1995, 19950427.0229, http://www. mainland China during the SARS epidemic, who was promedmail.org. able to put the official reports about SARS in context. ProMED, “Japanese Encephalitis—Malaysia (05),” It received clinical details of the smallpox-like cases in ProMED-Mail, 17 January 1999, 19990117.0074, the Republic of the Congo from the doctor who ex- http://www.promedmail.org. amined cases there. It received news directly from a ProMED, “Lassa Fever—Germany ex Nigeria (02),” hospital in Germany concerning a case of Lassa fever, ProMED-Mail, 5 April 2000, 20000405.0497, http:// a hemorrhagic disease that usually occurs in Nigeria. www.promedmail.org. It has also received reports on outbreaks in Australia ProMED, “Newcastle Disease, Game Birds—USA (CA): from chief veterinary officers there, including the first OIE,” ProMED-Mail, 4 October 2002, 20021004. report of Japanese encephalitis virus from that coun- 5468, http://www.promedmail.org. try.All reports posted on ProMED are prescreened by ProMED, “Newcastle Disease—Australia (Victoria) a panel of moderators who are experts in their par- (04),” ProMED-Mail, 29 May 2002, 20020529.4353, http://www.promedmail.org. ticular specialties, so that hoaxes and questionable re- ProMED, “Plague, Bubonic—Algeria (Oran),” ProMED- ports are not posted to the list. Mail, 22 June 2003, 20030622.1537, http://www. Thus, ProMED provides an important comple- promedmail.org. ment to official outbreak reporting networks such ProMED, “Monkeypox, Human—Congo Rep: as those of the WHO and CDC, with the advantage Suspected,” ProMED-Mail, 23 June 2000, 20030623. that ProMED is unconstrained by the need to re- 1545, http://www.promedmail.org. ceive official clearance from the countries involved. ProMED, “Pneumonia—China (Guangdong): RFI,” In addition, ProMED covers animal and crop plant ProMED-Mail, 10 February 2003, 20030210.0357, outbreaks, which WHO and CDC do not. But it is http://www.promedmail.org.
    80. 50 BIOLOGICAL WARFARE ProMED, “Citrus Sudden Death, Oranges—Brazil,” loading onto warheads that could hit U.S.-based ProMED-Mail, 20 March 2003, 20030320.0696, targets (using intercontinental ballistic missiles). http://www.promedmail.org. During the Cold War, the two superpowers had the World Health Organization, “Plague in Algeria,” 24 June capability of inflicting hundreds of thousands of bi- 2003, http://www.who.int/csr/don/2003_06_24a/en/. ological casualties with the use of such weapons. Both countries, as well as many others who are party BIOLOGICAL WARFARE to the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Conven- Biological warfare (BW) refers to the use of living tion (BTWC), have since agreed to ban the posses- organisms, or of toxins produced by living organ- sion, research, and development of offensive biolog- isms, as weapons against humans, animals, or ical weapons. But there exists today the possibility plants. In the modern parlance, there is usually a that other states could develop BW programs that distinction made between BW and bioterrorism, the could attain or even exceed the level of devastating latter referring to the terrorist use of BW agents and potential once held solely by the United States and weapons. Although the effects of a bioterrorist inci- the Soviet Union. dent could have far-reaching ramifications, gener- ally speaking these would be smaller in scale and Biological Warfare in History would probably employ less sophisticated technol- There are historical cases of armies using infectious ogy than in state-level BW programs. BW agents disease as a weapon going back at least 600 years. have already been utilized in modern-day acts of One incident was the siege of the city of Kaffa by terrorism, albeit with a relatively small impact in Mongol forces in 1346 C.E. During this campaign, terms of total casualties (including both injuries and bubonic plague had already infected and killed deaths). For example, five people died and twelve many of the Mongol (Tartar) troops, and it was others were infected in 2001 by anthrax spores rapidly being spread by the ubiquitous presence of (Bacillus anthracis) that were mailed through the rats and their associated fleas. In a clever if some- U.S. postal system by an unknown perpetrator. what desperate move, the leader of the Mongols de- In the military sense of BW, however, one would cided to hurl his own dead soldiers over the walls expect to have large numbers of casualties (in the into Kaffa (presumably using siege engines). The thousands and even millions) caused by the large- intent was apparently to spread disease among the scale delivery of BW agents suited for military European traders who had made Kaffa their refuge (counterforce) or civilian (countervalue) targets. In (Karlen, p. 87). It is unclear, however, if this tech- fact, next to nuclear weaponry, biological weapons nique really worked (Wheelis, p. 13). Although the pose the greatest threat in terms of causing mass ca- tactic seemed to show the deliberate use of a BW sualties. The major differences between nuclear war- agent, one should note that this would not have fare and BW include the lack of persistent con- been an effective means to transmit plague. In the tamination following the use of biological weaponry case of bubonic plague, the causative bacteria (with some important exceptions) and the fact that (Yersinia pestis) are spread by fleas that will only biological munitions do not damage physical struc- feed upon live hosts, and so it not likely that plague tures (such as buildings or other infrastructure). Bi- could have been disseminated by using corpses as a ological weapons might therefore be more accurately delivery system. The presence of rats, and the fleas referred to as mass casualty weapons instead of that spread the disease, however, ensured that a weapons of mass destruction (WMD). pool of host animals brought plague throughout Before renouncing the use of BW in 1969, the Europe. As a classic text on disease vectors noted, United States possessed a significant stockpile of bi- “The rat, as transported in commerce, constitutes ological weapons systems. The Soviet Union had at the chief means of spreading the diseases [i.e., least a rudimentary program since the 1920s, and it plague], the infection being carried from rat to rat continued to develop BW agents and delivery de- by means of rat fleas. For this reason plague may vices long after pledging not to do so (from about appear in a city far removed from the original focus 1975 to 1990). The Soviet Union researched, devel- of infection” (Herms, p. 424). This was the likely oped, and produced large quantities of potent BW and ultimate source of disease transmission, not agents including anthrax, smallpox, and plague for human cadavers.
    81. BIOLOGICAL WARFARE 51 Similarly, there was clear intent to spread disease means of conducting offensive BW depends pri- as a means of warfare during the French and Indian marily upon the use of aerosols, which are infec- War (1754–1767) (Fenn, p. A11). During the wars tious particles that can be spread through the air against Native Americans, British military advisors and inhaled into the lungs to cause disease (see in the New World plotted to use smallpox in order Aerosol). In the 1930s, however, the idea that disease to “Bring about the Total Extirpation of those In- could be spread through the air still had its critics in dian Nations” (d’Errico). The colonial armies ap- the scientific community. At Geneva, Switzerland, parently proceeded to obtain blankets from small- during negotiations on limiting armaments, a Spe- pox hospitals and to give these to the native tribes. cial Committee on Chemical, Incendiary, and Bac- However, as in the case of plague during the siege of terial Weapons wrote the following in December Kaffa (see above), it is not clear if the methods used 1932: here resulted in significantly higher rates of infec- tion among the native tribes in the Americas than by The problem of bacteriological warfare is entirely the natural spread of smallpox. After all, millions of different from that of chemical warfare. Chemical indigenous peoples had already died from the nat- warfare is known from actual experience [e.g., ural spread of smallpox following the arrival of the World War I]; bacteriological warfare, on the first Europeans to the New World. Also, the virus other hand, is a hypothesis. Nor are there any re- sults of laboratory experiments on which knowl- (Variola major) is not known to be transmitted by edge can be based. The behavior of pathogenic using bedding or linens that had contact with previ- microbes intentionally transported from the labo- ous smallpox victims, but it is highly transmissible ratory to natural media is practically unknown to from aerosols and infectious droplets from active us. It must nevertheless be admitted that such infections. warfare is possible. Furthermore, we can only These premodern examples of BW occurred in imagine what it would represent and how it could an era when infectious disease was not well under- be prepared, and deduce from such suppositions stood. Until the advent of modern microbiology, possible methods of defense. (Fradkin, pp. 58–59) particularly the groundbreaking work of Louis Pas- teur and others in the late nineteenth century, the During the 1920s and 1930s, other voices such as conception of disease was usually linked to “foul va- that of the British scientist J. B. S. Haldane warned pors” or miasmas that mysteriously caused epi- against the potential of biological weapons. Haldane demics. (The name malaria, for example, comes suggested that yellow fever could be utilized as such from the Italian meaning bad air.) The idea that a a weapon. Indeed, in 1939, Japanese agents at- germ could be the source of deadly disease took tempted to acquire yellow fever virus from the considerable time to find widespread acceptance. Rockefeller Institute in New York, but they failed in Only in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were their somewhat awkward attempts to purchase the scientists able to isolate the disease-causing mi- virus. (Yellow fever is not endemic to Asia, and thus croorganisms and to confirm the identity of a Japan’s interest in the disease appeared quite suspi- pathogen. Thus, the historical references to BW are cious to U.S. intelligence agencies.) This incident set of relevance only in that there was the deliberate use off a warning for the United States security appara- of disease as a weapon. tus, particularly as American involvement in war By the 1930s, however, a number of scientists was looming on both the European and Pacific and military thinkers had begun to seriously con- fronts. As a consequence, the Allies began to collab- sider the potential threat from biological weapons. orate on developing, and defending against, offen- For example, in 1925, a Polish military officer per- sive BW capabilities. suaded the conference for the Geneva Protocol (or Although Germany had little in the way of an Gas Protocol) of that year to include a ban on “bac- ongoing BW program, the Allies could not be cer- teriological” weapons in addition to the prohibition tain of that at the time, and they therefore planned of chemical weaponry. And although the threat of for the worst. As for Japan, it had already begun an BW seemed real, the science and application of bio- active program in China, from about 1938 until the logical weapons still was very much terra incognita. end of World War II. In gruesome experiments that We know now that the only practical and effective sometimes included live vivisection of humans, the
    82. 52 BIOLOGICAL WARFARE Japanese scientists in Unit 731 and related detach- States and its allies. Most Russian research in offen- ments of its hygiene and veterinary services re- sive BW essentially ended under the Boris Yeltsin searched plague, anthrax, gas gangrene, and other administration, although some Western security an- diseases. The Japanese military scientists also devel- alysts believe that such work continues even today, oped weapons, including bombs that delivered albeit on a much more limited scale. plague bacteria using the flea as a vector (transmit- ting organism). Delivery of BW Agents: Basic Principles of During World War II, the United States, Britain, Biological Weapons and Aerosols and Canada jointly researched antihuman, as well as The main operating principle of biological antiagricultural, BW agents. Although much of the weaponry is the use of infectious aerosols. This is research began as a means to defend against possible considered the most efficient method of delivering attack, bombs filled with anthrax spores were pro- BW agents to infect large numbers of people. In a duced and tested on Gruinard Island (off the coast less likely scenario, however, insects could be bred of Scotland). But in the European theater, no bio- near a living host (say, a rat) infected with disease- logical (or chemical) weapons were used. On D-Day causing organisms, such as plague bacteria (Yersinia in June 1944, the Allies had prepared enough botu- pestis). During World War II, for example, Japanese linum vaccine (toxoid) to administer to all of the BW scientists used fleas that were raised alongside troops getting ready to land in Normandy. This plague-infested rats. As fleas collect plague bacteria massive toxoid program was begun based on faulty in their foregut (proventriculus), under certain con- intelligence that the German military planned to use ditions these organisms form a blockage of their di- botulinum toxin against an Allied invasion. gestive tract. Desperate for nutrition, when these During the Cold War (1947–1991), the United hungry fleas find another host (such as a human), a States developed a number of offensive biological flea discharges the mass of bacteria into the opening weapons, the first being a bacterial munition loaded of its bite, causing an infection. In nature, animal with Brucella suis in the early 1950s. Anthrax, tu- and human diseases caused by bacteria are often laremia, Q-fever, and Venezuelan equine encephali- due to the contamination of food and water, as well tis (VEE) were also researched and produced for de- as transmission by arthropods (vectors). The bac- livery against Soviet or Cuban targets, and anticrop terium that causes tularemia or rabbit fever (Fran- agents were stockpiled for use on the grain fields in cisella tularensis), for example, can sometimes infect Ukraine and China. humans through ticks carrying the pathogen; the During this period, the Soviet Union also pur- organism is transmitted through the tick’s bite. But sued biological weapons development, but their bi- the use of vectors (or of contamination of food and ological sciences were held back by poor technology water) to spread disease on a large scale is not con- and a political climate that wreaked havoc on their sidered a significant BW threat. It is not an efficient scientific community. When President Richard M. mode of delivery to cover large targeted areas, and Nixon decided that the United States would unilat- on the defensive side of the ledger, there are now a erally disavow offensive biological warfare in 1969, number of insecticides available to combat mosqui- the Soviet Union had just started to come out of its toes and other disease-carrying insects. relative dark ages in terms of modern genetics as Biological weapons must therefore rely on well as other biological disciplines. To help catch up aerosols for effective dissemination. Nearly all to the West, the U.S.S.R. embarked on a massive known BW agents must be produced and delivered biotechnological initiative that was primarily touted in very small particles, ranging from about 1–10 mi- for being the foundation for developing strategic bi- crons in average diameter. (The one exception is the ological weapons. The Soviet Union developed dermally active toxin T-2 and related trichothecene many of the same BW agents as the United States, mycotoxins, although these toxins would also be ef- including anthrax, tularemia, and antiagricultural fective when delivered as aerosols.) Particles ranging biological weapons. The Soviet Biopreparat com- between 1–10 microns are more likely to lodge plex also researched and developed a plague themselves into the very small alveoli, the tiny air weapon, as well as producing tons of smallpox virus sacs in the lung where oxygen and carbon dioxide for use in the event of an all-out war with the United are exchanged during respiration. Here, the alveolar
    83. BIOLOGICAL WARFARE 53 wall is only about 2 microns thick, and pathogens that exist normally in the human gut (such as Es- can pass into the bloodstream. Particles larger than cherichia coli), and anthrax bacteria (Bacillus an- 10 microns (0.010 millimeters) are more apt to be thracis) are all examples of bacterial organisms. caught in the upper respiratory tree and in the nasal Within the classification of bacteria is a family of passages. Many of these larger particles, instead of rickettsial organisms. These are bacteria that can starting an infection, are instead brought back up only survive in host organisms (i.e., living tissue); and out by cilia, the tiny hairs that line the inner sur- some rickettsia can cause serious disease in animals faces of the respiratory system. These particles are and humans, including typhus (Rickettsia then gradually taken away by the body’s own mech- prowazekii), Q-fever (Coxiella burnetii) and Rocky anisms for removing foreign matter, and they are Mountain spotted fever (Rickettsia rickettsii). All thereby rendered harmless. three of these organisms have the potential to be One should note in this discussion of particle used in biological weapons. The United States, for sizes that the bioweaponeer must work under cer- example, produced Q-fever as a weapon during the tain physical limits. Individual bacteria, such as Cold War and researched Rocky Mountain spotted Bacillus anthracis, for example, range in size from fever in a number of biological tests for weaponiza- roughly one-half micron to 2–3 microns or more in tion. Typhus bacteria also may have been a part of diameter. To fashion bacteria into some sort of the early Soviet BW program. weapon, therefore, requires that the pathogens be separated into small enough particles, averaging less Viruses than 10 microns in diameter. Processing the biolog- Viruses are usually much smaller than bacteria. One ical material to such a fineness while maintaining its of the largest viruses that cause disease in humans, viability is technically demanding. Although find- smallpox (Variola major) virus, measures about ing, growing, and preparing bacteria is not techni- 0.3–0.4 microns in diameter, or roughly one-tenth cally difficult, producing a complete weapon system the size of anthrax bacteria spores. Viruses also dif- to deliver these agents in the desired aerosol para- fer from bacteria in their structure, and they are de- meters is no easy task. pendent upon living cells (prokaryotic, e.g., bacteria Because BW agents almost exclusively require and eukaryotic, e.g., animal cells) for replication. In the utilization of aerosols to cause infection, one nature, viruses can be spread in ways similar to form of ready defense is simply filtering the air with those of bacterial infections, such as vectors (e.g., a mask or with the filters found in collective shelters. mosquitoes) and contact with infectious hosts. But One U.S. Army study showed that doubling over a also like some bacterial diseases, many viruses are towel once or twice and holding this over the nose spread by aerosols and large infectious droplets, par- and mouth was sufficient to filter out most particles ticularly through formation of infectious particles in the sizes necessary for causing infection through generated by coughing or sneezing. the inhaled route. But though such protective mea- Viruses can be harmless or can cause diseases, sures are effective in theory, in practice one needs to some more serious than others. Some viruses can first know that a biological attack is taking place. grow quickly and create symptoms of disease within Aerosols are silent, invisible, and at present can only days or weeks, but others may take a much longer be detected in real time with special light-scattering time to cause illness. The Human Immunodefi- techniques. Thus, it is unlikely that most people ciency Virus (HIV), which causes Acquired Immun- under a biological attack would be able to don pro- odeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and the rabies virus tective masks in time to be of any use. are examples of infections that are fatal but that take considerable time before infected individuals may BW Agent Types become deathly ill. For use as a biological weapon, Bacteria the pathogen would need to be one that can cause There are three main categories of BW agents: bac- disease quickly and that is likely to infect most hu- teria, viruses, and toxins. Bacteria are organisms that mans following exposure. A viral BW agent would are more primitive than the cells making up animal also require a formulation that could be dissemi- tissue and that, with the right nutrients, can live and nated in the form of an aerosol to be most effective replicate by division. Bacteria used in yogurt, those in a biological weapon.
    84. 54 BIOLOGICAL WARFARE Toxins Theoretically, any disease or disease-causing Unlike CW agents that are synthetically manufac- toxin could be fashioned into some sort of weapon. tured, BW toxins are molecules produced by living (See the sidebar for a list of potential BW agents.) organisms. One toxin, for example, is produced by However, only a small percentage of disease-causing the bacteria Clostridium botulinum and is the agents are practical for large-scale biological attacks cause of some very serious forms of food poison- on humans. Bioterrorism could also involve a num- ing (botulism). (Botulus is the Latin word for ber of disease-causing microbes (pathogens) or tox- sausage, as the disease has long been associated ins, although attacks using these would probably be with tainted meat products.) The toxicity of botu- on a smaller scale. linum toxin is variously estimated to be lethal in Because BW is essentially warfare by means of amounts ranging from about 0.1 micrograms (in- infectious disease—public health in reverse—it is gested) to 5 micrograms (inhaled), the latter fig- important in studying BW to understand how mi- ure being 200 times smaller than the estimated croorganisms or their toxins cause injury or death. lethal dose of the most toxic nerve agent, VX. Anthrax is often cited as a typical BW agent, and it However, the actual delivery of botulinum would has been used in acts of terrorism both in Japan and, present more difficulties than VX. Botulinum with more success, in the United States. Again, the toxin is rather fragile, and if its chemical structure importance of the aerosolized dissemination route and integrity are damaged (denatured), it will of exposure cannot be understated. Using Bacillus cause no harm. Also, whereas VX can act through anthracis, the bacteria that causes anthrax, involves the skin, botulinum toxin must be delivered in the the production of anthrax bacterial spores. As op- form of an aerosol or introduced into the body posed to the growing and dividing phase of the bac- through wounds, injection, or ingestion. One bio- terial life cycle, spores are very similar in concept to logical toxin that is unusual in this respect is T-2, seeds of a plant. Although not part of a reproductive a compound derived from some species of Fusar- cycle, the bacterial endospore (or spore) is a means ium mold. This compound is especially toxic to by which a bacterium can ensure its own survival. skin upon contact. It is not clear, however, if T-2 When faced with a lack of food or when under other was ever produced or used in any form as a means physical stress, spore-forming bacteria like Bacillus of warfare, although it and other trichothecene anthracis and Coxiella burnetii can convert from mycotoxins are suspected as being the active in- their growth phase into a smaller, more spherical gredient in yellow rain. shape that includes a very thick, protective outer wall. This spore can remain in a stage of hibernation Using Biological Weapons until it finds another environment with nutrients, One major difference between CW and BW is that water, and more favorable conditions. For use in a biological weapons, all other things being equal, weapon, these spores are produced in such a way have much more delayed effects (measured in days that they can be easily disseminated in an aerosol. to weeks), whereas CW agents cause injury and When the victim breathes in anthrax spores, tens death much more quickly (measured in minutes to to hundreds to thousands of spores (data are in- hours). One can think of BW as the use of infectious complete with regard to infectivity in humans) are disease against an enemy. There is usually a certain necessary to cause disease, depending upon the in- latent or incubation period between exposure to dividual. (In the case of Q-fever, it may require microbes and the appearance of actual disease fewer than ten spores in order to cause infection. symptoms. Like CW agents, some biological toxins The resulting disease, however, is much less serious may have faster action than others, perhaps only than inhalation anthrax.) If they are of the right hours to a day or so before the effects become particle size, they can reach the alveoli in the lungs. known. Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB), for ex- Here, they may sit for a while and do nothing until ample, has a relatively short latent period. In cases of picked up by special cells that pick up foreign mat- SEB ingestion or inhalation, symptoms may appear ter. These macrophages will surround the anthrax in a matter of a few hours (or less). Botulinum spore and carry it to the nearby lymph. (The lym- toxin, on the other hand, requires 12 to 24 hours or phatic system is a special draining system that the more before it takes effect. body uses to rid itself of foreign bodies and
    85. BIOLOGICAL WARFARE 55 SELECTED PATHOGENS Murray Valley encephalitis WITH POTENTIAL FOR USE Negishi (tick-borne group) Omsk hemorrhagic fever (tick-borne group) IN BIOLOGICAL WARFARE Powassan (tick-borne group) Rocio HUMAN/ZOONOTIC PATHOGENS Russian spring-summer encephalitis (tick-borne Viral Pathogens group) Arenaviridae (Old World) St. Louis encephalitis Lassa fever Sal Vieja Mopeia (Mozambique, Zimbabwe) San Perlita Spondweni Arenaviridae (New World) Tick-borne encephalitis Flexal hemorrhagic fever (Brazil) Wesselsbron Guanarito hemorrhagic fever (Venezuela) West Nile fever Junin hemorrhagic fever (Argentine) Yellow fever Lymphocytic choriomeningitis Machupo hemorrhagic fever (Bolivia) Hepadnaviridae Sabia hemorrhagic fever (Brazil) Hepatitis B Hepatitis D (delta) Bunyaviridae Akabane (hantavirus) Orthomyxoviridae Belgrade (Dobrava) Influenza (Ad Hoc Group, BWC) Bhanja (nairovirus) Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) Paramyxoviridae (nairovirus) Hendra Complex viruses (equine morbillivirus) Germiston Menangle Hantaan (hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome) Nipah (hantavirus) Oropouche Poxviridae Rift Valley fever Alastrim (Variola minor) Seoul (hantavirus) Monkey pox Sin Nombre (formerly Muerto Canyon) Smallpox (Variola major) Caliciviridae Rhabdoviridae Hepatitis E Piry Rabies Filoviridae Ebola Retroviridae Marburg Human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) Human T-cell lymphotropic viruses (HTLV) types 1 Flaviviridae and 2 Absettarov (tick-borne group) Simian immunodeficiency virus Dengue Hanzalova (tick-borne group) Togaviridae Hepatitis C Chikungunya Hepatitis G Eastern equine encephalitis Hypr (tick-borne group) Everglades Israel turkey meningitis Getah Japanese encephalitis Middleburg Kumlinge (tick-borne group) Mucambo Kyasanur Forest (tick-borne group) Ndumu Louping-Ill (tick-borne group) (continues)
    86. 56 BIOLOGICAL WARFARE SELECTED PATHOGENS (continued) Mycobacterium simae Mycobacterium szulgai Sagiyama Mycobacterium tuberculosis Tonate Mycobacterium ulcerans Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) Mycobacterium xenopi Western equine encephalitis (WEE) Salmonella paratyphi A, B, C (paratyphoid) Salmonella typhi (typhoid) Unclassified Viruses Shigella dysenteriae (dysentery) Borna disease Vibrio cholerae (cholera) Hepatitis viruses not yet identified Yersinia pestis (plague) Transfusion-transmitted viruses Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs) Rickettsiae Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or mad Coxiella burnetii (Q-fever) cow disease) and other related TSEs Ehrlichia spp. (e.g., Ehrlichia sennetsu, formerly Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and variants known as Rickettsia sennetsu) Fatal familial insomnia Rickettsia akari Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome Rickettsia Canada Kuru Rickettsia conorii Rickettsia Montana Bacteria Rickettsia prowazekii (epidemic typhus) Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) Rickettsia rickettsii (Rocky Mountain spotted fever) Bartonella quintana (formerly Rochalimea quintana), Rickettsia tsutsugamushi trench fever Rickettsia typhi (Rickettsia mooseri) Brucella abortus (brucellosis) Rochalimaea spp. Brucella canis Brucella melitensis (brucellosis) Fungi Brucella ovis (not known to be a human pathogen; Ad Blastomyces dermitidis (Ajellomyces dermatitidis) Hoc Group, BWC) (blastomycosis) Brucella suis (brucellosis) Cladophialophora bantiana (formerly known as Burkholderia mallei (glanders) Xylohypha bantiana, Cladosporium bantianum) Burkholderia pseudomallei (melioidosis) Coccidioides immitis Chlamydophila psittaci (formerly Chlamydia psittaci) Coccidioides posadasii Closteridium tetani (tetanus) Histoplasma capsulatum (incl. var. duboisii) Clostridium botulinum ( “Botulinum neurotoxin- Histoplasma capsulatum var. farcinimosum producing strains of Clostridium,” according to Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum (Ajellomyces CDC [Centers for Disease Control]) capsulatus) Clostridium perfringens (gas gangrene) Paracoccidioides brasiliensis Corynebacterium diphtheriae (diptheria) Ad Hoc Penicillium marneffei Group, BWC Escherichia coli (enterohaemorrhagic, e.g., O157H7) Parasites Francisella tularensis (tularemia) (UKNCC list notes Echinococcus granulosus Type A only [class 3 pathogen]) Echinococcus multilocularis Legionella pneumophila (legionnaires' disease) Echinococcus vogeli Mycobacterium africanum Leishmania brasiliensis Mycobacterium avium/intracullulare Leishmania donovani Mycobacterium bovis Naegleria fowleri (naegleriasis, amoebic Mycobacterium kansasii meningoencephalitis) Mycobacterium leprae Plasmodium falciparum (malaria) Mycobacterium malmoense Taenia solium (pork tapeworm, cysticercosis) Mycobacterium microti Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense Mycobacterium scrofulaceum Trypanosoma cruzi
    87. BIOLOGICAL WARFARE 57 Toxins Animal Bacteria Abrin Mycoplasma mycoides var. capri (goats, i.e., contagious Aflatoxins caprine pleuropneumonia) Botulinum (botulinum neurotoxins, according to Mycoplasma mycoides var. mycoides (small colony: CDC) contagious bovine pleuropneumonia) Cholera Closteridium perfringens (APHIS: epsilon toxin) Animal Rickettsia Cobra venom Cowdria ruminantium (heartwater) Conotoxin Corynebacterium diphtheriae toxin PLANT PATHOGENS Diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS) Plant Viruses HT-2 Banana bunchy top Microcystin (cyanginosin) Plum pox potyvirus Modeccin Sugar cane Fiji disease (Ad Hoc Group, BWC) Ricin Saxitoxin Plant Bacteria Shiga (includes shiga-like toxins, according to CDC) Citrus greening disease (Candidatus) Staphylococcus aureus toxins (enterotoxins) Erwinia amylovora, fire blight of apple (Ad Hoc T-2 (trichothecene mycotoxin) Group, BWC) Tetanus Erwinia carotovora (Ad Hoc Group, BWC) Tetrodotoxin Liberobacter africanus and Liberobacter asiaticus Verotoxin (huanglongbing, yellow dragon disease) Verrucologen (Myrothecium verrucaria) Ralstonia solanacearum (Pseudomonas solanacearum), Viscum album lectin 1 (viscumin) tomatoes (Ad Hoc Group, BWC) Volkensin Xanthomonas albilineans (leaf scald) Xanthomonas campestris pv. Aurantifolia (Ad Hoc ANIMAL PATHOGENS Group, BWC) Animal Viruses Xanthomonas campestris pv. Citri African horse sickness Xanthomonas campestris pv. oryzae (leaf blight, African swine fever bacterial leaf blight) Aujeszky's disease (porcine herpes) Xanthomonas citri (Highly pathogenic) avian influenza Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae Bluetongue Xylella fastidiosa Camel pox Classical swine fever (hog cholera) Plant Fungi Foot-and-mouth disease Bipolaris oryzae (Helminthosporium oryzae, Goat pox Cochliobolus miyaeanus ), brown spot of rice Horse pox Colletotrichum coffeanum var. virulans (Colletrichum Lumpy skin disease kahawae) Lyssa Deuterophoma tracheiphila (Phoma tracheiphila), mal Malignant catarrhal fever secco disease Newcastle disease Dothistroma pini (Scirrhia pini) needle blight on/of Peste des petits ruminants pine (Ad Hoc Group, BWC) Porcine enterovirus type 9, also known as swine Microcyclus ulei (Dothidella ulei), South American leaf vesicular disease (SVD) blight Rabies Moniliophthora rorei (Monilia rorei), cocoa moniliasis Rinderpest Peronosclerospora philippinensis (Philippine downy Sheep pox mildew) Simian herpes B Phakopsora pachyrhizi Teschen disease Phytophthora infestans, late blight of potato (Ad Hoc Vesicular stomatitis Group, BWC) Whitepox (poxviridae; African monkeys and rodents) (continues)
    88. 58 BIOLOGICAL WARFARE SELECTED PATHOGENS (continued) Soybean rust Synchytrium endobioticum (potato wart) Puccinia erianthi (also known as Puccinia Tilletia spp. (wheat cover smut) (Ad Hoc Group, melanocephala), orange rust of sugar cane (Ad BWC) Hoc Group, BWC) Ustilago maydis, corn smut Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (rust fungus) Puccinia striiformis (wheat yellow rust) (Puccinia Destructive Plant/Fruit Insects glumarum) Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann; Ad Hoc Group, BWC) Pyricularia grisea (formerly known as Pyricularia Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) oryzae, also Magnaporthe grisea), rice blast fungus Thrips palmi Karny (Ad Hoc Group, BWC) Sclerophthora rayssiae var. zeae (brown stripe downy Western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis mildew) (Pergande; Ad Hoc Group, BWC) Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, sclerotinia rot (Ad Hoc Group, BWC) pathogens.) In some instances, however, when the more and more cells, killing them as they go in Bacillus anthracis spores infiltrate the lung, instead some cases, causing various disease symptoms of being dissolved and drained from the body, the such as headache, fever, chills, and nausea. Viral pathogenic bacteria begin to grow and multiply. BW agents include smallpox, viruses that cause se- These bacteria would ordinarily be captured and vere bleeding in tissues (hemorrhagic fevers), and killed by the body’s immune system. Disease-caus- viruses that cause severe disease in horses (such as ing forms of anthrax, however, produce a protec- Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis) but also produce tive covering (capsule) that prevents the body from illness in humans. VEE virus, grown in fertilized effectively finding, fixing, and destroying them. chicken eggs during the Cold War, was an impor- Anthrax bacteria then excrete a toxin complex: one tant BW agent in both the U.S. and Soviet biologi- component, called protective antigen (PA), is con- cal weapons arsenals. This virus can also be grown nected to another part called the lethal factor (LF) in other types of tissue culture and can be prepared component. PA binds with cell receptors in the in dry powder form for wide dissemination as an body, allowing the LF toxin to gain entry into the aerosol. Although most individuals exposed to this host’s cells. Cell damage and death due to the LF virus will contract the disease, and the symptoms toxin causes the body to make a frantic effort to (flulike and worse) are severe, few will die from fight off the disease, bringing about severe inflam- VEE infection. For use by militaries against large, mation and producing fever, nausea, vomiting, and well-populated targets, VEE virus can cause wide- swelling of tissues. Unless treated aggressively with spread incapacitation of the enemy forces and antibiotics, inhalation anthrax usually causes their civilian populations. death in humans if not caught in the early stages of disease. BW Defense Other bacteria, such as plague and tularemia, The first line of defense against BW is early detec- also cause disease by toxic elements built within tion of the toxin or pathogen. This is most likely to their cellular structures. Plague, unless treated with be accomplished by health care professionals and by antibiotics, is likely to be quite deadly, especially if laboratories designed to identify microbial diseases inhaled as an aerosol. Tularemia also can be deadly, and related toxins. (In 2004, work was underway to but with treatment most victims will survive this detect aerosols at a distance and to define those that disease. constitute a biological threat; however, these devices Also best delivered in aerosol form, viral BW are still in the early stages of technical reliability.) agents cause disease as they take over the cellular Probably, the first sign of a BW attack would be ac- machinery in the body and use these to replicate tual cases of disease that are diagnosed by physicians themselves. The viruses can continue to infect in a hospital, clinical laboratory, or medical office.
    89. BIOPREPARAT 59 Once the BW agent has been identified, the next Fenn, Elizabeth A., “Biological Warfare, circa 1750,” The course of action would include treating the individ- New York Times, 11 April 1998, p. A11. ual patient but also starting an aggressive public Fradkin, Elvira K., The Air Menace and the Answer (New health action plan to treat other possible exposures. York: Macmillan, 1934). Some BW agents can be treated with vaccines if Herms, William B., Medical Entomology, (New York: the exposure to the agent is detected early. Smallpox MacMillan Company, 1950). Karlen, Arno, Man and Microbes (New York: G. P. is a good example. Being a disease that is easily Putnam’s Sons, 1995), p. 87. transmitted from one person to another, it would be Murray, Patrick R., George S. Kobayashi, Michael A. critical to vaccinate anyone near or in contact with Pfaller, and Ken S. Rosenthal, Medical Microbiology, the victim. This can both protect those exposed in- second edition (St. Louis: Mosby, 1994), p. 526. dividuals from smallpox infection and slow or stop Patrick, William III, “Analysis of Botulinum Toxin, Type the spread of smallpox in the community. Without A, as a Biological Warfare Threat,” unpublished adequate vaccination, smallpox could spread like report, 2001. wildfire and could rage out of control even with Wheelis, Mark, “Biological Warfare before 1914,” in strict measures to keep people from traveling or in- Erhard Geissler and John Ellis van Courtland Moon, teracting outside their homes and neighborhoods. eds., Biological and Toxin Weapons: Research, Vaccines can be used against anthrax and plague, Development, and Use from the Middle Ages to 1945, although at present it is not certain how effective SIPRI Chemical & Biological Warfare Studies no. 18 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), p. 13. these would be against inhalation forms of either disease. Vaccinations also would have to be done well ahead of time, days or preferably weeks before BIOLOGICAL WARFARE PROTECTIVE the actual BW attack. Some toxins also have vac- MEASURES cines (toxoids) for protection against exposure, such See Protective Measures: Biological Weapons as that used for botulinum. Again, communities need to have an accurate threat picture and ade- BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION quate time before the actual attack for these to be (BWC) successful. See Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention In most cases, vaccines would be most critical for contagious BW diseases like smallpox, and to a BIOPREPARAT certain extent plague (in its pneumonic form). During the latter half of the twentieth century, the Other BW agents, however, are not known to be Soviet Union (and later, to a much more limited de- contagious. Bacterial and rickettsial diseases are gree, Russia) possessed the largest and most ad- treatable with antibiotics. Viral diseases are for the vanced biological weapons technology and produc- most part not successfully treatable with tion infrastructure ever known. The Soviet chemotherapy, although some antiviral medica- organization known as Biopreparat was ostensibly tions have been shown to be efficacious in some in- devoted to civilian biotechnology. It was, in fact, the stances. But for most viral infections, all that can be research and development arm for the Soviet mili- done is to provide supportive care to the victim— tary to produce biological warfare agents and muni- fluid replacement, breathing assistance, and pain tions. Some open source documents provide regulation. These can be quite effective in reducing glimpses into past Soviet activities in offensive bio- overall mortality. logical warfare. Much of what is known from the —Eric A. Croddy open literature about the former Soviet BW pro- gram, however, is based upon the testimony of So- See also: Chemical and Biological Munitions and viet defectors, including Vladimir Pasechnik, Ken Military Operations; Kaffa, Siege of; Protective Measures: Biological Weapons; Vaccines Alibek, and other participants in the Biopreparat References program. d’Errico, Peter, “Jeffrey Amherst and Smallpox Blankets: Biopreparat—a parallel entity to the Soviet Min- Lord Jeffrey Amherst’s letters Discussing Germ istry of Defense (MOD), from which it obtained fi- Warfare against American Indians,” http://www. nancing—was officially subordinate to the civilian nativeweb.org/pages.legal.amherst/lord_jeff.html. Main Administration of the Microbiological Industry
    90. 60 BIOPREPARAT (Glavmikrobioprom). Referred to as the Concern, developed by Soviet KGB scientists), little is known Biopreparat during its 20 years of activity (from 1972 about the role of this toxin and others in the Soviet until about 1992) served as the main technology and BW program. manufacturing base for the antihuman biological warfare (BW) agents in the former Soviet Union. Al- Brief History of Soviet Biological Weapons though its charge was to conduct offensive BW re- Following the establishment of the Bolshevik search and development, Biopreparat also produced regime in 1917, the Soviet biological weapons pro- civilian pharmaceuticals and was the second largest gram grew in fits and starts. Begun largely because manufacturer of antibiotics in the world. of the great losses Russia suffered in World War I, es- The civilian nature of Biopreparat and its con- pecially from chemical warfare, it is likely that past nection with military biology is not surprising. The experience with diseases (e.g., typhus) were was a creation of a civilian-styled organization for devel- deciding factor in the Soviet Union’s starting the oping biological weapons followed a Soviet pattern program. The Soviet BW program would be inter- established decades before Biopreparat was formed. rupted by Stalin’s purges and by the rise of Lysenko- For example, because of the endemic nature of ism (see below), and then it would be reborn with plague (sometimes called Black Death) throughout the dawn of new discoveries in genetics. the Eurasian continent, it was logical that Soviet sci- The Soviet biological weapons program can be entists had developed an extensive antiplague sys- roughly divided into two phases: 1) the initiation of tem for disease monitoring and surveillance. Such a a full-fledged biological warfare program in 1928, civilian-oriented system would actually have dual and 2) the resurgence in the pursuit of military roles: public-health-related research into infectious biotechnology following Lysenkoism in the early diseases, and militarily useful work in developing bi- 1970s. Serious efforts on the part of the Soviet ological warfare (BW) agents. By the 1950s, the sem- Union to develop biological weaponry took place blance of an infrastructure—again, civilian, at least just after signing arms control agreements meant to in outward appearance—for biological weapons de- stem such activity. velopment had already been established in the So- In 1928, Yakob Moiseevich Fishman recom- viet Union. Referred to in official-speak as Problem mended to Red Army Commissar Kliment No. 5, offensive biological weapons research and de- Voroshilov that the Soviet Union initiate biological velopment was carried out by these antiplague and weapons development. That same year, the Soviet related organizations. Union acceded to the Geneva Protocol of 1925, for- By the end of its biological weapons program bidding the use (albeit with many loopholes and ex- (1992), the Soviet military had weaponized several ceptions) of chemical and “bacteriological” warfare. viruses: smallpox, Venezuelan equine encephalitis Similarly, in 1975, when the Soviet government offi- (VEE), and Marburg. In the development stage cially ratified the 1972 Biological Toxin and were other hemorrhagic fevers, including Ebola, Weapons Convention (BTWC), it had already Lassa, Russian spring-summer encephalitis, Argen- begun a massive project for military biological re- tine and Bolivian hemorrhagic fevers, and possibly search and weapons production. A year after signing others. Lethal bacteria in the Soviet biological the BTWC, an organization was formed by the So- weapons arsenal included an especially potent form viet government that would be tasked with biologi- of anthrax (Bacillus anthracis), with less deadly but cal weapons research, development, and manufac- still virulent tularemia (Francisella tularensis) and ture: the All-Union Science-Production Association, Brucella spp. bacteria. (The latter BW agent was or Biopreparat (Order No. 131, April 1974). later replaced by the incapacitating biological agent glanders, or Burkholderia mallei.) Another incapac- Prelude to Biopreparat: Lysenko itating agent, Q-fever (Coxiella burnetti), was also The Soviet Union’s decision to reinvigorate its offen- produced in the Soviet Union, but like Brucella, it, sive BW efforts followed a period termed Lysenko- too, eventually fell out of favor as a weapon. Ac- ism—or the Russian pejorative Lysenkovshchina. cording to Ken Alibek, work with botulinum toxin Until the 1970s, Soviet scientists had to their credit was conducted in the mid-1970s. But aside from many advances in applied and basic research. But in their roles as assassination weapons (such as those the field of biology, the Soviet Union had in many
    91. BIOPREPARAT 61 areas fallen far behind the West. This state of affairs Unlike Lysenko, who derided scientific knowledge could largely be blamed on one person, the Ukrain- drawn from other countries, Ovchinnikov read the ian-born agronomist Trofim D. Lysenko (1898– foreign scientific journals and knew of the advances 1976). Lysenko relied on extensive self-promotion to in Western biotechnology. According to Ken Alibek, make up for a lack of knowledge in the scientific field who was former deputy director of Biopreparat in which he eventually chose to work. until his defection to the West in 1992, Ovchinnikov After receiving a certificate in agronomy in 1925, “decided to resolve the crisis in Russian biology by Lysenko started his professional career as an agricul- appealing to the self-interest of the masters of our tural technician in Azerbaijan. While Lysenko was [i.e., Soviet] militarized economy. In 1972, he asked growing a batch of peas, a Pravda (a Russian news- the Ministry of Defense to support a genetics pro- paper) correspondent took special note of the gram devoted to developing new agents for biologi- young scientist, impressed most of all by Lysenko’s cal warfare” (Alibek, p. 41). If many top Soviet lead- proletarian origins. Through means of journalistic ers were unimpressed by Ovchinnikov’s proposals, hyperbole, Lysenko was suddenly credited with President Leonid Brezhnev was highly receptive. making a qualitative leap in agricultural technique: After all, if the Soviet Union were falling behind in the ability to grow abundant yields of crops in the scientific technology—no less being surpassed by its winter soil. Emboldened by this publicity, Lysenko nemesis the United States and its NATO allies—this went on to claim that winter wheat could be grown would require decisive action. to fantastic yields if the seeds were exposed to cold That same year (1972), the Soviet Council of temperatures and were planted in spring instead of Ministers also convened the Interagency Science autumn. He was made responsible for directing the and Technology Council on Molecular Biology and planting of wheat in the collective farms, and exag- Genetics (ISTCMBG). This council was comprised gerated claims of his yields were widely distributed. of leaders from within the Soviet military, the Acad- But what would turn out to be disastrous methods emy of Sciences, and the Ministries of Health and of Stalinist collectivization would only make Ly- Agriculture. Chairing this secret body was Vladimir senko all the more famous. Zhdanov, an accomplished microbiologist whose Based on his own inchoate understanding of the specialty was viruses. The post of deputy director science and without diligent scruples, Lysenko then was held by Igor Domaradsky. Domaradsky had turned his sights on genetics. He would later claim earlier been the director of antiplague systems dur- that geneticists, and all of those who accepted ing the 1950s, and having expertise with plague Mendelian laws, were wreckers, enemies of social- (Yersinia pestis), he would play a critical role for later ism and therefore enemies of the state. With the un- research into weaponizing the bacterium. (This was failing support of Stalin (who had a talent for ruth- no mean feat. During the 1950s and 1960s, when the lessness and who, like Lysenko, came from modest, United States still possessed an offensive BW pro- peasant beginnings), thousands of Russian scientists gram, American scientists tried to devise a plague- who did not toe the official line—especially the ge- based weapon but were unsuccessful.) Along with neticists among them—were subsequently arrested Biopreparat, these individuals and organizations and sent to the infamous gulags (labor camps). would play a crucial role in the research and devel- Many more were simply ostracized. In 1953, when opment of biological weapons. Watson and Crick published their groundbreaking research on the DNA double helix, some of this Organizations and Laboratories within antigenetics campaign was halted. But Lysenko’s Biopreparat opinions on biology, particularly his animus against In 1973, Biopreparat had been formally established modern genetics, continued to influence the coun- under the code name Fermenty (Enzymes). Re- try until at least the mid-1960s, and ultimately, its quirements for biological weapons research and de- effects were still felt long after Lysenko’s death. velopment were set according to the decisions In the early 1970s, the forceful personality of a made by the ISTCMBG. Located in Moscow, Bio- well-regarded Soviet molecular biologist, academi- preparat was listed simply as Post Office Box A- cian Yuri Ovchinnikov, entered the battle over the 1063. The first director, a lieutenant general at the future of genetic research inside the Soviet Union. time, was Vsevolod Ivanovich Ogarkov. Thus, the
    92. 62 BIOPREPARAT military biological activities of Biopreparat were in- the Microbiological Industry (Glavmikrobioprom) formally known in Russia as “Sistema Ogarkova,” or established Vector in March 1985. In the early 1990s, Ogarkov’s System. Despite its civilian trappings, Vector had a staff of about 3,000. Vector is one of Biopreparat’s institutes and production facilities two official repositories of the smallpox virus, the were actually run by the fifteenth Directorate of the other being the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Soviet Ministry of Defense. Prevention (CDC), in Atlanta, Georgia. Alibek, who had been the organization’s first The State Scientific Institute of Ultrapure Bio- deputy director from 1988 to 1991, reported that logical Preparations was located in Leningrad (now Biopreparat was meant to be the primary produc- St. Petersburg). This facility was a crucial link in de- tion source of biological warfare agents in the event veloping a technological basis for weaponizing BW of a war footing or outright hostilities with the West. agents, particularly the creation of very fine Thus, in peacetime, Biopreparat was mostly on a aerosols. Under the leadership of Vladimir Pasech- “standby footing.” “Mobilization” facilities included nik—who in 1989 would defect and reveal to the the Scientific Design Institute and Factory of Bio- West many secrets of the Soviet biological weapons preparations Complex in Berdsk, Novosibirsk, program—the Institute was involved in the manu- Siberia; the Scientific Research Institute of Microbi- facture of cruise missiles capable of delivering infec- ology in Kirov (now Vyatka), 150 miles southwest of tious aerosols. Moscow; and the Center for Military-Technical The Scientific Experimental and Production Problems of Anti-Bacteriological Defense in Base was located in Stepnogorsk, Kazakhstan. Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinberg). There were several Stepnogorsk is a Stalinesque town built largely for other important elements of the Biopreparat net- uranium mining, located in the otherwise desolate work. The State Scientific Center of Applied Micro- steppes of northern Kazakhstan. It also held the biology was located in Obolensk (about 60 miles largest biological weapons facility in the world. Due south of Moscow). This facility was involved in bio- to an accident caused by a release of anthrax spores logical weapons research, including the genetic ma- at Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinberg) in 1979, produc- nipulation of microbial agents and their testing in tion of anthrax was moved to Stepnogorsk because aerosol chambers. Established in 1974 during the the Scientific Experimental and Production Base height of the Soviet BW program, the Center had a possessed superior air handling capabilities and was staff of about 1,500 people, half of whom were re- in a remote location. During a time of conflict, tons search scientists. of anthrax could have been produced there within The Center of Virology in Zagorsk (now Sergiyev two weeks. Built at an estimated cost of 1 billion Posad), was located 50 miles northeast of Moscow. rubles (approximately U.S. $1 billion), the massive According to Alibek, the Center produced smallpox complex of buildings, tunnels, bunkers, and 20,000- to meet an annual stockpile quota of 20 tons. Based liter fermenters at Stepnogorsk has since the end of on a highly virulent strain obtained from an Indian the Cold War been gutted and almost completely smallpox patient in 1967, this weapon had a refrig- destroyed. What remained of the equipment and erated shelf life of six months. In the event of a nu- staffing was converted to a commercial enterprise to clear exchange with the United States, smallpox produce commercial products (“joint-stock com- virus (and other BW agents) was to be loaded in liq- pany”) in 1993. uid form in bomblets on the SS-18 intercontinental In addition to the testing of a variety of other ballistic missile (ICBM). BW agents, including Marburg virus, the Stepno- The Institute of Immunological Design was lo- gorsk facility was charged with the manufacture of cated in Lybuchany (outside Moscow) and was weapons-grade anthrax and plague. With advances under the direction of Vladimir Petrovich Zav’yalov. made in the 1980s in producing virulent strains of In the 1980s, this institute was charged with the de- bacteria, it was here that Alibek managed the devel- velopment of tularemia vaccine and diagnostic test- opment of the 836 strain of weaponized anthrax, ing kits. probably the most lethal ever produced. The State Scientific Center of Virology and Also located in Kazakhstan near the Uzbekistan Biotechnology (Vector) was located in Koltsovo border was Vozrozhdeniye (Rebirth) Island. After (Novosibirsk, Siberia). The Main Administration of 1952, this was the Aral test facility, Aralsk-7, a bio-
    93. BIOREGULATORS 63 logical weapons proving ground for the Soviet mili- propriately elevated levels (e.g., as a result of inten- tary. Biological weapons testing at this installation tional introduction into the body), a bioregulator was likely the cause of a smallpox outbreak in 1971 can overwhelm the body’s compensatory mecha- near Rebirth Island. nisms, and its actions can go unchecked. Potential At its peak, Biopreparat had an estimated consequences include the sensation of pain, loss of 40,000–60,000 personnel, with about 40 laborato- consciousness, altered blood pressure, and altered ries and production facilities spread across much of psyche. These consequences, although profoundly the former Soviet territory. Even during the Gor- incapacitating, are generally not lethal, although bachev years (1986–1990) of Perestroika, a five-year death is possible under certain circumstances. plan continued to weaponize the Ebola, Marburg, In theory, a bioregulator can be introduced into and smallpox viruses. As far as it is known, how- the body in one of two ways. First, it can be intro- ever, the biological-weapons-related activity and duced by using well-established genetic engineering associated elements of Biopreparat have largely techniques; the gene that codes for the bioregulator been disbanded. can be inserted into a microorganism, which is then —Eric A. Croddy delivered into the body via injection, ingestion, or See also: Aralsk Smallpox Outbreak; Russia: Chemical inhalation. Upon gaining entry into the body, the and Biological Weapons Programs; Stepnogorsk; microorganism produces the bioregulator, and its Sverdlovsk Anthrax Accident effects are felt. Second, the bioregulator itself can be References chemically or enzymatically synthesized in a labora- Alibek, Ken, Biohazard (New York: Random House, tory. Once a quantity of the bioregulator has been 1999). produced, it can be delivered on its own, again via Bozheyeva, Gulbarshyn, Yerlan Kunakbayev, and Dastan injection, ingestion, or inhalation, in the same man- Yeleukenov, Former Soviet Biological Weapons ner that any other biological weapon (or pharma- Facilities in Kazakhstan: Past, Present, and Future, ceutical agent, for that matter) would be delivered. Occasional Paper no. 1, Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey, California, June 1999. Bioregulators lend themselves to rapid synthesis Miller, Judith, Stephen Engelberg, and William Broad, due to the abbreviated nature of their constituent Germs (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001). amino acid chains, and commercial and scientific Rimmington, Anthony, “Invisible Weapons of Mass developments have made the production of various Destruction: The Soviet Union’s BW Programme peptides possible on a large scale. For example, 4 and Its Implications for Contemporary Arms million kilograms of NutraSweet—a simple peptide Control,” The Journal of Slavic Military Studies, vol. consisting of two amino acids, aspartic acid and 13, no. 3, September 2000, pp. 1–46. phenylalanine—were manufactured per year in the Soyfer, Valery N., Lysenko and the Tragedy of Soviet late 1980s. Such production has become increas- Science (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University ingly affordable, and the synthetic techniques em- Press, 1994). ployed further allow for the enhancement not only of a bioregulator’s potency, but also of properties BIOREGULATORS such as its activity and selectivity, all of which helps Bioregulators, or bioregulatory peptides, are geneti- to create a powerful, highly specific, and potentially cally coded chains of amino acids that are produced very dangerous analogue. Given both the produc- naturally in the human body and are essential for tion and manipulation potential of bioregulators, normal physiological functioning. These substances the future illicit development—and subsequent resemble toxins in their nature and action, and in use—of these substances cannot be ruled out. technical terms can in fact be defined as toxins, in that they are “chemicals of biological origin.” Research in the Soviet Union Though the role of bioregulators in controlling bio- Soviet bioweaponeers engaged in extensive research logical processes has only begun to be understood, on bioregulators throughout the 1980s under the their effects are known to range from the mediation code name Project Bonfire. As reported during a of sensations such as fear and pain to the regulation conference of Soviet scientists in 1989, the project of the body’s vital signs, namely blood pressure, had been a success: the gene coding for the bioregu- heart rate, and respiration. When present at inap- lator myelin toxin, named as such by the Soviets for
    94. 64 BIOTERRORISM its ability to damage the myelin sheaths of neurons later could not be accounted for, leaving open the and thus disrupt nerve transmission throughout the possibility that Basson embezzled the funds and that body, had been identified and—through the appli- these peptides were never produced by the scientists cation of advanced recombinant DNA tech- of Project Coast. niques—inserted into the bacterium Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. In laboratory tests, this single Bioregulators of Importance agent caused both the symptoms of the pathogen Though in fact comprising a very broad category of and the paralytic effects of myelin toxin. Notably, chemicals, for practical purposes bioregulators can Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is be narrowed in spectrum, based largely on their ac- closely related to Y. pseudotuberculosis, suggesting tion and amenability to synthesis, to those with bio- the possibility of transfer of similar genetic material logical warfare (BW) implications. A selection of into this potentially contagious, lethal pathogen to bioregulators often referred to in a BW context is create an enhanced and truly formidable biological represented in Table B-1. weapon. It has been reported that Soviet scientists did in fact successfully perform such a transfer be- fore the collapse of the Soviet Union, but that the Table B-1: Select Bioregulators and Some of Their Effects agent was not developed any further. It is not known Prototype whether other bioregulators were researched within Type Bioregulator(s) Primary Effect(s) the former biological weapons program. It is Algogen Substance P Sensory known, however, that a number of other bioregula- transmission of tors were studied, ostensibly for peaceful purposes, pain in the Soviet Union throughout the later years of the Endogenous opioid Endorphins, Analgesia similar to Cold War and in Russia today. enkephalins morphine Hormone Vasopressin Water retention, vasoconstriction Research in South Africa Endothelium- South Africa’s apartheid-era chemical and biologi- derived factor Endothelin Vasoconstriction cal weapons program, Project Coast, may have in- vestigated bioregulators. Although the claims are largely unverified and may, in fact, have been crim- —Rich Pilch inally motivated, it has been suggested by scientists References within the program (and in particular by program Bokan, Slavko, John G. Breen, and Zvonko Orehovec, leader Wouter Basson himself) that such research “An Evaluation of Bioregulators as Terrorism and was performed at two separate locations: the large- Warfare Agents,” ASA Newsletter, Issue No. 90, June scale chemical weapons research and development 28, 2002, p. 1. facility Delta G Scientific, and the clandestine labo- Leitenberg, Milton, James Leonard, and Richard ratories of Special Forces headquarters. According Spertzel, “Biodefense Crossing the Line,” Politics and to Basson, efforts at the Special Forces laboratory the Life Sciences, Vol. 22, No. 2, 2004, pp. 1-2. led to the successful production of a peptide de- rived from the human thymus gland (different BIOTERRORISM thymic peptides exist, each with various actions: Generally speaking, bioterrorism refers to the use of alpha-thymosin, for example, is active in the devel- biological agents—microbial pathogens or toxins opment of a beneficial immune response, and dif- derived from living organisms—as a means of per- ferent types of beta-thymosin have been linked to petrating some terrorist attack. This seems simple cancer), as well as growth hormone and other un- enough, although arriving at a noncontroversial specified peptides produced by the pituitary gland meaning of the very word terrorism can be fraught in the brain. with difficulty. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investi- It is theorized that Basson may have provided gation (FBI) defines terrorism as “the unlawful use this information to substantiate his own claim that of force against persons or property to intimidate or he had spent a large amount of government money coerce a government, the civilian population or any on a peptide synthesizer. This peptide synthesizer segment thereof, in the furtherance of political or
    95. BIOTERRORISM 65 social objectives” (U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, concerted efforts made by nonstate actors to use bi- 28 Section 0.85). Forming a textbook definition of ological agents in the pursuit of some political bioterrorism is difficult. In discussing bioterrorism, agenda—that is, bioterrorism. No one died as a di- though, it may be much less important what one rect result of these biological attacks, although the thinks it is and more important to consider the po- Rajneeshee cult in Oregon was more successful in litical, psychological, and emotional impact that terms of actually carrying out a biological attack might be created by the use of the term to describe than Aum Shinrikyo. some disease outbreak. The Rajneeshee, a religious organization that es- The concept of bioterrorism might be seen as tablished itself in Wasco County, Oregon, made ex- different from simple criminality involving traordinary efforts to create its own society. Led by pathogens or toxins; one might call these types of an Indian national named the Bhagwan (Hindi for events biocriminality or malicious mischief. Unless “God”) Shree Rajneesh, in 1984 the cult sought to there is some clear motive that speaks to a wider po- control the Wasco County political establishment by litical or social statement, the simple act of murder- swaying upcoming local elections in its favor. The ing someone by using a biological agent is still tech- attack that followed in September 1984 was part of nically a homicide. a plan to make as many as possible of the noncult Often mentioned in the context of bioterrorism population stay away from the polls, chiefly by is the assassination of the Bulgarian dissident means of giving them diarrhea. Cult scientists con- Georgy Markov with ricin toxin. In 1978, the Bul- sidered a number of different pathogens that cause garian secret service (with technical assistance from diarrhea, including Giardia lamblia, a parasite that the Soviet KGB) assassinated Markov while he was causes giardiasis, and Shigella dysenteriae (bacteria working in London. The motive: Markov had criti- that cause dysentery). Both diseases can be serious, cized the tyranny of the Bulgarian authorities on but with modern health care they are usually self- Western radio. In a more legalistic view, this state- limiting. In the end, the cult’s technical advisor in sponsored assassination of a governmental critic the use of such pathogens, Diane Ivonne Onang (re- does not fit the typical definition of terrorism. The named Ma Anand Puja) decided to use Salmonella salient aspect of this case, however, is the fact that a typhimurium, a common cause of food poisoning. biological toxin—ricin—was used as the weapon. In November 1984, cult operatives took vials of Sal- Thus, bioterrorism is often ascribed to many delib- monella bacteria and contaminated food at super- erate acts using biological agents, even if the actual markets and restaurants. They especially singled out purpose does not exactly fit the terrorist model. salad bars at local restaurants for adulteration. As a Since the Markov case, there have been many result of this attack, 751 people became ill with sal- other instances of ricin being involved with terrorist monellosis. activity. Most notably, the Islamist terrorist organiza- An especially disturbing aspect of this case was tion al-Qaeda has instructed its adherents on how to that this deliberate act of food poisoning was not produce ricin from the castor bean plant. In 2003, discovered until at least a year later. Eventually, Ore- several terrorists linked with al-Qaeda were discov- gon prosecutors were able to arrest most of the key ered in Europe with homemade ricin toxin. These in- operatives involved in the biological attack. But long dividuals may have been planning attacks on civilians before the criminal proceedings were to begin, the or soldiers by poisoning their food. They were prob- cult’s political aspirations were ultimately defeated ably interested in ricin because it is relatively easy to by more prosaic circumstances. acquire, not because it has a great utility as a weapon Some commentators in 2001 referred to the Ore- of mass destruction.Aside from some instances when gon case as a terrifying incident (Miller, Engleberg food or beverages could be contaminated and dis- and Broad, 2001, p. 14). However, although there tributed to many people, ricin appears to be a weapon were a large number of casualties, none died as a di- of choice for assassinating individuals. rect result of the attack. Perhaps the important les- A 1984 Salmonella bacteria attack in Oregon, and son from the Rajneeshee case is that, instead of dis- the attempts by the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo to seminating microbes that cause gastrointestinal use botulinum toxin and anthrax bacteria in the upset, even more virulent or lethal toxins could have early 1990s (see Aum Shinrikyo), have been the most been used.
    96. 66 BLEACH In Japan, another idiosyncratic religious organi- ter and the Pentagon, the U.S. Centers for Disease zation called Aum Shinrikyo—led by a self-styled Control and Prevention (CDC) identified a case of guru named Shoko Asahara (real name: Chizuo inhalation anthrax in Palm Beach, Florida. Two days Matsumoto)—looked to biological weapons as part later, federal and local authorities determined that of its agenda for seeking power. Fascinated with this unusual case of anthrax infection was the result technology that included weapons of mass destruc- of a deliberate act. At this point, little more infor- tion, Aum Shinrikyo cult members lashed out at mation was available, but it has been labeled a their enemies, including the government of Japan. bioterrorist event. This first victim of the anthrax After failed attempts to win parliamentary seats as a letter attacks died soon after the diagnosis. Later, political party in the early 1990s, Shoko Asahara and more victims of anthrax infection were identified, his henchmen looked to the apocalypse concept. and their exposure to anthrax spores was also asso- Their outlook now became more of an Eastern ver- ciated with contaminated envelopes. sion of that of the Charles Manson family, but with Letters were included in the contaminated en- much greater resources at their disposal. From ap- velopes, implying that Islamist terrorists or those proximately 1990 until 1995, Aum Shinrikyo cult with sympathies to them were responsible for mail- scientists attempted to isolate and culture a number ing the anthrax. But as of 2004, the investigation is of biological agents, with most of their efforts fo- still ongoing as to the perpetrators of these attacks. cused on botulinum toxin and anthrax bacteria Because at least some of the anthrax spores were de- (Bacillus anthracis). In at least 10 instances during livered in very fine particles, it was belatedly recog- those 5 years, Aum Shinrikyo attempted to dissemi- nized that there were potentially lethal levels of con- nate botulinum toxin as an aerosol, and they tamination in U.S. Post Office buildings and the sprayed bacterial spores of an innocuous strain of Hart Senate building in Washington, D.C. Eventu- anthrax bacteria (sterne) in Kameido ward, Tokyo. ally, twenty-two cases of anthrax were determined The reasons for Aum Shinrikyo’s ultimate failure to have resulted from direct or indirect exposure to to cause any harm through their efforts at biological these mailed anthrax spores. Half of these cases took warfare (although they were successful in using the form of inhalation anthrax; the other eleven vic- sarin, a chemical weapon) are still debated, but sev- tims developed the cutaneous form of anthrax in- eral problems encountered by the cult have been fection. Five died from inhalation anthrax. The costs identified. Aum Shinrikyo’s forays into manufactur- associated with sampling suspect letters, decontam- ing botulinum toxin were doomed from the start inating buildings, and using X-ray irradiation of because the cult isolated a species of Clostridium mail in Washington, D.C., and its environs (not to botulinum bacteria that was not specific for toxicity mention other public health interventions made) in humans. An assessment of the cult’s attempt to were estimated to be in the billions of dollars. disperse anthrax spores is more complicated. The —Eric A. Croddy cult has since admitted (on their revised Internet See also: Aum Shinrikyo; Biological Terrorism: Early website) that it did deliberately attempt to spray Warning via the Internet; Vaccines aerosols containing anthrax spores in 1993, but it References claims that it knew the type of bacteria being used Jernigan, Daniel B., et al., and the National Anthrax was basically harmless. Perhaps the more important Epidemiologic Investigation Team, “Investigation of aspect of Aum Shinrikyo’s biological experiment Bioterrorism-Related Anthrax, United States, 2001: with anthrax is that it used a potentially devastating, Epidemiologic Findings,” Emerging Infectious Disease albeit crude, delivery method for anthrax spores. [serial online], October 2002, http://www.cdc. gov/ncidod/EID/vol8no10/02–0353.htm. The events of 2001 involving anthrax bacteria Miller, Judith, Stephen Engelberg, and William Broad, being mailed in contaminated envelopes brought Germs (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001). home to the United States the disturbing reality of the bioterrorist threat. It was possible to describe this as a bioterrorist act even before there was a clear BLEACH understanding of who or what was behind it. In Chlorine bleach (hypochlorite) has long been the early October 2001, less than a month following the workhorse for the decontamination of chemical or al-Qaeda terrorist attacks on the World Trade Cen- biological agents. There is, however, the possibility
    97. BLOOD AGENTS 67 that bleach could be used as a lung irritant. This its original nature, losing its toxicity” (Cheng and would involve the mixing of bleach with other Shi, p. 73). chemical compounds, perhaps in some sort of As evinced by its widespread use in community chemical weapon that generates toxic by-products. water treatment, bleach is particularly effective in Incidents involving bleach and the production the denaturing of microbial threats, including bac- of toxic gas have mostly occurred in hazardous ma- teria and viruses as well as protein-based toxins. terials (HAZMAT) accidents and not through de- (The defensive mechanism in human cells utilizes liberate action. In some industrial settings—in- the oxidizing power of hypochlorite when dealing cluding hospitals that employ rigorous cleaning with pathogens, for example.) protocols—bleach and acidic compounds (e.g., In military settings, calcium hypochlorite and a phosphoric acid) are both used to ensure near-ster- mixture known as Super Tropical Bleach have been ile conditions. On occasion, workers have been standard items in the decontamination arsenal. For known to mistakenly mix the acidic solutions with the U.S. military, however, a less toxic alternative was the bleach, thereby creating chlorine gas. So much introduced in 1999 in the form of the Improved chlorine gas can be produced in this manner that Chemical Biological Agent Decontaminant/Decon- deaths have resulted. In even more mundane set- taminating Agent: Multipurpose (ICBAD/DAM). tings, including the storage and use of civilian Still, for maintaining areas where contaminated ca- chemicals, the warning for citizens not to mix sualties are handled or infectious materials are dis- bleach with ammonia when cleaning their houses is posed of, regular bleach is still employed because of especially well founded. Combining bleach with its effectiveness and relatively low cost. The Chinese ammonia produces extremely toxic compounds military recommends what it calls three-and-two called chloramines that can cause serious injury or mix, containing three parts calcium hypochlorite death. and two parts calcium hydroxide. Although they are There has been one instance reported of a delib- quite effective for decontaminating surfaces, only erate attempt to produce chloramine gas. During very dilute solutions of these extremely caustic com- the 1980s, Dean Harvey Hicks had been protesting pounds should be used for the human skin. against the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Ac- —Eric A. Croddy cording to Hicks’s federal indictment, part of his See also: Decontamination protest involved the placing of a car bomb near an References IRS building. The trunk of his car contained two Cheng Shuiting and Shi Zhiyuan, Military Technology large containers: one holding bleach, the other, am- Information Handbook: Chemical Weapons, second monia. Federal prosecutors claimed that Hicks in- printing (Beijing: People’s Liberation Army Press, tended the car blast to mix the chemicals together to 1999; second printing, January 2000). produce a toxic gas cloud. The explosives, however, Taylor, Eric R., Lethal Mists (Commack, NY: Nova did not detonate as planned. Science, 1999). Use in Decontamination BLOOD AGENTS As an oxidizing agent—in simple terms the chemi- Often referred to as “systemic poisons” due to their cal addition of oxygen—bleach is effective in the perceived route of action, hydrogen cyanide, carbon neutralization of most known chemical warfare monoxide, and phosphine and arsine gases, inter agents, although its role in decontamination must alia, have been traditionally referred to as blood be weighed against its irritating effects on the skin agents. These toxic chemicals (such as cyanide) were and the damage it can do to some materiel. A Chi- noted to have affected not a single part of the body, nese military manual on chemical weaponry de- but its whole. Writing in 1937, Augustin Prentiss scribes the action of bleach on sulfur mustard, a noted: “The systemic toxic agents are those com- blister agent (vesicant): “For example mustard, after pounds which, instead of confining their dominant coming into contact with bleach [calcium action to some particular organ or part of the body, hypochlorite] can cause a reaction, the mustard gas usually near the point of impact, have the power to being oxidized by the bleach, the bleach itself being penetrate the epithelial lining of the lungs without reduced, and the mustard is then transformed from causing local damage. They then pass into the
    98. 68 BLOOD AGENTS bloodstream, whence they are diffused throughout carbonic gas (i.e., CO2) from a large-caliber shell the whole interior economy of the body and exercise that had detonated inside a tunnel with inadequate a general systemic poisoning action which finally re- ventilation. It is likely that carbon monoxide could sults in death from paralysis of the central nervous have been responsible as well. system” (Prentiss, p. 170). After World War I, French and German military The term blood agents is both anachronistic and chemists employed carbon monoxide in some a misnomer. Nonetheless, because of its widespread fashion as a CW agent. One formulation that had use in military parlance (if not in actual warfare), some promise was a mixture of another blood the term is used here simply out of convention. agent, hydrogen cyanide (see below), with metal carbonyls. These are metallic compounds contain- Carbon Monoxide ing five units of carbon monoxide in each mole- One potential chemical warfare (CW) agent, carbon cule, such as iron pentacarbonyl [Fe(CO)5]. Al- monoxide, could truly be called a blood agent by though the metal carbonyls have a certain degree dint of its action on hemoglobin, the oxygen-carry- of toxicity, they also readily decompose and liber- ing protein found in red corpuscles. Because carbon ate carbon monoxide. Germany possessed a lim- monoxide’s binding affinity with hemoglobin is ited number of chemical munitions using car- about 250 times more than oxygen’s, low concentra- bonyls in tandem with other agents (such as tions of carbon monoxide are capable of causing phosgene) during World War II. Under the right death by asphyxia. Coal-based heating systems with circumstances, not only could these produce lethal inadequate ventilation are responsible for many concentrations of asphyxiating gas, but the use of deaths every year due to carbon monoxide poison- carbonyls could also overcome the utility of pro- ing, and a common method of suicide is to leave an tective mask filters used at that time, as they did automobile engine running in an enclosed area, ex- not afford protection against carbon monoxide. As posing oneself to the carbon monoxide in the car’s there are no indications that Germany used such exhaust. munitions in World War II, however, no data are Carbon monoxide has features that make it ap- available as to their actual effectiveness. pear to be a plausible weapon of mass destruction. It has a moderate toxicity: death can occur following Cyanide a 5- to 10-minute exposure to 0.5 percent concen- Cyanide and related compounds have been recog- tration by volume. Being odorless, carbon monox- nized for centuries as toxic substances. In 1782, the ide also is insidious. However, carbon monoxide is Swedish chemist Karl Wilhelm Scheele first de- gaseous at room temperature and dissipates far too scribed the chemical formula for hydrogen cyanide quickly for efficient use on the battlefield. Terrorists (or hydrocyanic acid). Although the exact cause is could possibly find enough carbon monoxide on not known for certain, it is widely believed that his the open chemical supply market and mount an at- sudden death in the laboratory four years later was tack by directing the gas into large, enclosed spaces. as a result of working with this compound. Accord- Still, as a practical matter, it is difficult to conceive of ing to one account, in 1813 a pharmacist suggested using this compound in such a way that would pro- to the Prussian General Bülow that cyanide could be duce mass casualties. used on bayonets. (A similar story is told concern- Carbon monoxide has rarely been used as a CW ing Napoleon III having gotten this idea during the agent, at least not purposefully. Nonetheless, be- Franco-Prussian War.) In World War I, France was cause conventional explosives can produce (among equipped early on with cyanide-filled artillery mu- other gases) carbon monoxide, deaths due to as- nitions. It did not use them right away, possibly out phyxiation following detonation of a shell could of concern that using chemicals by means of projec- occur, especially in tight spaces. During the Korean tile weaponry was in violation of the Hague Con- War (1950–1953), Soviet advisors looked into alle- vention (1899). Following the major gas (chlorine) gations that the United States was using chemical attack by Germany at Ypres in 1915, however, such weapons against North Korea and the Chinese Peo- reservations quickly seemed irrelevant. ple’s Volunteer Forces. They determined that at least In 1988, some 5,000 civilians were massacred by some of the deaths they examined were caused by a chemical weapons assault—including nerve and
    99. BLOOD AGENTS 69 mustard—at Halabja in northern Iraq. This was a East German and Chinese references also de- largely Kurdish-populated village that had invoked scribe widened pupils as being symptomatic of the wrath of Saddam Hussein’s military during the cyanide poisoning, but U.S. literature downplays the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988). Because of the place- significance of this symptom. Some important idio- ment and condition of the casualties seen in pho- syncrasies about hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and its tographs following the chemical attack, some U.S. effects are also worth mentioning here. HCN is intelligence sources and media claim that hydrogen often described as having a metallic odor reminis- cyanide may have been involved. Such reports, cent of almonds. Dangerous concentrations of however, are unsupported by strong corroborating HNC, however, are reported to dull the olfactory evidence. senses. Also, depending upon which source is re- Today, because of its use in the chemical indus- ferred to, it is estimated that up to half of the world’s try (e.g., in the production of acrylonitrile, a population is genetically indisposed to detecting the widely used polymer for plastics) and its potential odor in the first place. diversion from the market for use in CW, hydro- gen cyanide is designated as a Schedule 3 chemical Hydrogen Cyanide for regulation by the 1993 Chemical Weapons Of all of the recognized blood agents, hydrogen Convention. cyanide is probably the most likely chemical agent Still used in a variety of commercial applications, for use in warfare or terrorism. Still, HCN suffers cyanide was once widely found in pesticide formu- from many of the disadvantages of carbon monox- lations to kill rodents, especially in barns and other ide and other highly volatile compounds. It is liquid large structures such as naval vessels. Before World at room temperature, but just barely. HCN War II, Germany employed the so-called cyclone volatilizes so quickly that it can leave behind a con- method, using hydrogen cyanide adsorbed onto gealed spot due to rapid dissipation of heat. Main- wood chips or another material. Held in canisters, taining the concentration necessary to cause death their contents would be released when ready for use. (some twenty-five times that necessary with a nerve In the interest of safety, this “Zyklon” rodenticide agent such as sarin) is a difficult task and was a tech- also employed a very noticeable warning odor, often nical problem that was never really solved during imparted by chloropicrin or another substance that World War I. For example, Franke reports that is immediately irritating to the nose. Zyklon B— France used some 4,000 tons of HCN in chemical commercially produced in Nazi Germany—was attacks during that conflict—all with no appreciable employed to massacre millions of Jews during the result. This, Franke notes, would have “sufficed to Holocaust. Needless to say, this preparation had no kill about a billion people under the liquidation sys- telltale odor in it to warn its human victims. tem of Himmler’s death factories” (Franke, p. 176). The toxicity of cyanide is chiefly due to its inhi- With the advent of the highly toxic organophos- bition of an enzyme critical to the body’s uptake of phate nerve agents (e.g., sarin), HCN has fallen even oxygen and energy for cellular metabolism, cy- lower in usefulness as a potential war gas. tochrome oxidase. Its ability to suddenly block Making the process of weaponizing HCN even transmission of energy in the body has been likened more problematic is its notorious instability. Left to to shutting off a water hose. East German military its own devices, HCN will spontaneously polymer- chemist Siegfried Franke has described the physio- ize—reacting with itself chemically in a violent ex- logical effects of cyanide in humans: “Depending on plosion. Metals, including cobalt and nickel in oxalate the concentration, death from hydrocyanic acid in- salts, have been used in attempts to stabilize this com- toxication occurs in 15 to 20 minutes; concentra- pound. During World War II, some Japanese soldiers tions of 0.4 mg/liter are unconditionally lethal. With were equipped with glass jars filled with liquid HCN higher concentrations those affected fall dead im- that had been chemically stabilized with copper or ar- mediately, or they stumble, struggle for air, and start senic trichloride. Although some were thrown at to scream, the scream ending in a rattle. They fall to British tanks during World War II, it is unknown if the ground and die after 3 to 5 minutes after a brief any Allied soldiers were killed by these gas grenades. phase of convulsive movements. The color of the Other nations, including the United States, Ger- skin of the victims is red to violet” (Franke, p. 179). many, and the Soviet Union, also spent much effort
    100. 70 BLOOD AGENTS to find methods of effective HCN delivery. Though move cyanide from the body by means of other en- most of these attempts ended in failure, some aerial zyme reactions (by combining free cyanide with sul- dissemination techniques were developed that fur to form relatively harmless thiocyanate). Mod- could have had potentially devastating impact on ern protective masks also help to decrease the risk of the battlefield. During World War II, German mili- cyanide exposure by means of a chemical barrier tary intelligence reported that ongoing Soviet trials, such as chromium (oxidation state VI), or prefer- using HCN delivered at low altitude and from slow- ably zinc, as inhaled Cr VI has toxic properties. moving aircraft, were apparently successful in creat- ing lethal concentrations over large areas. The trick Cyanogen Chloride (CN) here, apparently, was to conduct these air sorties at Much of the toxic nature of HCN is also found in sufficient heights and speeds to avoid being shot cyanogen chloride (CNCl), although the lethal con- down by antiaircraft guns. centration of cyanogen chloride is reported to be Terrorists might at some point attempt to devise about double—that is, CNCl is about half as toxic— means of delivering HCN, either in its original form as HCN. The immediate effects of cyanogen chlo- (perhaps having been acquired through the chemi- ride are quite noticeable, especially in the mucosa, cal industry) or by producing it in vapors from a re- with a very strong irritating effect on the eyes and action between cyanide salts with acid. In 1995, upper respiratory tract. In World War I, the French Aum Shinrikyo cult operatives shut down the Tokyo military utilized a mixture of HCN and cyanogen subway by releasing sarin nerve agent, killing 12 and chloride, called manguinite. The goal was to create injuring about 1,000 people. Not long afterward, bi- such an irritant to enemy troops that they would re- nary devices were discovered in subway restrooms. move their protective masks, allowing HCN to fin- These contained one container full of cyanide salt, ish them off. Cyanogen chloride, and related com- the other of dilute sulfuric acid, and they were pounds such as the bromide form, held some rigged to combine their contents by means of a promise for U.S. military use in World War I, but timer. The binary cyanide devices were discovered these compounds were also quite unstable due to before they could do any harm, but they clearly spontaneous polymerization. demonstrated how terrorists could deliver HCN by using simple chemistry. According to witness ac- Other Systemic Poisons counts and intelligence reports, it is quite likely that Two other compounds, arsine and phosphine gas (in al-Qaeda terrorist operatives have experimented older literature referred to as arseniuretted hydrogen with using such compounds.Video footage seized in and hydrogen phosphide, respectively), were investi- Afghanistan in 2002, for example, showed what ap- gated during World War I as potential CW agents. peared to be al-Qaeda members using a compound Phosphine has been used as a rodenticide, and arsine that has similar properties to HCN in tests using is also toxic, but neither proved to be very effective as dogs. Because sodium and potassium cyanide are CW agents. Some work was performed in the area of sold worldwide in quantities of thousands of tons, forming binary devices to use with these chemicals, particularly for the gold mining industry, there is no however, possibly during World War II. According to lack of precursor material. (As a consequence, the Chinese military CW specialists, an unnamed coun- Australia Group lists both of these salts in the cate- try “experimented with an aerial bomb, one with a gory of its voluntary controlled chemical lists.) separate chamber containing magnesium arsenide If medical intervention is timely, humans can and another holding sulfuric acid. When the bomb survive even multiple lethal doses of HCN poison- was to hit the ground, a firing pin broke a membrane ing. Antidotes prescribed for cyanide poisoning vary separating the two components. When they mixed, a depending upon the country. Generally speaking, chemical reaction produced the blood agent arsine” the formation of methemoglobin from hemoglobin (Cheng and Shi, p. 27). in the blood—the latter instrumental for carrying Tetraethyl lead and related compounds can act as oxygen through the body—by sodium nitrite (or a nerve-acting poisons, probably affecting the brain amyl nitrite) helps to scavenge cyanide from cy- stem, resulting in convulsions and death. Decades tochrome oxidase, increasing the victim’s chances of ago, tetraethyl lead was commonly added to auto- survival. Sodium thiosulfate is used to further re- mobile gasoline as an antiknock agent. Some cata-
    101. BOTULISM 71 strophic accidents in the 1920s underscored the fact botulinum. The main categories of botulism in the that this was an extremely toxic compound, so context of infectious disease are those of food-borne much so that Germany’s stocks of tetraethyl lead illness (particularly among infants) and complica- were scrutinized after World War II out of fear tions arising from wounds that become contami- about their potential use as chemical weapons. nated with Clostridium botulinum spores. Nowadays, its use in automobiles has largely waned, Food-borne botulism usually occurs when a and it is no longer considered a likely CW agent. person ingests the causative bacteria and/or the —Eric A. Croddy botulinum toxin, leading to illness within about 24 See also: Binary Chemical Munitions; Vincennite hours. Until the ultimate source is found, such in- References dividual cases are considered a potential public Baskin, Steven I., and Thomas G. Brewer, “Cyanide health emergency, as many other people could be Poisoning,” in Frederick R. Sidell, Ernest T. Takafuji, affected as well, depending on the food source. In- and David R. Franz, eds., Textbook of Military fant botulism occurs in a small number of children, Medicine, Part I: Warfare, Weaponry, and the probably because their digestive tracts at their early Casualty: Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological stage of growth are more susceptible to ingestion of Warfare (Washington, DC: Borden Institute, Walter C. botulinum (this is the concern that has prompted Reed Army Medical Center, 1997), pp. 271–286. warnings against feeding honey to infants, as some- Cheng Shuiting and Shi Zhiyuan, Military Technology Information Handbook: Chemical Weapons, second times C. botulinum spores are found in honey). edition (Beijing: People’s Liberation Army Press, Wound botulism takes place when wounds are in- 1999; second printing, January 2000). fected with C. botulinum—found in soils and other Franke, Siegfried, Manual of Military Chemistry, vol. 1, materials in the environment—and the bacteria Chemistry of Chemical Warfare [Lehrbuch der then secrete toxin (note that the source of tetanus, Militärchemie der Kampfstoffe], (East Berlin: Clostridium tetani, similarly infects wounds in this Deutscher Militärverlag, 1967). fashion). (For more about these three forms of bot- Prentiss, Augustin M., Chemicals in War: A Treatise on ulism, see below.) Chemical Warfare (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1937). Botulism is not spread from one person to an- Vedder, Edward B., The Medical Aspects of Chemical other. Symptoms of botulism include double vision; Warfare (Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1925). blurred vision; drooping eyelids; slurred speech; dif- ficulty swallowing; dry mouth; and muscle weak- BOTULISM (BOTULINUM TOXIN) ness (flaccid paralysis) that starts at the shoulders, Due to the extreme toxicity of botulinum toxin, it spreads to the upper arms, and descends through was one of the first agents to be considered as a bio- the body. In the instance of paralysis of the breath- logical weapon. In a list compiled by the U.S. Cen- ing muscles, an individual can stop breathing and ters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that die unless assistance with breathing (mechanical includes bacteria, viruses, and toxins thought to ventilation) is given. If administered early in the pose the greatest risk for use in a bioterrorist attack, course of the disease, the antitoxin is effective in re- Clostridium botulinum falls under Category A—that ducing the severity of symptoms. Most patients is, the level of highest immediate risk. Clostridial eventually recover after weeks to months of sup- neurotoxins are among the most toxic substances portive care. known to science. Their inclusion as a high-risk agent in bioterrorism is due not only to the very History high toxicity of botulinum toxin, but also to its past The U.S. military began a concerted offensive bio- development as a weapon and its relative ease of logical warfare program in 1941, proceeding to de- production. Clinically, botulinum toxin has been es- velop biological weapons over the next 28 years. timated to be lethal at very small doses for the aver- During World War II, the United States worked pri- age adult when ingested. When aerosolized, the marily on botulinum toxin and anthrax bacteria lethal dose when inhaled is approximately five times while also studying other diseases for warfare such larger than the lethal does when ingested. as brucellosis, psittacosis, tularemia, and glanders. Botulism is a disease that paralyzes muscles due During World War II, intelligence information in- to a toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium dicated that Germany was attempting to develop
    102. 72 BOTULISM botulinum toxin as a weapon to be used against Al- team that it had produced 19,000 liters of concen- lied invasion forces. At the time the Allied work to trated botulinum toxin, of which approximately defend against this threat began, the composition 10,000 liters were loaded into military weapons. of the toxic agent produced by C. botulinum was These 19,000 liters of concentrated toxin are still not not clear, nor was the mechanism of lethality in an- fully accounted for, and theoretically they constitute imals and humans. Therefore, the earliest goals of approximately three times the amount needed to research on botulinum toxin were to isolate and kill the entire human population on Earth. Iraq purify the toxin and to determine its pathogenesis. chose to weaponize more botulinum toxin than any As it happened, there was apparently no effort on of its other known other biological agents. Follow- the part of German military scientists to utilize bot- ing the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Coalition forces ulinum toxin against potential invasions. But due failed to find large quantities of botulinum toxin in to this early intelligence—and due to strict rules re- Iraq. garding the compartmentalization of this intelli- gence—the Allies produced some 300,000 doses of Chemical Properties botulinum toxoid (vaccine) for D-Day troops in C. botulinum is a gram-positive (classification of 1944. None of these doses were administered. bacteria that absorbs gram stain), obligate anaerobic One of the more lasting legacies of the early bot- (requires environments without oxygen), spore- ulinum toxin biowarfare research was the develop- forming, rod-shaped bacterium found worldwide in ment of the botulinum vaccine that is used today. It soils and marine sediments. Because it is found in was clear that the scientists working with large the soil, it can contaminate vegetables. It also colo- quantities of the toxin needed to be protected from nizes the gastrointestinal tracts of fish, birds, and possible laboratory exposures and that a vaccine mammals. Botulism and botulinum toxin are not would serve them as well as the armed forces at risk contagious and cannot be transmitted from person of biological warfare attack. A formaldehyde-inacti- to person. Food poisoning due to botulinum toxin vated toxoid (i.e., a toxin that has been treated so as particularly emerged as a problem when food to destroy its toxicity but retain its antigenicity) preservation became a widespread practice. It is proved effective in animal studies, and large quanti- now clear that C. botulinum grows and produces ties were prepared for human use. Many humans neurotoxin in the anaerobic conditions frequently have since been vaccinated with this and similarly encountered in the canning or preservation of prepared botulinum toxin vaccines, and clinical ex- foods. The spores are very hardy, and special efforts perience has indicated that the vaccines are safe and in sterilization are required to ensure that the or- effective. ganisms are inactivated and unable to grow and In 1992, Russian President Boris Yeltsin admitted synthesize their toxin. Modern commercial proce- to a biological warfare program that had existed in dures have virtually eliminated the problem of food the Soviet Union and Russia until early 1992, and he poisoning by botulinum toxin (through pasteuriza- stated that he was putting an end to further offen- tion), and most of the cases now seen are associated sive biological research. Botulinum toxin was one of with home-canned foods or with meals produced several agents tested at the Soviet site code named by restaurants not adhering to safe food handling Aralsk-7 on Vozrozhdeniye Island in the Aral Sea. A practices. former senior scientist of the Russian civilian Seven distinct serotypes (classification within bioweapons program reported that the Soviets had species of pathogens based on immune response) of attempted splicing the botulinum toxin gene from botulinum toxin have now been isolated, designated C. botulinum into other bacteria. A through G. It is interesting that not all serotypes Four of the countries listed by the U.S. govern- have been associated with poisoning of humans. ment as “state sponsors of terrorism” (Iran, Iraq, Serotypes A, B, E, and F have been clearly identified North Korea, and Syria) have developed, or are be- in numerous human poisoning episodes. Serotype lieved to be developing, botulinum toxin as a G is the most recently isolated toxin and has only weapon. Of these countries, Iraq has been the great- been identified in a few outbreaks. For serotypes C est source of concern. After the 1991 Persian Gulf and D, only a single anecdotal case of human poi- War, Iraq admitted to the United Nations inspection soning has been reported for each. These serotypes
    103. BOTULISM 73 have been found in outbreaks involving various an- quired for the incubation of spores, growth of the imals, including chickens and minks in domestic bacteria, and release of toxins (taking 4–14 days). settings and ducks in wild environments. It is not Infant Botulism. This is caused by the absorption clear why humans are typically not poisoned by of toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum; the or- serotypes C and D. ganism can colonize the intestinal tracts of infants Although the seven neurotoxins (A, B, C, D, E, F, under 1 year of age, but occasionally it also colonizes and G) are genetically distinct, they possess similar the tract in adults (rare). It is often associated with molecular weights and have a common subunit ingestion of honey, and the first clinical sign is usu- structure. The complete amino acid sequences of ally constipation. After a few weeks, progressive the various serotypes are becoming known. Regions weakness and poor feeding are observed. The weak- of sequence homology (sameness) among the ness is symmetrical and descending; it evolves over serotypes and between botulinum toxins and hours or several days. The infant has a weak cry, has tetanus toxin suggest that they all employ similar either absent or diminished spontaneous move- mechanisms of action. In the case of botulinum ments, and shows decreased sucking, floppy head, toxin, nerve cells are prevented from secreting and decreased motor responses to stimuli. The au- acetylcholine—a neurotransmitter that allows for tonomic nervous system manifestations include dry nervous impulses to be transmitted in the body— mucous membranes, urinary retention, diminished due to the inhibition of proteases, enzymes that gastrointestinal motility, fluctuation of heart rate, break cell walls to allow for secretion of acetyl- and changes in skin color. Hospitalization is neces- choline in this case. Thus, botulinum toxin serves as sary and may last from a few days to 6 months. a means to prevent nerve impulses from actuating Botulism as an infection in adults occurs as a re- or enervating nerve cell transmission, a reverse of sult of intestinal colonization with C. botulinum and the activity done by the anticholinesterases (nerve toxin production in a manner similar to that of in- agents). fant botulism. These patients often have a history of abdominal surgery, achlorhydria (lack of necessary Other Varieties of Botulism hydrochloric acid in the stomach), Crohn’s disease Apart from the main forms of botulism, that is, (a chronic disease of the digestive system), or recent food-borne, wound, and infant, the two other clini- antibiotic treatment. The disease may simulate a cal categories are adult infectious and inadvertent Guillain-Barré Syndrome (a neurological disorder (following botulinum toxin injection) botulism. typified by weakness of the peripheral muscular- Food-Borne Botulism. Onset generally occurs 24 nervous system). to 36 hours after exposure. Initial symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, or Medical Response to Botulism diarrhea. After the onset of neurological symptoms, There are two basic alternatives for prophylaxis constipation is typical. Dry mouth, blurred vision, from botulinum poisoning: active immunization and diplopia (double vision) are usually the earliest using a vaccine (toxoid), or passive immunotherapy neurological symptoms. They are followed by dys- using immunoglobulin, an antibody that helps to phonia (difficulty in speaking), dysarthria (loss of neutralize the toxin. The vaccine currently available muscle control in joints, including slurring of is a toxoid that protects from serotypes A through E. words), dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing), and This material is being used under Investigational peripheral muscle weakness. Symmetric descend- New Drug (IND) status, from a license held by the ing paralysis as described above is characteristic of CDC in Atlanta. The toxoid was developed by scien- botulism. tists at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, during Wound Botulism. This can be defined as clinical the 1950s. It is a formalin-fixed crude culture super- evidence of botulism following lesions with a resul- natant—meaning the toxin produced from the cul- tant infected wound and no history suggestive of ture is made nontoxic with the addition of food-borne illness. Except for the gastrointestinal formaldehyde for use as a toxoid—from strains of symptoms, the clinical manifestations are similar to C. botulinum that produce the respective serotypes. those seen in food-borne botulism. However, the in- Vaccinations are administered at 0, 2, and 12 weeks, cubation period is much longer because time is re- followed by annual booster doses.
    104. 74 BRUCELLOSIS In addition to a recombinant vaccine, that is, a dystonia (the general term for the neurological con- vaccine produced in genetically modified organisms dition typified by involuntary muscular contrac- presently in development, research on cocktails of tion). It also is used “off label” for a variety of more better and more specific (monoclonal) antibodies is prevalent conditions including migraine headache, being conducted at the U.S. Army Medical Research chronic low back pain, stroke, traumatic brain in- Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) at jury, cerebral palsy, and achalasia (muscular disor- Fort Detrick, to replace the antibody from horse der of the esophagus). More recently, the medica- serum. The latter is despeciated horse serum. The tion Botox has been used as a means to decrease antibodies produced by the horse are cleaved by facial wrinkles by paralyzing certain facial muscles. special enzymes to avoid side effects (serum sick- —Kalpana Chittaranjan ness) posed by horse-specific proteins. This anti- See also: Bioterrorism; Toxoids and Antitoxins; World body, while an improvement over previous anti- War II: Biological Weapons body preparations, could stand further refinements. References Thus the more specific and pure monoclonal anti- Arnon, Stephen, et al., “Botulinum Toxin as a Biological body approach will enhance the safety of the im- Weapon: Medical and Public Health Management,” munotherapy, and recombinant techniques could Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 285, also reduce the cost of therapeutic antibody. no. 8, 28 February 2001, pp. 1059–1070. Botulism can thus be prevented by the presence CDC, “Facts about Botulism,” http://www.bt.cdc.gov/ documentsapp/FactSheet/Botulism/about.asp. of a neutralizing antibody in the bloodstream. Pas- Franz, David R., Cheryl D. Parrott, and Ernest T. sive immunity can be provided by the horse-derived Takafuji, “The U.S. Biological Warfare and Biological botulinum antibody or by specific human hyperim- Defense Programs,” in Frederick R. Sidell, Ernest T. mune globulin, antibodies from human sera. For Takafuji, and David R. Franz, eds., Textbook of longer term immunity, immunization with botu- Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, Weaponry, and the linum toxoid is required. Use of antibody for post- Casualty: Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological exposure prophylaxis is limited by a lack of antibody Warfare (Washington, DC: Borden Institute, Walter and its relatively high risk of side effects. Due to the Reed Army Medical Center, 1997), pp. 425–435. potential risks of equine antitoxin therapy, it is not International Program on Chemical Safety, Poisons always certain how best to care for persons who may Information Monograph 858: Bacteria, “Clostridium have been exposed to botulinum toxin but who are Botulinum,” World Health Organization, http:// not yet ill. In order to achieve a balance between www.who.int/emc/pdfs/Clostridiumbotulism.PDF. Middlebrook, John L., and David R. Franz, “Botulinum avoiding the potential adverse effects of equine an- Toxins,” in Frederick R. Sidell, Ernest T. Takafuji, and titoxin and needing to neutralize the toxin rapidly, it David R. Franz, eds., Textbook of Military Medicine, is current practice in food-borne botulism out- Part I: Warfare, Weaponry, and the Casualty: Medical breaks to closely monitor persons who may have Aspects of Chemical and Biological Warfare been exposed to botulinum toxin and to treat them (Washington, DC: Borden Institute, Walter Reed promptly with antitoxin at the first signs of illness. Army Medical Center, 1997), pp. 643–654. In the United States, an IND for use as vaccine containing a pentavalent (addressing five of the BRUCELLOSIS (BRUCELLA BACTERIUM) serotypes, A–E) botulinum toxoid is supplied by the A gram-negative (bacterium does not absorb gram’s CDC to laboratory workers at high risk of exposure stain) coccobacillus (a short rod-shaped bac- to botulinum toxin and by the military for protec- terium), Brucella comprises at least four types of tion of troops against attack. Currently, however, bacteria that cause brucellosis in humans but is preexposure immunization is neither recom- found nowadays mostly in domesticated and wild mended for, nor available to, the general population. animals: Brucella suis (swine), Brucella melitensis Botulinum toxin (“Botox”) is the first microbial (sheep), Brucella abortus (cattle), and Brucella canis toxin to become licensed for treatment of human (dogs). Named after David Bruce, who isolated the disease. In the United States, it is currently licensed organism, brucellosis has been called Malta fever (it for treatment of cervical torticollis (muscular disor- was widespread among British soldiers stationed der of the neck), strabismus (crossed eyes), and ble- there during the Crimean War), Mediterranean gas- pharospasm (involuntary blinking) associated with tric remittent fever, or undulant fever. Brucella bac-
    105. BRUCELLOSIS 75 teria can infect humans by means of ingestion of At the end of World War II, the technology of the contaminated milk or meat, as well as through bro- day was limited to liquid suspensions of Brucella, ken skin. Workers in slaughterhouses have often ac- with refrigeration offering the primary means of quired brucellosis due to contact with diseased ani- maintaining live bacterial cultures for weapons fill. mals and infectious aerosols. It is not surprising, Thus, when it came to a practical design for biolog- therefore, that Brucella would be researched for ical munitions, this organism was problematic as a their potential use in warfare. weapon. When compared to other organisms such As a BW agent, Brucella bacteria are notable for as anthrax, however—and even though Brucella being among the first to be weaponized in a modern bacterial cells do not form hardy spores—the orga- U.S. military program. The Brucella bacterium, nism performed rather well during aerosol tests. A however, is best described as an incapacitant (versus cryptic reference to additional studies—the results a deadly pathogen), because in this antibiotic era, being “both negative and faulty” (Cochrane, p. the lethality of brucellosis is quite low (5 percent 270)—on the transmission of Brucella by canaries mortality or less without treatment). Both the suggests that even more novel methods of dissemi- United States and the former Soviet Union prepared nating this bacterium were investigated. Brucella bacteria for use in biological weapons. In 1949, a year before the outbreak of the Korean Later, both countries replaced this organism with War, the U.S. Army Chemical Corps selected B. suis other BW agents that proved more reliable. as the first standardized biological weapon in the American arsenal. In 1950 and 1951, preliminary History tests using aerial munitions dropped from B-29s In March 1944, according to the official history of were conducted at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah. the U.S. biological weapons program, the U.S. Validating field trials in 1952 eventually gave way to Chemical Warfare Service (CWS) undertook inves- the first standardized biological weapon in the U.S. tigations into Brucella as a potential BW agent. arsenal. This consisted of M114 bombs (108 of (Other sources suggest that the utilization of Bru- them) that were clustered in formation with the cella bacteria was actually proposed two years ear- M26 adapter, and the weapon was named the M33 lier.) Although clinically, the bacterial species Bru- Brucella cluster bomb. It was provided to the U.S. cella melitensis is most often associated with serious Air Force. Up to sixteen of these clustered munitions human infection, it also proved more difficult to were deemed necessary to cover a square mile of ter- grow and to keep virulent. Animal experiments con- ritory. Each M33 package weighed approximately a ducted at that time using Guinea pigs also showed quarter ton. Because the bacteria required refrigera- that much fewer Brucella suis bacteria were required tion, the ordnance proved to be a logistical night- to cause infection when disseminated as an aerosol. mare. It was never used in battle. Thus, during World War II, the U.S. Army selected Brucella suis for weaponization. Medical Characteristics of Brucella Pilot production of bacteria commenced in In an aerosol, Brucella bacteria are among the more summer 1945 at Camp Detrick, Maryland (later infectious, requiring only 10 to 100 bacteria to cause named Fort Detrick), after infecting laboratory ani- disease in humans. There is some risk in developing mals and harvesting their bacteria-laden spleens. countries from infection of food or beverages, the Bacteria were then added in small amounts and classic means of acquiring infection being from un- then gradually to larger vessels containing growth pasteurized milk or tainted meat by-products. Its media, demonstrating the viability of large-scale low virulence and the existence of a wide spectrum production of B. suis bacteria with reasonable stan- of antibiotics mitigate against a modern threat from dards of quality and safety. It was also shown that brucellosis as a weapon. Its effects also are widely bacteria could be grown and collected in a concen- variable. Some people may be exposed but remain tration of about 4 x 1010 organisms per ml, “which nonsymptomatic, but others may develop symp- was acceptable as filling for munitions” (Cochrane, toms over 5 to 60 days after exposure. p. 270), according to the U.S. history of the pro- Like other bacterial diseases found in BW con- gram. Production of Brucella was halted in Septem- texts, brucellosis infection starts as a flulike illness, ber 1945. with fever, headache, chills, and general malaise. Up
    106. 76 BURKHOLDERIA MALLEI to three-fourths of victims may develop gastroin- some regions of the globe may present a public testinal upset, with nausea, vomiting, and/or diar- health threat for operations conducted overseas. rhea. In a small number of cases, infection of the Also, one cannot rule out the possibility of the use heart and nervous system can result in very poor of Brucella as an antianimal disease to cause disrup- outcomes. Endocarditis, albeit a rare condition, has tions in the agricultural sector. been responsible for 80 percent of the deaths that —Eric A. Croddy have occurred as a result of Brucella infection. With See also: Agroterrorism; Korean War; United States: a predilection for disease of skeletal joints during its Chemical and Biological Weapons Programs course, brucellosis can also lead to arthritis in more References than 30 percent of cases. Transmission from person Cochrane, Rexmond C., History of the Chemical Warfare to person is not likely during the infectious stage of Service in World War II, Volume II: Biological Warfare the disease. However, because of the capacity for Research in the United States (Fort Detrick, MD: aerosol transmission, laboratories should have in Historical Section, Plans, Training and Intelligence place relatively high containment standards, at least Division, Office of Chief, Chemical Corps, November 1947). biosafety level 3 (BL-3) when handling the orga- Hoover, David L., and Arthur M. Friedlander, nism, one step below the highest containment mea- “Brucellosis,” in Frederick R. Sidell, Ernest T. sures (BL-4). Treatment of brucellosis involves an- Takafuji, and David R. Franz, eds., Textbook of tibiotic therapy, with doxycycline plus rifampin Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, Weaponry, and the being recommended, or doxycycline and strepto- Casualty: Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological mycin as an alternative. Although (live) vaccines are Warfare (Washington, DC: Borden Institute, Walter used for animals, no prophylactic treatment is cur- Reed Army Medical Center, 1997), pp. 513–521. rently available for human use. Regis, Ed, The Biology of Doom (New York: Henry Holt, When compared to other BW threats such as an- 1999). thrax, brucellosis is not expected to top the list of bioterrorist or BW threats for the modern battle- BURKHOLDERIA MALLEI field. However, its endemic nature as a zoonotic in See Glanders
    107. C-4 During World War II, the British military had de- veloped a high explosive that could be safely han- dled and shaped—thus the moniker “plastic explo- sive.” One formulation contained RDX (Royal C demolition explosive) and an oil-based plasticizer, the resulting product being dubbed “Composition mates act as so-called reversible inhibiters of C” by the United States. Later, a need was found for cholinesterase, and therefore their poisonous effects a plastic explosive that did not harden at low tem- are milder and more transient than those of the peratures. A composition that used about 90 per- more toxic nerve compounds. Some carbamates are cent RDX, and small amounts each of polyisobuty- highly toxic in mammals, however, including one lene, motor oil, and another inert substance, was compound estimated to be 30 times more poiso- called C-4. Since its first development, C-4 explosive nous than sarin. has found multifarious uses in military and civilian Applications for carbamates include the agro- applications. Terrorists also seek out C-4 and high chemical industry (insecticides), medical applica- explosives of similar specifications. tions (e.g., treatment of myasthenia gravis, an au- —Eric A. Croddy toimmune disorder that affects nerve receptors), See also: TNT and defensive prophylaxis for nerve agent poisoning Reference (see below). In the civilian chemical industry, Military Explosives, Technical Manual No. 9-1910 Sevin(r) (or carbaryl) has been one of the most (Washington D.C.: Departments of the Army and widely used of the carbamate insecticides, and it is the Air Force, 1955). not very toxic in mammals. Unfortunately, the mass production process used for this insecticide some- CARBAMATES times involves a reaction between methyl isocyanate The toxic carbamates are compounds sometimes and naphthalene. Due to what was probably insider equated with nerve agents. They get their name sabotage at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, from their general structure, which is based on car- India, a massive release of methyl isocyanate killed bamic acid. These compounds can inhibit the thousands of people in the early 1980s (see Bhopal, body’s enzymes (cholinesterases) that regulate neu- India: Union Carbide Accident). Another carba- rochemical transmission. As in the case of the toxic mate, Aldicarb, is a commonly used insecticide, but nerve agents that contain phosphorus, carbamates it has relatively high mammalian toxicity for both probably bind at or near the same site of the en- oral and dermal routes. For experimental animals zyme’s molecule, blocking its normal activity. When (e.g., rodents), the average lethal dose of Aldicarb is the body is no longer able to split apart the neuro- hundreds of times lower (meaning that Aldicarb is transmitter acetylcholine, there is runaway chemical hundreds of times more toxic in mammals) than stimulus at the nerve receptors. This results in an Sevin. In the potential application as a weapon of imbalance in the body’s nerve impulses, possibly re- mass destruction, it is possible that terrorists could sulting in death; carbamates could thus be techni- divert Aldicarb or other toxic compounds like it cally considered nerve agents. Carbamate com- into some sort of improvised chemical weapon. pounds, however, have not been developed as a The toxic chemical in the calabar bean is weapon of mass destruction (WMD) as have the physostigmine, a carbamate compound that was organophosphate nerve agents. Typically, carba- named in 1864. (A year later, other investigators also 77
    108. 78 CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION discovered the active ingredient, calling it eserine. nal.) Because soman irreversibly binds to AChE, and Therefore, there are now two names for the same furthermore does so in a very short time, PB was dis- compound.) In western Africa, the calabar bean had tributed to U.S. forces as a precaution in the event of been traditionally employed as a so-called ordeal an Iraqi chemical attack. There are conflicting ac- poison for certain tribal deliberations and in witch- counts of how many U.S. soldiers actually took PB craft ceremonies. If someone were accused of a pills when ordered to, or what dosages were eventu- crime, for example, the subject would be given cal- ally consumed. In the early 1990s, PB was designated abar beans to swallow, and if he or she survived, his an Investigational New Drug for use against nerve or her innocence was supported. (One theory sug- agent exposure, and it was later approved by the U.S. gests that those who partook of the ordeal with cal- Food and Drug Administration for such use in 2003. abar, if they were truly innocent, felt no compunc- Claims made by some Gulf War veterans that PB is tion about proving it and gulped down the beans the source of health problems, namely the vaguely quickly. As a result, their now-upset stomach would defined Gulf War Syndrome, are unfounded. induce vomiting, and the full dose of the toxin was PB also is used in large doses for maintenance not absorbed. Guilty subjects, however, would ten- therapy in myasthenia gravis patients. Medical uses tatively chew and eat each calabar bean one by one, may be found for other carbamates such as applica- ensuring that the full dose was ingested into the ali- tions for Alzheimer’s disease, but these are only in mentary canal and intestinal tract. These subjects the early research stages . suffered severe poisoning and death.) —Eric A. Croddy Carbamates have found a role in the medical See also: Agroterrorism (Agricultural Biological pretreatment of exposure to nerve agents. In the Warfare); Bhopal, India: Union Carbide Accident; United States and other Western countries, the pyri- Nerve Agents dostigmine bromide (PB) has been used as a means Reference to prepare the body to resist possible poisoning with Taylor, Eric R., Lethal Mists (Huntington, NY: Nova nerve compounds such as soman (GD). Because PB Science, 2001). is a reversible inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), it can bind to the enzyme and protect it CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND from permanent immobility from the irreversibly PREVENTION (CDC) binding (and highly toxic) nerve agents. In the event The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of nerve agent exposure, the carbamate holds AChE (CDC) is the lead federal agency for protecting the enzyme in reserve, and eventually releases it back health and safety of individuals in the United States into the body to restore normal activity. and abroad. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, CDC is an China has employed carbamates for nerve agent agency of the U.S. Department of Health and prophylaxis, using substances called cuixing’an and Human Services. It provides information to enhance cuixingning. Chemical weapons experts in the Chinese health decisions, and it promotes health through People’s Liberation Army claim that these compounds partnerships with forty-seven state health depart- are more effective than PB in protecting troops from ments; twelve national Centers, Institutes, and Of- nerve agent intoxication,and this may well be the case. fices; and public health authorities in forty-five other However, both cuixing’an and cuixingning would af- countries. CDC’s mission is to improve health and fect the central nervous system and could therefore quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, degrade performance in soldiers. Pending full studies injury, and disability. It accomplishes this mission by and safety evaluations, however, it is possible that working with partners throughout the nation and these compounds might find their roles as pretreat- the world to monitor health, detect and investigate ment for nerve agent poisoning in the west. health problems, conduct research to enhance pre- During the 1991 Gulf War, Coalition forces were vention, develop and advocate sound public health especially concerned about intelligence that indi- policies, implement prevention strategies, promote cated that Iraq intended to use soman nerve agent. healthy behaviors, foster safe and healthful environ- (Fortunately, Iraq had difficulty in finding the chem- ments, and provide leadership and training. ical precursors to manufacture soman, which was With heightened concern about the spread of later determined not to be in Iraq’s chemical arse- emerging infectious diseases and the deliberate
    109. CHEMICAL AGENT MONITOR 79 dissemination of biological warfare agents by duced in the United States under license.) Although rogue state and nonstate actors, CDC recently up- other detection devices exist that work along the graded its efforts to fight against infectious dis- same principles, the Graseby CAM is the preferred eases, with particular emphasis on emerging and model in use by militaries and security forces antimicrobially resistant infectious diseases. It has around the world. Not only does it detect low levels prioritized international work to reduce and elim- of mustard (sulfur and nitrogen) and nerve (G-se- inate reemergent infectious diseases. And it con- ries and VX), but it also can indicate the approxi- tinues to strengthen the capacity of local, state, mate degree of contamination. and national public health agencies to respond to The essential part of this hand-held point de- growing threats from biological and chemical ter- tection device is a drift tube that detects ionized rorism. In 2003, CDC allocated more than $1 bil- molecules of certain types and characteristics. lion to improve the readiness of state and local Similar in some ways to a household smoke detec- health agencies to respond to events such as tor, air is brought into an inlet tube and passes bioterrorism, infectious disease outbreaks, and near an ionizing source. As molecules from the air other public health emergencies. CDC has priori- being sampled encounter either a radiation source tized improvements in the rapid detection of, in- (such as Americium or Ni63) or an electric corona vestigation of, response to, containment of, and discharge (an electrical ionizing charge) in the de- recovery from a terrorist attack or other public vice, these particles will become ionized. (Some health emergency. countries such as Japan, because of local regula- The CDC has categorized biological threat tions concerning the use of radioisotopes, will agents according to the overall impact in terms of only use nonradioactive ionization sources—that illness and death, the relative ease of developing is, the electric corona version—for chemical the agent as a weapon, the affect on the general weapons detection.) As the ions move down a public at large from a psychological perspective, drift tube, certain compounds arrive at the sensor and the flexibility of delivering the agent as a in a sequence determined by their rate of travel. weapon (whether as an aerosol, food contamina- Should a nerve agent be present, its characteristic tion, and so on.) The CDC considers the causative ion mobility will cause it to reach a sensitive elec- agents of smallpox, anthrax, plague, botulism, tu- trode at a time and in a manner distinct from laremia, and hemmorhagic fevers to be category A other chemicals in the air. This electrode will then agents. Category B agents include causative agents send the signal to an amplifier, which in turn of Brucellosis, salmonellosis, glanders, Q fever, sends the signal to indicate a visual display or ricin, and cholera, among others. Category C aural warning. Although some chemicals may agents include emerging infectious diseases, such confound this and other detection schemes, these as Nipah and hantavirus, that could arise in the devices are generally considered to be highly accu- future to endanger public health if utilized by rate and reliable when used correctly. bioterrorists. Early chemical agent point detectors, such as —Peter Lavoy Russian and British CW agent alarms, monitored a See also: Bioterrorism chemical reaction created by the presence of a nerve Reference agent. The 1968 vintage alarm standardized in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, United States used an enzyme that, upon being de- http://www.cdc.gov. mobilized by a nerve-type agent, sent an electric sig- nal and warned the operator. Mustard gas was much less toxic and easier to detect in the field, notably by CHEMICAL AGENT MONITOR distinct odor. By the 1991 Gulf War, however, the The chemical agent monitor (CAM) is a detection U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization mili- device for toxic chemicals. The CAM and its succes- taries came to the realization that detection of both sor, the improved chemical agent monitor (ICAM), nerve agent and mustard in a single device was grew out of defense research at Porton Down, U.K., mandatory. A hurried requisition brought thou- during the late 1970s, and was later manufactured sands of ICAMs from England that could detect the by Graseby Dynamics. (Similar versions are pro- presence of both nerve agents and mustard. These
    110. 80 CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL MUNITIONS AND MILITARY OPERATIONS devices have also been improved in terms of main- Chemical Weapons tenance and reliability. Chemical weapons employ toxic chemical agents, in ICAMs are used “up close and personal” to the either liquid or gaseous form, to either kill or inca- potential contaminated area when investigating pacitate. The weapons vary in their lethality, in their possible chemical agent contamination, and they persistency, and in how they enter the body and how depend upon the volatility of CW agents for timely quickly their effects are felt. The types of chemical and accurate detection. Thus, low-volatility CW agents available for use vary in effect, but they can agents such as VX may be more difficult to detect in be broken down into four main groups. the field. It is generally considered necessary to be in full protective posture (such as U.S. MOPP IV—use Nerve Agents of a protective suit and mask) when using an ICAM, Nerve agents are the most lethal type of chemical the rationale being that the suspected presence of weapon and include tabun, sarin, soman, and GF chemicals demands such precautions. (NATO code for cyclosarin). The most lethal ones —Eric A. Croddy are VX and the new Russian novichok agents. Most See also: Protective Measures: Chemical Weapons nerve agents are clear, colorless liquids; sarin and VX References are odorless as well. Nerve agents inhibit the func- Conner, Steve, “Soldiers Sniff out Chemical Weapons,” tioning of the body’s central nervous system, and New Scientist, vol. 120, no. 1644/1645, 24 December they can cause death within minutes of exposure to 1988, p. 31. an extremely small amount of agent. These agents Ember, Lois, “Chemical Warfare Agent Detectors Probe can be inhaled or can penetrate the body through the Fogs of War,” Chemical & Engineering News, vol. exposed skin. Inhalation of nerve agent leads to ef- 72, no. 31, 1 August 1994, pp. 26–32. fects beginning within a few seconds to 1 minute, whereas penetration through the skin may result in CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL MUNITIONS effects emerging in anywhere from 30 minutes to AND MILITARY OPERATIONS several hours. The lethal dose varies with each agent, When people speak of weapons of mass destruc- but with all nerve agents, the dose is very small. tion, a common perception is of nuclear weapons Nerve agents, like all chemical weapons, have within the Cold War arsenals of the Soviet Union varying degrees of persistency, which is the amount and the United States, or within emerging nuclear of time that the agent remains lethal in an exposed weapon states. Chemical and biological weapons, environment. Tabun, for example, has a persistency however, are an emerging challenge of the twenty- of about 1 to 1.5 days, sarin only has a persistency of first century. They are easier to produce than nu- about 2.5 hours, and VX can remain persistent for clear weapons, easier to hide from arms control up to 6 days. Thus, any materials contaminated by inspection and verification measures, and in some highly persistent agents can remain dangerous for a cases they can be easier to deliver, especially when long time, requiring a military force to undertake done by irregular means (i.e., terrorist groups). nuclear/biological/chemical (NBC) protective mea- Yet, they can still produce mass casualties. Some sures, including the wearing of cumbersome NBC biological weapons have the potential to produce suits and respirators. The forces must also under- casualties similar in scale to a large nuclear attack. take ongoing extensive decontamination of person- In the context of the post–September 11 war on nel and equipment, all of which imposes severe lo- terrorism, chemical and biological weapons seem gistical and operational challenges for a military to be terrorists’ weapon of choice because the force when they are being subjected to attack. In technological complexity of nuclear weapons comparison, nonpersistent agents can be applied to leaves them beyond the reach of most nonstate a specific area, inflict heavy casualties, and then be- groups. Understanding the threat posed by chem- come inert after a few hours, allowing an enemy ical and biological weapons demands an under- force to exploit the “cleared” area to break through. standing of the weapons themselves, including the Common symptoms produced by exposure to different types, their effects, and how they would nerve agent poisoning include nausea and vomiting, be used operationally, either by a state or a non- dim or blurred vision brought about by contracted state group. pupils, excessive nasal secretions and salivation, and
    111. CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL MUNITIONS AND MILITARY OPERATIONS 81 constricted airways leading to shortness of breath. If measures. Furthermore, because they are binary a large amount were inhaled, or if no treatment agents, they can easily be produced covertly within were applied within minutes of exposure, then loss civilian chemical facilities, and thus are ideal for cir- of consciousness would ensue, followed by convul- cumventing the 1999 Chemical Weapons Conven- sions, eventual cessation of breathing, and, ulti- tion (CWC). mately, death. A nerve agent that penetrates through the skin as a liquid may lead to muscular twitching, Pulmonary Agents and were a sufficiently large dose absorbed through A second group of chemical agents, known as pul- the skin, the result would be convulsions, paralysis, monary agents or choking agents, are designed to loss of consciousness, cessation of breathing, and, attack the respiratory systems of victims. If inhaled, ultimately, death within minutes. these agents attack the membranes of the lung, fill- During the late 1980s and early 1990s, a new ing the lungs with fluid and preventing air from en- class of nerve agents was produced by Soviet scien- tering. The victim then dies from a form of suffoca- tists. Known as novichok (or newcomer) agents, tion described as dry-land drowning. Both these came in a variety of forms. These may have phosgene and chlorine are pulmonary agents and been designed as binary agents made up of two were used during the First World War, but they are harmless chemicals that, when combined, become a no longer considered very effective because they lethal chemical weapon. The novichok agents are re- evaporate quickly and can only be effective if in- portedly as lethal as VX and, in some cases, up to ten haled. NBC protective measures such as respirators times as lethal. They are also far more difficult for can fully protect against such agents. current chemical agent detectors (CADs) to detect on the battlefield, and they are resistant to nerve gas Vesicant Agents antidotes such as atropine. This makes their use on Vesicant agents (also referred to as blister agents) the battlefield much more effective, even if an op- produce similar effects to pulmonary agents, but ponent is equipped with modern NBC defensive they also affect both the skin and eyes through Modern militaries constantly train and prepare in the event of a chemical or biological attack. (Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis)
    112. 82 CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL MUNITIONS AND MILITARY OPERATIONS burning. The most commonly known vesicant is delivered by a crop duster aircraft as an aerosolized mustard, which is an oily liquid of light yellow to agent; the World Health Organization (WHO) esti- brown color with an odor of garlic or mustard. mates that were such an attack to occur over a city Mustard produces no immediate pain or other ef- of 500,000 people, approximately 125,000 would be fects. Thus, persons can be exposed to mustard for incapacitated and 95,000 would die within 7–10 several hours without realizing that they are becom- days. ing severely exposed. Most blister agents are persis- An even greater challenge is posed by viruses tent; mustard, for example, remains dangerous in such as smallpox and pneumonic plague, which soil for weeks to years and on other materials for have a high epidemicity and thus generate very high hours to days. Mustard is quickly absorbed into the levels of casualties. Officially, only two WHO stocks body via inhalation and skin, causing extreme irri- of the smallpox virus remain, located at the Centers tation of the lungs, airways, and eyes. Furthermore, for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta and at Vector this agent produces effects similar to radiation sick- Laboratories in Koltsovo, Russia. There is increasing ness, leading to cellular death and alteration of the concern, however, that clandestine stockpiles may DNA. exist in other states, including North Korea. Prior to Other blister agents include lewisite, which pro- the 2003 Iraq conflict, there also were fears that the duces moderate to severe pain on contact with the regime of Saddam Hussein had experimented with skin or mucous membranes (eyes, nose, mouth, and camel pox virus, a pathogen closely related to small- airways). Lewisite also rapidly kills tissue, resulting pox, possibly as a model for testing the weaponiza- in a grayish appearance to the skin. tion of the smallpox virus. With incubation periods ranging from 7 to 17 Blood Agents days, and onset of illness likely after 10 to 12 days, The final group of chemical weapons is blood an infected person could spread smallpox un- agents, which include cyanide gas. These agents are knowingly to people in his or her immediate vicin- in the form of liquids that vaporize into a gas shortly ity through aerobic respiration, or by direct con- after release. Large doses of blood agents such as hy- tact and transfer of bodily fluids. In such a drogen cyanide and cyanogen chloride interfere scenario, successive waves of infection would then with the ability of cells to use oxygen. Their most spread out through the population until the “first immediate effect is on the ability of the brain to gain generation” of victims began to show symptoms. sufficient oxygen to function. An exposure to a large By then, the epidemic would be underway and amount of hydrogen cyanide leads to sudden loss of would be extremely difficult to contain. Smallpox consciousness, followed by convulsions. After about has a 30 percent mortality rate; furthermore, it is 3–5 minutes, the convulsions cease as breathing physically disfiguring and extremely painful dur- stops, followed by heart failure within 10 minutes. ing the later stages of the disease. Smallpox vacci- Blood agents are nonpersistent, but compared to nations last administered in the 1970s are now in- nerve agents, they have a high lethal dose and can be effective, meaning that substantial numbers of volatile. people are at risk. The most likely scenario for a smallpox attack Biological Weapons would be the deliberate spread of smallpox in Biological weapons can use both pathogens (such as crowded areas such as airports, train and bus termi- bacteria and viruses) and toxins to cause lethal or nals, shopping malls, and cinemas. National and incapacitating diseases in humans. Since the terror- global transportation networks would then act as ist attacks on September 11, 2001, a great deal of vectors to quickly spread the virus through a popu- media attention has focused on the threat posed by lation. Such a scenario was considered in a U.S. gov- biological weapons, with emphasis on agents such ernment terrorism exercise known as Dark Winter as anthrax and smallpox that are ideal for delivery that was run at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, by terrorist networks. The main concern is that such on June 22–23, 2001. Postulating a smallpox attack agents, pound for pound, are far more lethal than on the United States during an international crisis, chemical weapons such as VX. Biological weapons the participants dealt with a situation in which 3 such as pulmonary (inhalation) anthrax could be million people were infected over a period of several
    113. CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL MUNITIONS AND MILITARY OPERATIONS 83 months, more than 1 million people died of the dis- cal weapons designed to undermine defensive mea- ease, and the economic and strategic power of the sures or deliver greater lethal capability. United States were crippled. Genetically engineered biological agents are a The nature of most biological agents makes new threat that emerged in the early 1990s. Infor- them difficult to use militarily. It can be challenging mation gained from Dr. Vladimir Pasechnik (a lead- to deliver biological agents on the battlefield, and ing figure in the former Soviet Union’s main biolog- once delivered and exposed to the outside environ- ical warfare agency, Biopreparat, who defected in ment, such agents—particularly viruses—can be October 1989) alluded to Soviet development of ge- killed by sunlight and its associated ultraviolet radi- netically enhanced plague and tularemia. The “su- ation, or by heat, cold, moisture, and other hazards. perplague” has a high epidemicity like smallpox, There is also the issue of “blow-back,” in which a bi- highlighting the horrifying potential of applying ge- ological agent infects not only enemy troops, but netic engineering and biotechnology to biological also friendly forces. weapons. Through genetic engineering, “legacy Some biological agents could be useful militarily agents”—that is, BW agents that will remain viable if they could be delivered effectively. For example, for longer periods of time—can be enhanced to be- Q-fever can be delivered in an aerosol from aircraft come more effective, to be resistant to antibiotics, to or cruise missiles equipped with spray tanks. Once change characteristics and thus become harder to delivered, the agent has an incubation period of up classify, and to have greater longevity when exposed to 26 days. Q-fever incapacitates rather than kills, is to the natural environment. Genetically enhanced very stable as an aerosol, and is very hardy in an ex- biological weapons can be made “smart” by being ternal environment. Furthermore, Q-fever is persis- genetically targeted against those with a certain ge- tent, remaining active for up to 60 days. Those in- netic signature (the so-called racial weapon often fected will suffer from weeks of fever, headache, referred to in the media). Existing nonweaponized chills, weakness, profuse perspiration, respiratory viruses such as Ebola and Marburg can be problems, and chest, muscle, and joint pain. As a re- weaponized, and natural toxins, such as snake sult of a Q-fever attack, the military effectiveness of venom, could be genetically merged through re- an opponent could be substantially reduced. Other combinant DNA techniques with pathogens such as “tactical” biological agents include Venezuelan the common cold to create devastating new equine encephalitis (VEE) and staphylococcal en- weapons taken directly from nature itself. terotoxin B (SEB). The latter’s effects last just hours, It is the potential for genetic engineering to cre- making it of potential use to break through an op- ate entirely new and very lethal bioweapons by com- ponent’s defenses or paralyze rear areas at a crucial bining several viruses to produce “chimera agents” point in a battle. that has caught the attention of the popular press in Faced with such a prospect, a military force can recent years. Former Soviet biological weapons ex- take protective measures through the use of protec- pert Ken Alibek has claimed that Biopreparat cre- tive suits and respirators (known as NBC suits; see ated a variety of such agents, including a combina- above), chemical and biological agent detectors, and tion of smallpox and Ebola. Were such a weapon to reconnaissance vehicles to rapidly identify CBW exist, it could spread rapidly due to the nature of the agents should they be released on the battlefield, and smallpox component, but, unlike smallpox with its by ensuring effective medical responses to CBW ca- 30 percent mortality, it would exploit the character- sualties. Adequate intelligence and warning, com- istics of Ebola to inflict up to 90 percent fatalities on bined with NBC defensive measures, can signifi- an infected population, with no vaccine or cure cur- cantly reduce the effectiveness of an adversary’s rently available. CBW attacks, though not without a substantial im- The operational utility of superweapons such as pact on operational battle tempo and overall com- an ebola-smallpox chimera or the superplague bat capability. It is the continuing offensive-defen- mentioned above is questionable for nation-state sive competition within the field of CBW that is actors. Pasechnik suggested that such weapons leading to the development of new chemical would only be used in a total war scenario of mutual weapons such as novichok nerve agents and pro- annihilation between superpowers, and, as such, moting the development of more effective biologi- they would count as strategic weapons systems. To
    114. 84 CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL MUNITIONS AND MILITARY OPERATIONS twenty-first century terrorists, however, such to remain technologically challenging for these weapons give small groups the ability to lash out at states. For longer-range attacks, a nuclear weapons an entire society, or indeed at civilization itself. capability may be easier to achieve than an effective On the horizon exists a new class of tactical bio- biological weapons strike capability. logical agents known as bioregulators. These are in- A key development in munitions designed to de- capacitating agents that are genetically engineered liver chemical weapons—specifically nerve agents— to alter and control the activity of natural bioregu- was the emergence of binary munitions in the mid lators within the human body—substances that 1970s. Rather than handling very dangerous nerve control hormone release, body temperature, sleep, agents (namely sarin and VX) in hollow shells and mood, consciousness, and emotions. Delivered as bombs, the nerve agent was divided into two sepa- an aerosol, such a weapon would alter bodily func- rate precursor agents that were transported to the tions according to which bioregulators the weapon battlefield separately. Immediately before firing, the was designed to influence. Thus, an attacker could second precursor would be loaded into the weapon deny an adversary force the ability to sleep (thus im- (which already contained the first), and once the pairing their functioning), affect their perceptions weapon was in flight, the two precursors would mix, and mood (perhaps leading to an inability to make creating the lethal nerve agent. A range of binary decisions effectively or to maintain command of munitions was developed, including 8-inch artillery forces), or more drastically, suddenly drive up their shells and 500-lb. Bigeye free-fall bombs. Binary body temperatures or undermine their emotional chemical munitions warheads for the multiple- stability. launch rocket system (MLRS) and the Lance battle- field missile were planned but not produced. Chemical and Biological Munitions Munitions designed to disperse CBW agents di- The delivery of chemical and biological weapons rectly onto a target through a free-fall bomb or ar- against unprotected urban areas can occur through tillery shell are often described as point source irregular means, such as terrorism. If such weapons weapons, and delivery systems equipped with a were be used by a military unit, however, they would spray tank that allows a CBW agent to be dispersed need to be delivered by specific munitions for that perpendicular to the wind are described as line purpose. These commonly include spray tanks that source weapons. When working with biological can be attached to the wing of an aircraft or housed weapons, it is more effective to avoid any sort of ex- in the warhead of a cruise missile, artillery shells and plosive dispersal, because the heat and shock gener- battlefield rockets equipped with some form of ated by an explosive warhead would kill a large pro- spray dispersal mechanism, and free-fall bombs or portion of most BW agents. Hence a line source cluster munitions designed to break open nonex- delivery system, such as a spray tank, becomes more plosively over a target. effective in delivering such weapons on the battle- Chemical land mines have also appeared in the field and can allow a wider area to be affected by an arsenals of the Soviet Union and the United States. attack. The U.S. M-23 land mine, for example, contained The most sophisticated BW capabilities involve 10.5 pounds of VX and was capable of acting either the use of dried agent biological weapons: Rather in an antipersonnel or antitank role. Longer-range than using the liquid form of a biological weapon, delivery systems for biological weapons might in- the agent is converted into dry, powdery particles clude warheads designed to fit on long-range ballis- about 1–10 microns in diameter, which can be more tic missiles. The Soviet Union developed refriger- effectively dispersed through the atmosphere. These ated warheads for delivery of viruses at can also be much more easily inhaled, bypassing intercontinental range with SS-11 ICBMs in the late many of the human body’s defenses, and thus pro- 1980s, and a dried agent dispersal system for mi- ducing a more lethal dose than with liquid agents. croencapsulated anthrax and plague delivered by Furthermore, unlike liquid agents, dry agents can be SS-18 ICBMs. Such systems have equal application stored for longer periods and can be more easily de- to shorter-range ballistic missiles now appearing in livered with less sophisticated dispersal mechanisms. the arsenals of many states, but the complex refrig- CBW weapons are at the mercy of meteorologi- eration and high-speed dispersal systems are likely cal conditions, unlike conventional high explosive
    115. CHEMICAL WARFARE 85 weapons or nuclear weapons. With chemical British Medical Association, Biotechnology Weapons and weapons, the temperature, wind speed, and poten- Humanity (London: Harwood Academic, 1999), pp. tial for precipitation may determine whether or not 45–52. a chemical attack is successful. The higher the tem- Harris, Robert, and Jeremy Paxman, A Higher Form of peratures in the air and on the ground, the quicker Killing: The Secret History of Chemical and Biological a chemical agent will evaporate, making some per- Warfare, third edition (London: Arrow, 2002), pp. 234–235. sistent agents such as VX less effective in dry, hot cli- Kincaid, Cliff, “Russia’s Dirty Chemical Secret,” mates such as the desert. Rainwater can undermine http://www.gulfweb.org/doc_show.cfm?ID=10. the effectiveness of chemical weapons by diluting Mangold, Tom, and Jeff Goldberg, Plague Wars: A True chemical agents, dispersing them over a wider area, Story of Biological Warfare (London: Macmillan, and reducing the concentration. Obviously, wind 1999). speed and direction also play a vital role in deter- Preston, Richard, The Demon in the Freezer (London: mining where a cloud of chemical agent is moving, Headline, 2002), p. 23. with higher winds demanding that a greater quan- Sidell, Frederick M., William C. Patrick, and Thomas R. tity of agent be employed to achieve a similar effect Dashiell, Jane’s Chem-Bio Handbook (Alexandria, VA: to smaller amounts on a calm day. With biological Jane’s Information Group, 1998), pp. 158–197. weapons, the most favorable time for attacks is at Sokolski, Henry, “Looming Security Threats: Rethinking night, and at dawn and sunset. At these times, there Bio-Chemical Dangers,” Orbis, vol. 44, no. 2, spring 2000, pp. 207–219. is less sunlight to impact the biological agents; also, Waller, J. Michael, “The Chemical Weapons Cover-Up,” a layer of cold air above the ground will trap an The Wall Street Journal, 13 February 1997, p. 1. aerosol cloud close to the ground while further min- imizing the effect of sunlight on biological agents. The challenge posed by chemical and biological CHEMICAL WARFARE weapons is becoming more apparent as new tech- Chemical warfare (CW) is the use of toxic chemicals nologies make the weapons themselves more lethal in battle. The term gas warfare is a throwback to and as the post–September 11 security environment World War I–era terms such as poison gas, because makes more salient the prospect for WMD terrorist the earlier battlefield employment of chemicals was attacks. Chemical and biological weapons could be- indeed in the form of gases. In the modern era, how- come the weapons of choice for states that cannot ever, chemical compounds used in warfare or terror- acquire nuclear weapons but who are challenged by ism can take the form of liquids, solids, or gases. the technologically advanced conventional forces As mass casualty weapons, chemicals cause death possessed by the United States and its allies. As the or injury by their poisonous effects. All CW agents “poor man’s atom bomb,” chemical and biological have two main characteristics: they are very poiso- weapons could be perceived by adversary states as a nous in small quantities (high toxicity), and they relatively low-cost force equalizer to U.S. military su- have physical attributes that are amenable for use in periority and as a tool of coercion against neighbors. weapons on the battlefield. CW agents and their Genetically enhanced biological weapons in particu- precursors are often relatively easy to manufacture lar open up a Pandora’s box of possibilities, and they and store. merit increased consideration as the first truly Chemical weapons can be further subdivided twenty-first-century weapon of mass destruction. into the CW agent—that is, the toxic substance itself —Malcolm Davis in the form of solid, liquid, or gas—and the weapon used to deliver that agent (bomb, artillery shell, See also: Aerosol; Binary Chemical Munitions; etc.). Thus, a delivery system such as an artillery Biological Warfare; Blood Agents; Chemical Warfare; shell becomes a chemical weapon when filled with Nerve Agents References CW agent. Alibek, Ken, and Stephen Handelman, Biohazard Chemical terrorism refers to smaller-scale attacks (London: Hutchinson, 1999). upon civilians or governmental institutions, and, ANSER Institute for Homeland Security, Dark Winter like CW, chemical terrorism is a rare occurrence. In website, http://www.homelandsecurity.org/ 1994–1995, however, a political/religious organiza- briefings/DARK_WINTER_Briefing.ppt. tion called the Aum Shinrikyo (Sect of the Supreme
    116. 86 CHEMICAL WARFARE Truth) in Japan used sarin nerve agent, an extremely as napalm have traditionally been placed under the lethal chemical agent, in two major attacks that rubric of chemical weaponry, although few would killed at least nineteen people. (The organic chemist now consider this classification valid. involved, Tsuchiya Masami, received the death Producing toxic fumes, especially in confined penalty, and a similar sentence was likely to be given areas such as tunnels, is one classic technique that for the cult’s guru, Shoko Asahara.) Sarin is a stan- could be accurately termed chemical warfare. Long dard military CW agent that was stockpiled by both ago, ancient armies burned sulfur and pitch to force the United States and the former Soviet Union dur- the enemy to surrender, or simply to harass enemy ing the Cold War. Tens of thousands of tons of CW forces. In the fourth century B.C.E., the famous agents are still in storage, mostly in Russia and the Greek military strategist Aeneias Tacticus noted the United States, but these stockpiles are scheduled for utility of using smoke to deter the enemy from dig- destruction under the terms of the 1992 Chemical ging mines under one’s fortifications. Written at Weapons Convention (CWC). about the same time, the Chinese historical record Although the basic idea behind CW is simple, in Mo Zi contains prescriptions for how to combine practice, a chemical attack against a modern mili- firewood, grass, reeds, and other combustibles to tary force is an extraordinarily challenging under- defend against enemy miners. taking. One might think that, in this modern in- The mining technique was also employed in dustrial era, there must be hundreds of toxic Roman times (approximately 190 B.C.E.). One chemicals that could be effectively used as means of Roman commander, Marcus Fulvius, attacked a warfare. In actuality, though, few are effective Greek city by tunneling under the city’s fortified enough to be used in a battlefield setting. During walls. The Greeks (Ambraciots), however, deployed World War I, for instance, traditional poisons such large pots of burning coal and feathers that pro- as hydrogen cyanide (HCN) failed to produce mass duced, in addition to rather toxic fumes, a horrific casualties. Through deliberate scientific research stench. In this way, the Greeks were able to drive and a good deal of trial and error, several basic back the Roman miners. The Chinese Gunpowder threat chemicals have been identified that could Epic also mentions using arsenic, a very toxic metal, pose a significant battlefield or terrorist threat: in making smoke bombs, and this technique may nerve agents (e.g., sarin), blister agents (e.g., mus- have been used in battle by 1000 C.E. tard, lewisite), blood agents (e.g., HCN), choking With the advent of chemistry as a scientific dis- agents such as phosgene and perfluoroisobutylene cipline and of modern industrial technologies, (PFIB), and psychoincapacitants (e.g., BZ or 3- mass production and use of highly toxic com- quinuclidinyl benzilate). pounds became an obvious way to inflict signifi- cant casualties on an opponent’s forces. The chem- History of Chemical Warfare ical sciences developed and flourished in the Even in prehistoric times, people may have em- Islamic world during medieval times. It was not ployed irritating smoke generated by burning until the eighteenth century, however, that the In- branches and leaves to ward off predators or to draw dustrial Revolution could bring economies of scale prey into killing zones. Some of the earliest written in the mass production of chemicals. In the nine- accounts of using poison as a form of warfare go teenth century, the famous chemist Michael Fara- back to as early as the fourth millennium B.C.E. in day, who pioneered the technique of liquefying India. These involved snake venom being applied to gases, was asked by the British government how the tips of arrows, as well as other toxins being used chemicals could be used as weapons against Russia to cause discomfort and confusion among the during the Crimean War. Although his expertise enemy. Chinese writings going back at least three told him that such an idea was feasible, he also millennia, including the Gunpowder Epic (Wujing found the notion repellent, and refused to have Zongyao) and other military classics, mention the anything to do with it. It also was about this time use of toxic smokes (including arsenic) against that remarkable advances were being made in the enemy sappers (engineers who conduct mining to field of organic chemistry, with its many applica- destroy fortifications, as well as to conduct de-min- tions being used in rapidly growing industries such ing operations). Various forms of incendiaries such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, and explosives.
    117. CHEMICAL WARFARE 87 World War I occurred at a time when Germany Enzymes are protein molecule-based structures was leading this chemical phase of the Industrial that catalyze (i.e., speed up and reduce) the activa- Revolution. Although Europe and, to a lesser extent, tion energy required for chemical reactions. Some the United States were well equipped with technical CW agents have a tendency to come into contact and industrial expertise to make great profits from with and bind or otherwise impair important en- chemicals, Germany had established an effective zyme functions. government-business relationship in its society that further enhanced its share of the chemical market. Choking Agents The use of chemicals in World War I left an ab- Choking agents or choking gases are those that irri- horrent image of helpless soldiers in makeshift gas tate and injure the lungs, causing a buildup of fluid masks struggling for breath, or ranks of soldiers (edema) in the lungs and preventing the uptake of blinded by mustard agent attacks. In reality, though, oxygen. Chlorine and phosgene, for example, are chemical weapons caused relatively few deaths and classic choking gases that were used during World injuries compared to conventional weapons; when War I. the war was over, chemical weapons had caused less The first major chemical assault that produced than 4 percent of all casualties. Furthermore, the significant numbers of casualties was done by the death rate from chemical injuries in World War I German military in 1915 with chlorine gas (Cl2), re- ran about 3 percent. For the United States, approxi- leased from cylinders into a cloud that drifted with mately 2 percent of the gas casualties died, com- the wind toward the opposing military forces. In pared to the 8 percent death rate from gunshot this case, the Germans utilized about 500 tons of wounds during World War I. One could ask why chlorine gas made available from stocks provided by CW has gained such a fulsome reputation when its the German chemical (dye) industry. The chlorine use did not fundamentally affect the course of was loaded into canisters under pressure, and as the World War I, or, arguably, of any war since then. chlorine was released from a liquid state into a gas, Richard Price (1997) offers the following explana- it mixed with moisture in the air and made clouds tion in his book, The Chemical Weapons Taboo: of chlorine-water mists. “Chemical weapons, which had been temporarily When chlorine is inhaled, a combination of hy- singled out during The Hague’s grand deliberations drochloric acid and hypochlorous acid is formed. In on international arbitration and the law of war, be- large enough concentrations, these caustic and irri- came an effective scapegoat for the disillusionment tating compounds damage lung tissue. Damage to with the promise of technology that followed World the lung tissue causes blood plasma to infiltrate War I” (p. 165). through the injured sites in the lung and to fill up the spaces left by the damage. The result of inhala- Classification of CW agents tion injury by this choking gas can be so severe that CW agents are grouped within categories based on frothy, blood-tinged fluid builds up in the lung and their effects on the human body. Traditionally these is coughed up following exposure. Even with as- are listed as choking, blister, blood (systemic), and sisted breathing, the victim chokes on his or her nerve agents. Other CW agent types exist—includ- own fluid (thus the term choking agent). In old mili- ing riot control agents (RCAs), incapacitants, and tary manuals, this was also referred to as dry land compounds that destroy vegetation (herbicides)— drowning. The classic 1918 poem by Wilfred Owen, but these are not usually included in the traditional Dulce et Decorum Est—written about a gas attack categories. Not all of the ways in which CW agents during World War I—specifically refers to the poison their victims have been satisfactorily ex- “choking” and “drowning” of such victims (quoted plained, although two main mechanisms are often in Sidell, 1997, p. vi). at work in the toxicology (study of poisonous com- Phosgene, a commonly used chemical for civil- pounds) of CW agents: reactions with molecules in ian industrial processes, is a compound that can af- the body that directly or indirectly cause tissue fect the body’s enzymes and tissues. This choking damage, pain, and other effects; and the binding gas, also used in World War I (1915), may not have and blocking of larger macromolecules called en- had the overall impact of mustard or other agents, zymes that are vital for normal bodily functions. but did cause more deaths in proportion to overall
    118. 88 CHEMICAL WARFARE injury during World War I (approximately 80 per- Blister Agents cent). At the molecular level, phosgene gas is Blister agents include the mustard and lewisite breathed in the lungs, and can react with vulnerable compounds that were developed in the years chemical constituents in enzymes and tissues. Fur- 1917–1918. Although mustard did not cause as thermore, phosgene reacts with water in the body to many deaths in proportion to total casualties, the produce hydrochloric acid. In combination with its blistering and blinding effects of mustard were ex- reactions with key chemicals in the lung tissues, tremely potent on the battlefield. Mustard has been phosgene makes injury worse by producing acidic used in considerable quantity in at least three major by-products. The overall consequences of inhaling wars: World War I, the Italian campaigns in phosgene are similar to those of chlorine, but phos- Ethiopia (1935–1936), and the Iran-Iraq War of gene is many times more toxic. 1980–1988. In the latter conflict, an estimated 45,000 Iranians were injured, 5,000 of these fatally, Blood Agents by Iraqi use of CW agents. Most of these casualties Blood agents include the important compound were probably the result of mustard. Sulfur mus- cyanide, or more precisely hydrocyanic acid (HCN). tard is a relatively cheap and simple compound to Cyanide blocks the utilization of oxygen in mam- produce, making it a likely CW agent. On the other malian systems. Because cyanide has been a classic hand, mustard is not nearly as lethal as are the poison throughout history, its effects have long been nerve agents, and it is therefore unlikely to be a noted. And as cyanide seemed to early observers to chemical sought by terrorists. affect the entire body, and therefore was assumed to Mustard, at least until the development of the somehow affect the blood, it was described as a more highly toxic nerve agents, was considered the blood agent. One could say that HCN is an asphyxi- king of CW agents. Mustard is a rather thick or vis- ant in a sense, stopping oxygen uptake in the body. cous liquid at room temperature, and it is less Cyanide directly reacts with an enzyme complex, cy- volatile than water. (Lightweight motor oil is a close tochrome oxidase (the suffix –ase indicates an en- comparative example to the physical properties of zyme), that moves oxygen and electrons along in a mustard.) For use against concentrations of soldiers chain reaction. If enough hydrocyanic acid is intro- in the field, mustard is most effective when delivered duced to the human system, cyanide will stop this in the form of an aerosol (a suspension of very tiny chain of energy and oxygen transfer, resulting in droplets or particles that remain suspended in air death. Some have likened this poisoning event to for a significant period of time—fog is a rough shutting off a water hose at the source. equivalent to an aerosol). Mustard can be made into Despite HCN’s high toxicity, it actually is not as an aerosol by simply using an explosive charge in a toxic as many other compounds. And although shell or bomb that disperses the agent after a quick, HCN is in liquid form at room temperature, it violent blast of energy. The tiny droplets of mustard evaporates so quickly that creating lethal concen- form a dense cloud of agent that presents two major trations in the open field is quite difficult. Due to threats: exposure via inhalation, and contact with its high volatility, or tendency to form a vapor, the skin. Larger droplets that immediately fall to the HCN is quickly dissipated by the wind and by ground are also a hazard: Shoes, garments, and other atmospheric conditions. French, German, equipment can become contaminated with the American, Japanese, and Russian militaries in the agent, and personnel can be exposed to these past several decades, for example, all tried to de- sources of mustard. velop HCN as a battlefield weapon without much How mustard causes the blistering, irritation, success. Subsequent developments included and severe tissue destruction it causes is not exactly cyanogen chloride, a more stable version of known. In 1985, however, Bruno Papirmeister and cyanide, and was stockpiled in small quantities by his colleagues at the U.S. Army Medical Research In- the major powers. Although this improved version stitute of Chemical Defense hypothesized some very appeared later in World War I, this development likely mechanisms of mustard poisoning in the did not make much of an overall impact, as the human system. First, mustard (unlike water) can be weapon still suffered from many of the same draw- absorbed through the outer skin layer. Second, the backs as HCN. mustard molecule undergoes a change in its struc-
    119. CHEMICAL WARFARE 89 ture, becomes very reactive, and can bind (alkylate, respiratory tree and the lungs. As in other cases of or join on a molecular level) with key components lethal CW agent exposures, asphyxiation is the di- in the structure of DNA. The nucleic acid guanine is rect cause of death. particularly susceptible to reactions with the mus- Lewisite is another blister agent, and although it tard molecule. This can cause breaks and errors in was produced in the United States in 1918, it was cellular DNA formation and repair, resulting in cel- never used in World War I. Lewisite has some of the lular death. (A similar process can take place in cases blistering effects of mustard, but it acts more quickly of ionizing forms of radiation.) Third, mustard can and produces immediate irritating effects. Lewisite target other key components by chemically attack- has not been seen in many cases of actual warfare, ing the sulfhydryl (SH) groups commonly found in and cases of human exposure are few. It is named proteins and key enzymes. This process leads to the after its inventor, W. Lee Lewis, who developed the autolysis, or breakdown, of dead cells and their compound as a “dew of death” in 1917. By the time structures, reducing proteins and related com- large quantities were produced for use in battles, pounds into smaller chemical components. En- however, the war in Europe was nearly over. Because zymes called proteases are released that break down the molecule of lewisite is built around one atom of cell walls and other cell parts that maintain the arsenic, it is classified as an arsenical-type agent. structural integrity of tissue. As the enzymes break Lewisite is an extremely potent, irritating substance down the cells into their basic components, includ- affecting skin and eyes, and it is also a significant in- ing a substantial proportion of water, this results in halation and contact hazard. pus-filled blisters. Depending upon the amount of Because lewisite freezes at a very low tempera- exposure, blisters form about an hour or more fol- ture, much lower than that of sulfur mustard, mili- lowing contact with mustard. taries such as the former Soviet Red Army often The eyes are especially sensitive to mustard, and mixed lewisite with mustard for use in very cold exposure to this agent causes so much eye pain and weather. Not only would this mixture bring the itching that affected individuals must keep their eye- freezing point down considerably below zero de- lids shut. Permanent blindness caused by mustard- grees centigrade, but the combined effects of both induced injury can occur, although most victims re- agents would also present a very dangerous conta- cover well enough to keep at least partial vision. minant for the battlefield. Lewisite poisons to a Other areas of the body that are very vulnerable to great extent by its ability to react with sulfhydryl mustard poisoning include the more delicate skin (SH) groups in tissues, key enzymes, and amino layers (epidermis) under the arms and in the groin. acids such as glutathione. Lewisite produces red- There can be severe irritation in the armpits, where ness, blistering, and irritation in human skin, and it the motion of the arms can aggravate the discom- also behaves as a systemic poison, causing further fort, and irritation in the groin area can make ordi- injury to various organs of the body. Although nary tasks such as walking unbearable. more toxic than mustard, lewisite is still far less The discomfort and tissue injury caused by blis- deadly than the nerve agents. Therefore, although tering can leave permanent scars and requires a con- its military effectiveness is undoubtedly high, it is siderable amount of time to heal, but long-term side unclear what role (if any) lewisite may play in effects from single exposures to mustard are gener- chemical terrorism. ally not life-threatening. Cancers and birth defects in children born of individuals exposed to mustard Nerve Agents are possible, but they are most likely to occur in Nerve agents were synthesized in the 1930s by both those who have routinely been in the presence of German and Allied (U.K.) scientists during World mustard, such as workers involved in its production War II, although only Germany produced actual over a period of months or years. Death from mus- wartime stocks of these very toxic substances. In the tard can occur from contact with about two grams later stages of the war (1944–1945), German mili- of this agent, such as the inhaling of a significant tary scientists produced large quantities of tabun quantity of vapor. Mustard causes tissue damage in nerve agent (apparently code-named after a non- the upper respiratory tract, resulting in blockage of sensical word). More commonly known nerve airways. Larger exposures can also involve the lower agents developed for use in CW are sarin and VX.
    120. 90 CHEMICAL WARFARE All nerve agents share the same toxic principle: Dis- nerve agents vary in their volatility. As with mus- ruption of the biochemistry vital for normal func- tard, high concentrations of nerve agent are best de- tion of the nervous system. These compounds have livered through the use of aerosols. VX nerve agent been used in the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988) and in does not evaporate very quickly, much less so than two major terrorist attacks in Japan during the mid- mustard, but sarin, a nerve agent used on the Tokyo 1990s. subway by terrorists in 1995, volatilizes at about the Nerve agents were first created from investigative same rate as water. Therefore, although militaries research into new insecticides based on would use nerve agents as aerosols to maximize organophosphorus molecules (those possessing their effectiveness in the field, terrorists may employ carbon and phosphorus in their structures). In simpler, even crude methods of delivery. 1937, the German chemist Gerhard Schräder and his team synthesized a potential organophosphorus Other CW Agents insecticide but found that it was highly toxic to Incapacitants mammals. A drop of the substance, later called A number of compounds have been developed to tabun, fell on the laboratory table. Schräder and an harass rather than kill the enemy, thereby making assistant soon began to show signs of poisoning, in- opposing soldiers a less effective fighting force. A cluding the classic symptom of pinpoint pupils nonsubtle form of this is the use of riot control (miosis). This compound was given to the German agents (RCAs), commonly referred to as tear gas. wartime government as a possible chemical Usually, these compounds are not very toxic (cer- weapon. During the 1940s, British scientists, notably tainly less poisonous than other CW agents), and Bernard Saunders, also experimented with nerve they are meant to cause discomfort to the enemy. agent compounds, as well as with cyanide and other Chloracetophenon (CN) is a liquid agent developed compounds with fluorine. during World War I, and although it was produced Nerve agents like tabun share in common a so- too late for use in that conflict, it has been used since called leaving group, a chemical constituent of the then. In large concentrations, CN is quite toxic, but molecule that leaves to reveal a reactive site. This site in smaller doses it usually only causes irritation to can react (phosphorylate) with susceptible groups the nose, throat, and especially to the eyes (thus the in enzymes. The primary enzyme targeted by the term tear gas). Mace is a commercial product that nerve agent molecule is acetylcholinesterase uses CN for civilian, personal protection. (AChE). Normally, AChE performs the life-sustain- Most often used in modern times is CS, a crys- ing function of taking the nerve signal transmitter talline substance that is usually delivered as a pow- (neurotransmitter) acetylcholine and splitting it dery aerosol, but also can be used in the form of a into acetic acid and choline, both of which are recy- thermal vapor. Although CS causes much more im- cled by yet another enzyme to form acetylcholine mediate and severe discomfort to the eyes, nasal again later when needed. AChE splits acetylcholine passages, and upper respiratory tract than CN, CS is at a rate of hundreds of molecules per second. This less poisonous than CN in terms of general toxicity. enzyme not only provides for muscle fiber flexing, Therefore, governments and their police agencies but also for fluid excretion and normal breathing, sometimes use CS against civilians to quell riots or among many other bodily functions. If this enzyme prison disturbances. Using CS to encourage unruly is blocked or inhibited, levels of acetylcholine will mobs to disperse is considered to be more humane continue to rise. This sets off a series of events that than using clubs or bullets to restore the peace. leads to death by respiratory arrest, either due to ex- BZ is a very potent incapacitant that was once a haustion or, more likely, asphyxiation by accumulat- part of the U.S. chemical arsenal. This drug actually ing mucous and saliva in the airways. Thus, despite belongs to the same group of compounds as at- their very different mechanisms, nerve agents can ropine, although BZ is significantly more potent, also produce “dry land drowning” as does chlorine causing severe (although temporary) mental distur- in the classic sense of “gas warfare.” bances when administered. Persons intoxicated with Nerve agents are extremely toxic even when BZ will have distorted perceptions of visual and compared to other CW agents. All nerve agents are other sensory realities, as well as altered states of sit- liquid at room temperature, but different types of uational awareness. The distortion of mental behav-
    121. CHEMICAL WARFARE 91 ior may last for several hours to a few days, but it volves using a drug (amyl nitrite) to induce a usually goes away without lingering effects. Its un- chemical change in hemoglobin, the oxygen-carry- predictability as a weapon was a major reason the ing component in the blood. This change in the U.S. military decided to get rid of its BZ stocks in the structure of hemoglobin, now called methemoglo- late 1980s and early 1990s. bin, attracts the cyanide molecule to the hemoglo- bin much faster than it would otherwise bind to Herbicides cytochrome oxidase. This forms a harmless mole- No longer part of U.S. military strategy (except for cule (cyanomethemoglobin) complex that the use in specific tasks such as clearing vegetation body can safely process, keeping free cyanide from around airfields), herbicides such as weed killers interfering with the cytochrome oxidase oxygen were used by the British army in Malaysia in the transport system. 1950s and to a much greater extent in Vietnam by Nerve agents are the most toxic and lethal CW the U.S. Air Force. The main targets of herbicides agents thus far devised for use as weapons. Fortu- are plants and trees that may give cover to the nately, there exist effective treatments for nerve enemy, as well as crops grown by the opposition for agent intoxication. The first line of defense against food. Although herbicides only attack plants, by as- nerve agent poisoning is a drug called atropine. This saulting enemy food supplies one could indirectly compound has been used for centuries in various consider the use of herbicides as a form of CW. One ways, one of these being to cause the dilation of the of the most effective herbicides, 2,4-D (2,4- pupils in the eyes. At one time, it was very fashion- dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) formed the significant able in Europe for women to have dilated pupils, portion of Agent Orange, the mixture (2,4-D and and extracts such as atropine from the belladonna 2,4,5-T) used in Vietnam by the U.S. military. group of plants were used for this purpose. Today, As a so-called growth regulator, 2,4-D kills plants atropine is used to widen pupils during eye exami- by inducing changes in their growth cycle, and it is nations. This drug and others like it are still referred nontoxic to mammals. 2,4-D is still commonly used to as the belladonna group of compounds, from the today and can be found in local nurseries and hard- Italian for beautiful (bella) lady (donna). ware stores. Many U.S. Vietnam War veterans To a certain extent, the effects of atropine coun- claimed injury due to a contaminant in Agent Or- terbalance those of nerve agents. Nerve agents block ange used during the war, dioxin (2,3,7,8 tetra- or inhibit the function of acetylcholinesterase chlorodibenzo-para-dioxin). Although dioxin was (AChE) enzyme, resulting in an increase in acetyl- present in Agent Orange as a by-product of its pro- choline molecules. This acetylcholine continues to duction, no scientific study has yet proven a causal stimulate receptors in the nervous system, causing link between dioxin and disease in humans. exhaustion in the muscles used for breathing, changes in heart rhythm, and secretions in the Treatment of CW Agent Casualties throat that can asphyxiate the victim. Atropine, on Some CW agents and their injuries are treatable, the other hand, is a so-called anticholinergic com- but others lack effective remedies besides support- pound that partially blocks receptors in the nervous ive care. Mustard poisoning, for example, is still system, protecting them from excessive levels of not effectively treatable once the agent has ab- acetylcholine stimulation. Although atropine does sorbed through the skin surface or respiratory tis- little for the involuntary twitching in skeletal mus- sues. Advances in supportive therapy, however, in- cles caused by nerve agents, it does help to dry up se- cluding the use of antibiotics to keep bacterial cretions and restore some normalcy to the rest of infections in check, have increased the likelihood the system. Longer-term treatment for nerve agent of CW survival. Lewisite has a standard treatment exposure may also include chemical compounds that attempts to take out arsenic through a process called oximes. These help restore the normal activ- called chelation. Still, the so-called British Anti- ity of AChE by releasing the enzyme (via dephos- Lewisite (BAL) treatment has yet to be proven fully phorylation) from its bonds to the nerve agent. effective as an antidote for lewisite poisoning. Oxime treatment in conjunction with atropine in- Given a timely medical response, antidotes for creases the chances of survival for those exposed to cyanide poisoning are effective. One method in- nerve agents.
    122. 92 CHEMICAL WARFARE Additionally, pretreatment for nerve agent expo- terrorists would use chemical weapons if other sure can be effective in protecting against intoxica- more proven methods—explosives, bullets, or tion. In some instances, militaries may gather intel- knives—have achieved their goals. ligence indicating that an enemy plans to use nerve Chemicals, nevertheless, may represent a notable agents in battle. Soldiers then can be prepared by and fearsome weapon in the arsenal of the terrorist, taking one of a family of drugs called carbamates. with an impact that goes beyond just numbers of Carbamates, such as pyridostigmine bromide, actu- casualties. CW agents can act as silent and unseen ally behave somewhat like nerve agents: Carbamates killers, further adding to the mystique sought by ter- can bind themselves with AChE, but they do so only rorists. temporarily, forming reversible complexes. In the —Eric A. Croddy event of nerve agent exposure, lethal nerve agent References molecules now have to compete with the carba- Cheng Shuiting and Shi Zhiyuan, Military Technology mates already in the system. Because carbamates Information Handbook: Chemical Weapons, second only loosely attach themselves to AChE, the enzyme edition (Beijing: People’s Liberation Army Press, is eventually released back to normal function while 1999; second printing, 2000). the nerve agent molecules are gradually cleared Compton, James A. F., Military Chemical and Biological (detoxified) from the system. Carbamates are espe- Agents (Caldwell, NJ: Telford, 1987). cially recommended if nerve agents like soman may Croddy, Eric, Chemical and Biological Warfare: A be used against one’s military forces. Soman, more Comprehensive Survey for the Concerned Citizen (New York: Copernicus, 2001). than other nerve agents, has a tendency to bind per- Franke, Siegfried. Manual of Military Chemistry, vol. 1, manently and block AChE, making the protection Chemistry of Chemical Warfare [Lehrbuch der of available enzyme by the use of carbamates even Militärchemie der Kampfstoffe] (East Berlin: more desirable. Deutscher Militärverlag, 1967). Kern, Paul Bentley, Ancient Siege Warfare (Bloomington: CW Agents and Terrorism Indiana University Press, 1999). Terrorism can be generally described as an act of Lohs, Karlheinz, Synthetic Poisons, second edition (East political violence aimed at a government and its cit- Berlin: German Military Publishing House, 1963). izenry. Most terrorist acts—car bombs, hijacking of Marrs, Timothy C., Robert L. Maynard, and Frederick R. aircraft, and assassinations—still employ age-old Sidell, Chemical Warfare Agents: Toxicology and techniques and devices including explosives, bullets, Treatment (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1996). and sharp instruments. Also, most terrorist attacks Mauroni, Al, Chemical and Biological Warfare (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2003). are not intended to cause mass casualties, but rather National Research Council, Possible Long-Term Effects of to create destructive events that may cause death Short-Term Exposure to Chemical Agents, vol. 2 and injury in spectacular fashion. Often, terrorists (Washington, DC: National Research Council, 1984). have wider political goals in mind, such as the for- Needham, Joseph, Science and Civilisation in China, vol. mation of a separate country (separatist move- 5, part 7: Military Technology: The Gunpowder Epic ments), removal of what is perceived as an occupy- (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986). ing power, or criminal activities. The act of violence Papirmeister, Bruno, Clark L. Gross, Henry L. Meier, itself, rather than trying to directly attack an enemy, John P. Petrali, and John B. Johnson, “Molecular is an attempt to make a larger impact by frightening, Basis for Mustard-Induced Vesication,” Fundamental bullying, or causing a government and its people to and Applied Toxicology, vol. 5, 1985, pp. S134–S149. feel insecure. Price, Richard M., The Chemical Weapons Taboo (Ithaca, There are examples of terrorists using chemical NY: Cornell University Press, 1997). Saunders, Bernard Charles, Some Aspects of the weapons, but these are actually rather few in pro- Chemistry and Toxic Action of Organic Compounds portion to the many acts committed during the past Containing Phosphorus and Fluorine (Cambridge: century or so. The numbers of deaths and injuries Oxford University Press, 1957). from chemical weapons in terrorism have also been Sidell, Frederick, Ernest T. Takafuji, and David R. Franz, relatively low, especially when one considers the po- eds., Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, tential impact that large amounts of chemical agents Weaponry, and the Casualty: Medical Aspects of could actually create. It is unclear, furthermore, why Chemical and Biological Warfare (Washington, DC:
    123. CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION 93 Borden Institute, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, use of all toxic chemicals and their precursors ex- 1997), p. vi. cept when used for peaceful purposes. This so- Smart, Jeffrey K., “History of Chemical and Biological called general purpose criterion is incorporated in Warfare: An American Perspective,” in Frederick R. the definition of a chemical weapon. The reasoning Sidell, Ernest T. Takafuji, and David R. Franz, eds., behind it is to ensure that chemicals not listed in Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, the CWC’s Annex on Chemicals are still prohibited Weaponry, and the Casualty: Medical Aspects of as a means of warfare, while also taking into ac- Chemical and Biological Warfare (Washington, DC: Borden Institute, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, count any relevant future technological and scien- 1997), pp. 9–86. tific developments that could be utilized in chemi- cal weaponry. The definition was structured so as to assist in the verification of destruction of storage CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION (CWC) tanks, unfilled munitions, and binary chemical The 1993 Convention on the Prohibition of the De- weapons components. velopment, Production, Stockpiling, and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction Background (known more simply as the Chemical Weapons The main international legal instrument dealing Convention, or CWC) entered into force on April with chemical weapons prior to the CWC’s entry 29, 1997 as the first verifiable treaty to ban an entire into force was the Geneva Protocol for the Prohibi- category of weapons of mass destruction. As of Jan- tion of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous, uary 11, 2003, 148 nations had formally ratified par- or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of ticipation in the Convention by their governments, Warfare (the Geneva Protocol, 1925). The Geneva or simply acceded, and 20 had neither signed nor Protocol did not, however, prevent the stockpiling of ratified it. Among states of particular interest, India, chemical weapons. Furthermore, many of the major Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, and states that made up the powers attached conditions to their instruments of former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croa- ratification: for example, provisions that a state tia, Serbia and Montenegro) are parties to the treaty. would not consider itself bound by treaty obliga- Egypt, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, and Syria are tions if first attacked with chemical weapons, or if it among the nonsignatory states. Israel has signed but were involved in a military conflict with nonsigna- not ratified the treaty. (The reasons for Israel’s non- tory states or with military coalitions that included ratification and the refusal of some Arab states to one or more nonsignatory states. sign the CWC are generally related to broader polit- Other agreements regarding chemical weapons ical considerations, such as the political linkage be- include the International Declaration Concerning tween chemical and nuclear weapons. Some states the Laws and Customs of War, signed at the Brussels in the Middle East have indicated that they will not Conference of 1874; the conventions signed at the ratify the CWC until Israel becomes party to the First International Peace Conference (The Hague, Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.) 1899) and the Second International Peace Confer- ence (The Hague, 1907); the Treaty of Peace with Definition of a Chemical Weapon Germany (also known as the Treaty of Versailles, The CWC defines a chemical weapon as essentially signed on June 28, 1919); and the Treaty of Wash- consisting of one or more of three elements: (1) ington of 1922, Relating to the Use of Submarines toxic chemicals and their precursors in a type and and Noxious Gases in Warfare (signed in Washing- quantity not consistent with the object and pur- ton, D.C., on February 6, 1922). pose of the treaty, (2) munitions and devices that Groundwork in CWC negotiations began in are specifically designed to cause death or harm 1968 within the framework of the UN Eighteen-Na- through the use of such chemicals, and (3) any tion Committee on Disarmament (the present-day equipment specifically designed for use directly in Conference on Disarmament). Discussions on a connection with the employment of munitions and treaty banning biological and toxin weapons were devices specified in (2). A key element in the CWC’s conducted separately from those concerning chem- definition of a chemical weapon is the fact that it ical weapons and resulted in the 1972 Convention bans the production, development, stockpiling, and on the Prohibition of the Development, Production,
    124. 94 CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION Stockpiling, and Use of Bacteriological and Toxin ties of chemical warfare agents for research, medical, Weapons and on their Destruction (the Biological pharmaceutical, or protective purposes are then and Toxin Weapons Convention, or BTWC). subject to international inspections. Segments of The CWC was negotiated within the context of the chemical industry are also subject to visits by in- the Cold War. The United States and the Soviet spectors. These result in a final inspection report to Union negotiated a bilateral agreement on chemi- help provide assurance among parties that they are cal weapons in parallel with the multilateral nego- all in compliance. tiations on chemical disarmament. The bilateral negotiations resulted in the Agreement on Destruc- Schedule 1, 2, and 3 Chemicals tion and Nonproduction of Chemical Weapons Although any use of chemicals as a means of war- and on Measures to Facilitate the Multilateral Con- fare is prohibited under the CWC, certain chemicals vention on Banning Chemical Weapons, signed on known to have been used as CW agents are listed in June 1, 1990. Although the latter agreement was schedules, while others are included due to their po- never fully implemented, the CWC’s verification of tential use as CW agent precursors. In the Schedule compliance procedures are largely based on that bi- 1 category, CW agents that have typically been de- lateral agreement. Provisions for providing emer- veloped for warfare—and have no other practical gency assistance to member states that are the vic- purpose—are listed, including the nerve agents tims of chemical weapons or are threatened with (e.g., sarin) and mustard agent. States may produce chemical weapons, as well as technological assis- these in small quantities only for peaceful defensive tance and cooperation provisions, were also in- purposes, and there are strict reporting guidelines in cluded toward the end of the 1990 bilateral chemi- these cases. Schedule 2 chemicals include toxic cal treaty negotiations. chemicals that could be utilized as a means of war- fare, such as amiton (nerve agent), or other chemi- The OPCW cals that could be used to produce Schedule 1 chem- The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical icals. Countries may produce Schedule 2 chemicals Weapons (OPCW), based in The Hague, Nether- but only for peaceful purposes, and their trade is re- lands, is mandated to verify the destruction of stricted to CWC parties. Finally, Schedule 3 includes chemical weapons—including old and abandoned classic World War I–era gases such as chlorine. chemical weapons—as well as to verify the destruc- These chemicals are often used in commercial prod- tion or conversion of former chemical weapon pro- ucts, and their strict regulation would be too bur- duction facilities. It also has the tasks of confirming densome for the chemical industry worldwide. that national defense establishments and national These can be produced in large quantities so long as chemical industries are not engaged in prohibited they are for peaceful uses. activities, of monitoring the trade in certain chem- The chemical industry is subject to declaration icals that could be useful to a chemical weapons and inspection requirements in two ways. One is on program, of providing assistance and protection to the basis of chemicals contained in the CWC’s states that are threatened by or are the victims of Annex on Chemicals and certain other, unlisted dis- chemical weapons, and of promoting economic crete organic chemicals that may contain the ele- and technological development in the field of ments phosphorus, sulfur, or fluorine (DOC/PSFs). chemistry among treaty parties. The OPCW has These elements are found in nerve and mustard also provided parties with technical expertise and agents, thus their inclusion for verification pur- advice on chemical weapon-related matters such as poses. The second is through the general-purpose the planning and implementation of weapon de- criterion mentioned above. struction programs. Parties are required to provide annual declara- Implementation of the CWC tions on defense-related activities and on the pro- The CWC is implemented by the OPCW. The duction, consumption, and transfer of certain OPCW consists of the Conference of the States Par- chemicals. Chemical weapon-related facilities (in- ties (CSP), the Executive Council (EC), and the cluding chemical weapon storage and destruction Technical Secretariat. The CSP is the highest deci- facilities), and facilities working with small quanti- sion-making body. It meets in regular session once
    125. CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION 95 per year. The EC, which is composed of forty-one chemical weapons was those that were left in China members representing five geographical groupings, by Japan at the end of the Second World War, total- meets in regular session three to four times per year. ing at least one million munitions. The CWC does It develops and considers draft recommendations, not require that chemical weapons dumped (such decisions, and guidelines for the approval of the as in the ocean) before January 1, 1985, be declared. CSP, including the annual draft program and bud- Nor does it require that chemical weapons buried get. It also plays a key role in implementing the on a party’s territory before January 1, 1977, (and CWC’s provisions on consultations, cooperation, that remain buried) be declared. As of 2003, no sea- and fact-finding, up to and including challenge in- dumped chemical weapons had been declared, nor spections—that is, states must comply with on-the- had there been any challenge inspections or inves- spot, “any time, anywhere” inspections if and when tigations of alleged use or production of chemical approved by the OPCW—and investigations of al- weapons. leged chemical weapon use. The Secretariat, which Inspections have generally proceeded smoothly currently has about 500 employees (200 of them in- from an operational point of view, and no party has spectors), is responsible for carrying out the treaty’s been formally accused of noncompliance. However, verification measures and providing administrative parties, including the United States, have requested and technical support to the CSP, EC, and various and received clarification regarding other parties’ subsidiary organs, such at the Scientific Advisory declarations through the CWC’s provisions for con- Board (SAB) and the Commission on the Settle- sultations, cooperation, and fact-finding. Currently, ment of Disputes Relating to Confidentiality. The most outstanding verification-related issues relate OPCW’s budget for 2003 was approximately 68.6 to cost, scope, and intrusiveness, especially with re- million euros, funding provided on a sliding scale by gard to the chemical industry. each State Party. Although the United States has questioned As of December 2002, the OPCW had conducted Iran’s compliance with the CWC, it has done so a total of 1,276 inspections at 5,237 declared sites outside the framework of the OPCW. Iran did not and facilities (both military and civilian). Four declare a chemical weapon stockpile, but rather a countries had declared chemical weapon stockpiles past production capability. (For its part, U.S. state- totaling some 70,000 agent metric tons: the United ments have not referred to an existing chemical States, Russia, India, and South Korea. The CWC weapon stockpile in Iran.) More general discus- mandates these stockpiles’ destruction within 10 to sions are currently taking place in the OPCW on 15 years after the CWC’s entry into force; large-scale how much detail parties should give on past pro- destruction operations are underway in all four grams and capabilities. There is a desire to increase countries. By 2003, sixty-three chemical weapon openness among parties in this area, but there is production facilities in eleven party nations had also concern that some types of detail could be mis- been declared, and nine parties had declared their used politically. possession of old chemical weapons. (Old chemical International cooperation and assistance pro- weapons are those produced before 1925, or chem- grams are a major attraction for becoming a party ical weapons produced between 1925 and 1946 that to the CWC. Under the OPCW’s Associate Program, have been determined to be unusable.) for example, small groups of scientists and engi- The countries that have declared chemical neers from developing countries undergo a short weapon production facilities—defined as any facil- course of study at a selected university in a partici- ity that produced chemical weapons at any time pating state. Following the completion of studies, since January 1, 1946—are Bosnia and Herzegov- they are placed at modern chemical industry facili- ina, China, France, India, Iran, Japan, Russia, South ties for practical training designed to assist partici- Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States, and pants in better familiarizing themselves with mod- Yugoslavia. Three parties have declared having ern industrial practices. The participants are asked abandoned chemical weapons (i.e., leaving chemi- to work on a specific problem, usually related to im- cal weapons abandoned after January 1, 1925 on proving a chemical process. All participants, includ- the territory of another state without the consent of ing the companies involved, have generally been the latter). The largest quantity of abandoned pleased with the results.
    126. 96 CHLAMYDIA PSITTACI Current and Future Challenges indicating how much of their information may be Two of the main areas of focus since the CWC’s disseminated outside the OPCW. There is little rea- entry into force have been the destruction of chem- son to suppose, however, that the CWC cannot con- ical weapon stockpiles and achieving universality in tinue to play a necessary and useful role in the fu- terms of state participation. With some notable ex- ture, as long as parties remain politically and ceptions, the treaty is now essentially universal, that financially committed to the treaty. is, nearly all important states are participating in the —John Hart CWC. As chemical weapon stockpiles are gradually See also: Australia Group; Geneva Protocol; Hague eliminated, the OPCW’s focus will shift toward Convention; Precursors other areas, including technological assistance and References cooperation, monitoring of chemical transfers, and Goldblat, Jozef, Arms Control: The New Guide to taking measures to help ensure that the treaty Negotiations and Agreements, second edition regime keeps up to date with continuing scientific (London: SAGE, 2002). and technological changes. Parties also need to re- International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry main aware of possible toxic chemicals not on the (IUPAC), Impact of Scientific Developments on the Chemical Weapons Convention, Report by the CWC’s list that may be used for prohibited purposes International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry to and of new developments in chemical industry the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical manufacturing processes that may facilitate hiding Weapons and Its States Parties (Research Triangle of prohibited activities. The latter is particularly Park, NC: IUPAC, 2002). suited to smaller, more versatile facilities that pro- Krutzsch, Walter, and Ralf Trapp, A Commentary on the duce relatively small quantities of fine chemicals to Chemical Weapons Convention (Dordrecht, order in “batch mode.” Such facilities may use lines Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff, 1994). of automated microreactors capable of producing Krutzsch, Walter, and Ralf Trapp, eds., Verification chemical agents or toxins that could be used in Practice under the Chemical Weapons Convention: A weapons. In addition, the distinction between bio- Commentary (The Hague, Netherlands: Kluwer Law logical and chemical processes is increasingly International, 1999). blurred. The SAB has played an important role in OPCW website, http://www.opcw.org. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute these and other areas. Chemical and Biological Warfare Project, There is a continuing need for the OPCW to ac- http://projects.sipri.se/cbw/cw-mainpage.html. quire periodically updated measurement and ana- lytical equipment, for the Secretariat to continue to carry out practice challenge inspections and investi- CHLAMYDIA PSITTACI (PSITTACOSIS) gations of alleged use in cooperation with member Psittacosis, or ornithosis, also called parrot fever, is states. The OPCW also needs to take steps to ensure a worldwide disease primarily of psittacines (par- that inspectors are familiar with the latest scientific rots, parakeets, etc.) caused by the bacterium and technological developments and that relevant Chlamydia psittaci. The genus Chlamydia is a group institutional memory is maintained. The OPCW of bacteria responsible for various diseases. Trans- also should devote greater attention to ensuring that mission to humans from infected birds usually oc- it is in a position to provide assistance and protec- curs via direct contact or inhalation of dried drop- tion to member states who are threatened with, or pings and secretions. Birds that otherwise appear have been the victims of, an attack using chemical healthy can shed C. psittaci bacteria intermittently, weapons. especially when stressed, and even brief exposure The CWC regime is a relatively robust regime as can lead to infection. Human-to-human transmis- compared with other multilateral arms control and sion is very rare. disarmament treaties. CWC implementation has re- According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Con- sulted in significantly greater transparency of past trol and Prevention (CDC), psittacosis is a category and present chemical weapon-related programs and B bioterror threat, a less serious but potential bio- activities among parties. Much of this transparency logical weapon agent (see Centers for Disease Con- has not been extended to the broader public because trol and Prevention). This classification is due to the parties—with some exceptions—are responsible for pathogen’s moderately easy dissemination, moder-
    127. CHLORINE GAS 97 ate morbidity, low mortality, and the requirement lead to wholesale culling of poultry from infected for specific enhancements in diagnostic capacity areas in order to control the disease, and large fi- and disease surveillance. Although cited as a poten- nancial losses. Infection of poultry farmers, veteri- tial adversary agent (presumably aerosolized), it is narians, and poultry handlers could also increase, not known to have been used. The Soviet Union, the with an initially moderate to low mortality rate, United States, and Canada have performed research with infection and mortality decreasing over time on psittacosis in the past, mostly during the World with the eventual identification of the causative War II era and the early years of the Cold War agent and with the resulting appropriate antibiotic (1950–1960s). treatment. The diagnosis of psittacosis, however, can Psittacosis was first recognized in 1892 in Paris. be difficult. That year, it was responsible for the death of sixteen Although Chlamydia is an obligate intracellular out of forty-eight infected people. Between 1985 pathogen (i.e., requiring host cell nutrients for re- and 1995, a total of 1,132 cases (undoubtedly un- production), making it relatively difficult to pro- derestimated due to the difficulty of diagnosis) of duce and weaponize, a number of countries have psittacosis were reported worldwide, mostly result- the capability to produce and disseminate this ing from exposure to pet birds. Since 1996, fewer agent. The infective dose, however, is unknown. Tar- than fifty annual confirmed cases have been re- geting humans directly with aerosol delivery is also ported in the United States. possible. The severity of the human form of the disease —Beverley Rider ranges from nonapparent to abrupt, systemic illness See also: Aerosol; Agroterrorism (1–4 weeks, but sometimes years, following expo- Reference sure). Symptoms include fever, headache, chills, Butler, J. C., “Compendium of Psittacosis nausea, lethargy, and a nonproductive cough, po- (Chlamydiosis) Control, 1997,” Centers for Disease tentially followed by severe pneumonia. The elderly Control and Prevention, Morbidity and Mortality are particularly susceptible to the disease. No vac- Weekly Report (MMWR) Recommendations and cine is available, but effective antibiotics (mainly Reports, 18 July 1997, pp. 1–13. tetracycline) have reduced the fatality rate from 20 percent to less than 1 percent. CHLORINE GAS The severity of avian psittacosis (also called As a lung irritant, chlorine (Cl2) is the quintessential avian chlamydiosis) depends on the species of bird, agent once found in true “gas” warfare. The World strain virulence, and stress factors. Signs include War I chlorine gas attack by the Germans at Ypres, lethargy, weight loss, ruffled feathers, nasal dis- Belgium, on April 22, 1915, was considered a signal charge, diarrhea, and excretion of green urates. In event that heralded the era of modern chemical the absence of treatment, the disease can lead to weaponry. Clouds of chlorine gas broke the salient emaciation, dehydration, and death (usually due to at Ypres for a short time, but German infantry re- an unchecked infection of the heart). C. psittaci has serves were not sufficient to exploit the break- been isolated from more than 100 bird species. Var- through offensive. Although not the first use of ious strains can infect other animals, including chemical weapons in World War I, this attack was sheep, goats, and cattle, causing reproductive infec- unprecedented in terms of scope and overall effec- tion and abortion; and felines, leading to rhinitis tiveness. and conjunctivitis. In 1823, the British chemist Michael Faraday Due to the transmissibility of C. psittaci, its resis- (1791–1867) first liquefied chlorine gas. Since then, tance to environmental stress (C. psittaci can remain chlorine has been one of the most widely used infectious for several months, and the bacteria are chemicals for industry. Mass production of chlorine stable in seawater for up to 24 hours), and its lack of is carried out by electrolysis, the use of electricity to overt symptoms in some birds, this organism could separate the elements of salt (sodium chloride), col- potentially be used in a covert attack on agriculture. lecting the chlorine gas as it is separated from the An attack using C. psittaci could target the poultry brine, while also producing sodium for use in mak- industry using a form of aerosol delivery, causing ing another useful chemical (caustic soda). In World widespread bird-to-bird infection. This would likely War I, the amount of chlorine brought to the war
    128. 98 CHLORINE GAS Chlorine is still widely used and hazardous—as in this accidental release of the gas in New York in 1944. (Bettmann/Corbis) front in April 1915 (approximately 170 tons) repre- ways (especially in the lungs), resulting in the release sented a sizeable portion of Germany’s available in- of hydrochloric and hypochlorous acid. Chlorine dustrial stock. In 1945, some 150,000 tons of chlo- gas can produce an immediate irritating sensation rine were produced in the United States. By 2001, in the nasal passages, with tightening in the upper U.S. consumption of chlorine was estimated at 14 airways followed by a very severe cough. Depending million tons. on the amount of exposure, damage in the lungs When liquefied under pressure, chlorine gas can leads to swelling of tissues (pulmonary edema), be released into the atmosphere by simply allowing with blood leaking from the injured alveoli. Very se- it to escape via a pressure valve or a puncture of its vere cases of chlorine inhalation lead to frothy, container. The density of chlorine gas keeps it low to blood-tinged sputum. Thus the old term dry-land the ground. This feature made it an attractive drowning: as their own body fluids enter the lung air weapon for use against dug-in trenches in World spaces, no further gas exchange can take place, and War I. And yet, not long after the infamous German victims choke to death. Apart from assisted breath- use of chlorine (and Allied responses in kind a few ing and supportive care, there is little medical inter- months later), this chemical became obsolete due to vention that is effective in the event of significant its relatively low toxicity and the use of protective levels of chlorine inhalation. Survivors, however, masks on the battlefield. usually make full recoveries. Chlorine gas is only effective as a weapon In January 1915, the German chemist Fritz through the inhalation route. The toxicity of chlo- Haber saw that the use of high explosives was not rine gas is primarily due to the production of acidic sufficient to change the momentum on the battle- by-products upon contact with the body’s moist air- field. At this stage in World War I, the great armies
    129. CHLOROPICRIN 99 were nearly at a standstill in trenches that served as military experts, suggested that a combination of nearly impenetrable redoubts stretching for miles. chlorine and phosgene would have been much After experiments showed that gas could be brought more effective at Ypres. The German military was to bear on the enemy, Haber won approval to do so certainly aware of this, but it claimed that it did not from General von Falkenhayn, who diverted chlo- use that mix out of consideration of international rine gas cylinders from industry. A total of 5,730 law. cylinders were assembled along a 6-kilometer front, Concerns about toxic industrial chemicals in and they were distributed with about one cylinder warfare were also raised during the conflict in the per meter. Balkans, particularly in the mid- and late 1990s. Germany had not undertaken this venture with- With this in mind, a U.S. Army field manual (FM out considering international law. The Hague Con- 3-06.11, 2002) has drawn the following assess- ference of 1899 forbade the use of poisons in war- ment, using data compiled by Croatian engineers: fare, and Germany was a signatory to it. However, a “The models indicated that with a normal load of German account of the events by Dr. Rudolph 16 cubic meters per railcar, a lethal concentration Hanslian (1940) suggests that before the use of chlo- of chlorine could extend up to 5 kilometers down- rine at Ypres, the following considerations were wind and that serious adverse health effects could made:“Haber laid his reflections and his plan before occur as far as 12 kilometers downwind” (FM-3, Falkenhayn and the latter agreed. No fundamental section FM-7, b). These estimates roughly parallel scruples based on international law existed in the the World War I experience at Ypres in 1915. Just view of Falkenhayn, nor was the toxicity of chlorine as Germany confiscated chlorine from its domes- as great as that of the materials bromethylacetate tic chemical industry for use by its military, chlo- and chloracetone already introduced by the French” rine poses a modern risk primarily due to its pos- (Hanslian, p. 12). sible diversion from the commercial market by These references made to French use of chemi- terrorists. cals may have been with regard to irritating com- —Eric A. Croddy pounds such as ethylbromoacetate (which had also See also: Choking Agents; World War I; Ypres been employed as a riot control agent in Paris as References early as 1912). Sporadic use of these chemicals had Hanslian, Rudolph, The Gas Attack at Ypres: A Study in also found its way to the battlefields of World War Military History, Pamphlet no. 8 (Edgewood Arsenal, I, often delivered in the form of French rifle MD: U.S. Chemical Warfare School, July 1940). grenades. Thus, at least according to the version of Prentiss, Augustin M., Chemicals in War: A Treatise on events mentioned above, Germany saw the use of Chemical Warfare (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1937). chlorine as a measured response—in degree if not Urbanetti, John S., “Toxic Inhalation Injury,” in Frederick R. Sidell, Ernest T. Takafuji, and David R. in kind—to the previous use of chemicals by Franz, eds., Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: French grenadiers. Following the war, some apolo- Warfare, Weaponry, and the Casualty: Medical Aspects gists for Germany also noted that using static gas of Chemical and Biological Warfare (Washington, cylinders was technically not the use of “poisonous DC: Borden Institute, Walter Reed Army Medical projectiles” as described in the Hague document. Center, 1997), pp. 247–270. Haber could not find a ready supply of adequate U.S. Army, Field Manual FM 3-06.11: Combined Arms artillery shells to deliver chemicals, and at that Operations in Urban Terrain (Fort Benning, GA, time chlorine cylinders were the only practical 2002). means of gas dissemination. It appears certain that Allied claims of 5,000 sol- CHLOROPICRIN (PS, TRICHLORO- diers having perished and 15,000 having been in- NITROMETHANE) jured along the front at Ypres must be an exaggera- Chloropicrin was first synthesized in 1848 by the tion for propaganda purposes. It is now the English chemist John Stenhouse, who derived this considered opinion of most analysts that no more product from a reaction with picric acid and cal- than 800 Algerian, Canadian, and French soldiers cium hypochlorite. Chloropicrin originally got its died during the April 22, 1915, gas attack. Further name from the chemicals used in its preparation, postwar commentary, including that by Russian that is, chlorine (in the form of bleach) and picric
    130. 100 CHLOROPICRIN acid. Variations of this method were later used for Although chloropicrin is not quite as deadly as large-scale production of chloropicrin. phosgene, it penetrated most of the early gas masks During World War I, Russia was the first major used in the initial stages of gas warfare in World War belligerent to use chloropicrin (also called I. Until activated charcoal was introduced for pro- trichloronitromethane) as a chemical weapon; this tective canisters, chloropicrin often forced the was in August 1916. Soon the British were also using enemy to take their masks off, leaving them vulner- chloropicrin in a 30:70 ratio with chlorine in a mix- able to simultaneous attack by other lethal agents. ture called Yellow Star gas. Chloropicrin was pre- Thereafter, chloropicrin was often used in quality pared for delivery in artillery shells, bombs, and control for testing gas masks, their filter canisters land mines. Some German chemical munitions in being rated by the number of hours they could de- World War II also contained chloropicrin, com- fend against chloropicrin exposure. bined with obscurant smoke preparations such as In the early twentieth century, chloropicrin was titanium chloride and tin chloride. It is unknown commonly used by itself to kill vermin such as ro- whether these were used in the European theater of dents in Russia and the rest of the former Soviet combat. In the older and now defunct U.S. chemical Union. Thus, the Red Army had large stockpiles to inventory, munitions included a combination of draw upon for use as a CW agent. Later, in World chloroacetophenon (CN) and chloropicrin (PS in War II, for example, large numbers of voles con- NATO terminology) together in a chloroform sol- tributed to an outbreak of tularemia on the Stalin- vent (20:40:40). This chemical munition was coded grad front. (Former Soviet BW scientist Ken Alibek CNS. Other suggested uses for chloropicrin (in the has suggested that the Soviets deliberately used tu- form of CNS) involved its dissemination from air- laremia bacteria as a biological weapon during the craft with other CW agents such as mustard. Mix- siege of Stalingrad. This claim is difficult to substan- tures of CNS and ethyldichlorarsine (ED) were at tiate.) Soviet hygienists were dispatched to combat one time considered to be potentially effective for the rodents with arsenic compounds (possibly ar- use in aerial spraying and bombardments, and sine gas or solid baits) and chloropicrin. Red Army Prentiss (1937) recommends spraying these as a chemical defense schools also reportedly used means of “harassing” enemy troop concentrations. chloropicrin to simulate contaminated ground for Following the development of more toxic chemical training. Combinations of chloropicrin with mus- compounds such as mustard and the nerve agents, tard agent and phosgene were also used for chemi- however, as well as the development of improved cal weapons in the former Soviet chemical weapons protective mask canisters, chloropicrin after World stockpile. War II was largely considered obsolete as a war gas. Chloropicrin is an example of a CW agent that Military chemists in World War I found has commercial as well as offensive (dual-use) ap- chloropicrin particularly advantageous for its ability plications, and today it is used in large quantities as to remain liquid over wide temperature ranges: it a fungicidal soil fumigant for high-value crops boils at about 112° C., and freezes at -64° C. An oily, (flowers and strawberries, for example) and as a colorless liquid, chloropicrin has traditionally been warning odor adjunct in pesticides—as a safety pre- considered an extremely effective lacrimator, irritat- caution, the pungent aroma will signal that the area ing the eyes and the mucous membranes in the res- is under chemical fumigation. Pest control compa- piratory tract. Furthermore, chloropicrin causes nies, for example, are required by law in the United damage to the pulmonary tract and was therefore States to use about 1–3 ounces of chloropicrin (de- classified as a lung irritant following its initial use in pending on the size of the structure) when fumigat- World War I. An estimated concentration of 0.2 mil- ing structures with fumigants such as sulfuryl fluo- ligrams per liter is sufficient to incapacitate soldiers, ride (VIKANE). In recent years, concerns over the and 2 milligrams per liter over 10 minutes of expo- environmental impact from the use of methyl bro- sure is likely to be lethal. As in the case of other lung mide (purportedly a contributor to ozone deple- irritants such as phosgene, treatment of severe cases tion) as a common soil fumigant have led to the of chloropicrin inhalation is generally limited to adoption of chloropicrin for the purpose instead. mechanical ventilation and other supportive care, Commercially, chloropicrin can be found in a num- with no specific antidote currently available. ber of trademarked fumigants, including Acquinite,
    131. CHOKING AGENTS 101 Chlor-O-Pic, Larvacide, Pic-Chlor, and Tri-Clor, as ramines can dissociate into both compounds upon well as combination formulations such as BromO- contacting the moist upper and lower airways. Gas and Terr-O-Gas. Choking agents were the first CW agents pro- Because it is so widely available in the agrichem- duced in large quantities, and they were used ex- ical industries, chloropicrin has the potential for di- tensively during World War I. Gases that are heav- version for use in chemical warfare or terrorism. But ier than air, such as chlorine and phosgene, filled again, the toxicity of chloropicrin is by no means ex- depressions and sank into revetments, a character- ceptional, and there are many other widely available istic well suited to the trench warfare that typified compounds that could be similarly used in weapons combat at that time. In World War I, the choking of mass destruction. gases initially made a significant impact, but they —Eric A. Croddy contributed proportionately less to overall casual- See also: Dual-Use; World War I ties as the war progressed. For example, American References Expeditionary Forces arriving late in the war (1917) Agafonov, V. I., and R. A. Tararin, “Some were much more affected by the use of mustard Organizational-Tactical Forms and Methods of Anti- agent, a vesicant, than by the combined use of the Epidemiological Work in Troops of Stalingrad choking gases by the enemy, for which they were (Donsk) Front in 1942–1943,” Zhurnal Mikrobiologii, better prepared. Epidemiologii y Immunobiologii, vol. 5, May 1975, pp. 6–7. Chlorine Prentiss, Augustin M., Chemicals in War: A Treatise on Because these are for the most part highly volatile Chemical Warfare (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1937). liquids or gases at room temperature, the classic lung irritants disperse rapidly in the atmosphere. CHOKING AGENTS (ASPHYXIANTS) This characteristic, combined with their relatively Choking agents or asphyxiants—also technically re- low toxicity (when compared to the nerve agents, ferred to as lung irritants—are the chemical com- for example), makes their use as a weapon of mass pounds that gave rise to literal gas warfare in the destruction less appealing to state militaries or to modern era. Asphyxiating agents used in chemical terrorists. These compounds are also less of a threat warfare injure the respiratory pathways, most im- for the twenty-first century battlefield because of portantly the delicate alveoli in the lungs where crit- changes in battlefield tactics and advances in pro- ical gas exchange takes place. Serious lung injury tective masks. Terrorists, however, could acquire brings about pulmonary edema and asphyxia. As choking gases in some form, perhaps diverted from the lung spaces fill with the body’s own fluid, the the chemical industry in bulk form, and could man- victim can no longer respire enough oxygen, and he age to kill or injure large numbers of unprotected or she dies. In other types of toxic inhalation, casu- citizens. alties may result from being overwhelmed by a Although the use of chlorine as a weapon is now number of chemical substances such as by-products generally considered obsolete, occasionally it does of fires, explosives, or the use of riot control agents reappear in modern conflicts. According to an un- (tear gas) in enclosed spaces. For example, it is pos- confirmed report, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil sible that many of the eighty victims who died in Eelam (LTTE) used chlorine in a 1990 attack against Waco, Texas, at the 1993 Branch Davidian complex Sri Lankan forces. Little more information is known siege expired from suffocation and not as a result of about the incident, and this attack did not result in the fire at the complex. Both the fire and resultant serious casualties. A report in 1997 claimed that deaths were likely caused in part by large quantities Muslims in the Bosnian city of Tuzla, the site of a of CS tear gas delivered in methyl chloride solvent. significant industrial chemical facility, produced Some household products have the potential to 120-millimeter chlorine-filled mortar rounds in an- become lethal choking gases. Most notable among ticipation of conflict with Serbian-led forces. It is these are the extremely toxic chloramines that are not known whether any of these shells were used. created from mixing bleach (sodium hypochlorite) Among the first recorded uses of choking gas was with ammonia. The resultant gas can be more toxic a 431 C.E. campaign by Spartans, who burned pitch than bleach or ammonia by themselves, as chlo- and sulfur to generate sulfur dioxide smoke. In one
    132. 102 CHOKING AGENTS siege, the use of this toxic gas helped persuade the guttering, choking, drowning” (quoted in Sidell, Athenians to surrender. The advent of modern 1997, p. vi). Owen was killed in France on Novem- chemical warfare essentially began in April 1915, ber 4, 1918. with the successful use of chlorine (Cl2), a choking Chlorine’s high reactivity with a number of sub- gas, on the World War I battlefield of Ypres, Bel- stances made possible ad hoc protective measures. gium. This chlorine, diverted from the German dye In World War I, soldiers quickly found that industry, was brought in canisters to the front. makeshift masks soaked in certain chemicals When the wind speed and direction were right (i.e., (sodium thiosulfate, glycerine, and alkali) offered blowing toward the enemy), the German line good protection against chlorine. Six months after opened the valves on the cylinders, releasing the gas. first being used in World War I, chlorine by itself no At least 800 Allied soldiers died in this attack. Other longer made a significant impact on the battlefield. lung irritants, as well as phosgene, diphosgene, and But chlorine remained as an essential part of phos- chloropicrin, were introduced during World War I, gene mixtures later on, and it was a critical part of these chemicals being delivered in shells such as the the production process for more toxic and highly Livens projector, a type of mortar that fired a large lethal compounds to follow. gas cylinder. For the conditions of World War I, chlorine sat- Phosgene isfied some essential requirements for a chemical Phosgene was first used as a weapon by Germany in weapon. Although it was found to be sufficiently December 1915. Compared to chlorine, phosgene toxic for its purpose (although not as toxic as many gas is a much more insidious and deadly chemical other CW agents), chlorine was inexpensive to pro- agent. Even at toxic levels, phosgene (carbonyl duce, especially for industrialized nations. Even be- dichloride) has little distinguishing odor and usu- fore the mass production of chlorine got underway ally kills its victims only after a considerable delay during World War I, chlorine sold for about a nickel (up to 24 hours). In one instance during World War a pound. As a poisonous gas, chlorine upon expo- I, a soldier was given the responsibility of checking sure almost immediately irritates the nasal passages, phosgene canisters. A day later, the same soldier died constricts the chest, and, in larger amounts (approx- from phosgene exposure, unaware that one of these imately 2.5 milligrams per quart of air), causes canisters had formed a small leak. Although it may death by asphyxiation. Although it was initially ef- not have contributed to a large percentage of casu- fective in World War I, chlorine’s distinctive bleach alties overall, phosgene was alone responsible for smell—and eerie, greenish color—quickly made its some 80 percent of those killed by chemicals in presence known, and the advance warning allowed World War I. In World War II, the U.S. Air Force had for defensive preparations and tactical retreat. in its arsenal 500-pound phosgene aerial munitions, Chlorine gas reacts quickly with the moisture in although these and other chemical weapons were the body’s airways and lungs, forming a mixture of never used in that conflict. hydrochloric and hypochlorous acids (thus the The common perception once was that phos- bleach odor one finds in hypochlorite). Although gene exposure led to the formation of acid in the the body can absorb a certain amount of acid with- lungs, which then destroyed tissue. However, this out complaint or injury, large doses create injury in explanation is not adequate to explain how phos- the lung tissues. Hypochlorous acid reacts with a gene, even in very small concentrations, can do so number of protein and fat constituents in the lungs, much irreparable damage to the lungs. (The toxicity most severely in the alveoli. This damage leads to of phosgene, for example, is 800 times that of in- pulmonary edema (swelling and fluid buildup), haled hydrochloric acid.) Phosgene reacts with a with coughing exacerbating the injury and bringing number of biochemical components in the body, es- up blood-tinged sputum. When Lieutenant Wilfred pecially enzymes and the processes required to Owen wrote his poem about chemical warfare maintain proper surface tension in the lung alveoli. (CW) in World War I,“Dulce et Decorum Est,” he re- An examination of World War I gas warfare victims ferred to the physiological effects of chlorine: “As found that, in addition to its effects on the lungs, under a green sea, I saw him drowning. In all of my phosgene also causes specific injury to the central dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, nervous system.
    133. CHOKING AGENTS 103 Phosgene has been used in at least one instance Chemical Weapons Convention (1993). The inclu- by terrorists. In this case, a Japanese reporter who sion in Schedule 2 was suggested due to its potential had written stories about Aum Shinrikyo was sin- use as a weapon, and the fact that it can be com- gled out for assassination by the cult. Aum hench- monly found as a byproduct or intermediate chem- men dispersed phosgene through the mail slot in ical in some industries. PFIB can be generated dur- the journalist’s apartment. After a brief hospitaliza- ing processes for the manufacture of fluorinated tion, the reporter made a full recovery. Aum Shin- polymers (e.g., Teflon), or in heating these polymers rikyo also had a substantial presence in Russia dur- to high temperature (over 500° F.). Military-speci- ing the early 1990s; during this time, Russian fied materials used in tarpaulins and ropes contain security personnel also found phosgene in the pos- Teflon; following an incendiary attack, for example, session of Aum Shinrikyo in an apartment in fires could generate toxic levels of PFIB. Moscow. As with chlorine gas exposure, treatment for Nitrogen Oxides phosgene injuries is mostly limited to supportive Finally, although not likely to be related to a delib- care. World War I chemical masks utilized hexa- erate use of toxic gas on the battlefield, nitrogen- methamine tetramine (HMT) to defend against containing explosives generate significant quanti- phosgene. In the late 1930s, some research suggested ties of NOx (as in nitrogen oxides, NO2, N2O4, etc.). that this compound was useful for protecting These by-products can be the source of toxic in- against phosgene-related injury, but the data are still halation injury in battlefield settings, and casualties not clear. It was also considered impractical to use may present in many ways similar to those exposed this chemical prophylactically on the battlefield. to lung irritants such as chlorine or phosgene. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army still makes the Diphosgene claim that the United States used chemical weapons Diphosgene essentially relies upon the toxicological during the Korean War (1950–1953). It is likely, properties of phosgene, but diphosgene also re- however, that many of the battlefield casualties leased chloroform. As a solvent, chloroform may among the Chinese People’s Volunteers during the have been utilized as a “mask breaker.” Germany Korean War died from asphyxiation due to off- used diphosgene for the first time in 1916, and the gases from exploding munitions. Many Chinese French responded later in kind. soldiers were essentially holed up in earthen fortifi- cations that allowed toxic gases like NOx, carbon Chloropicrin dioxide, and carbon monoxide to accumulate. So- Chloropicrin was first used by Russia in World War viet military advisors who were requested by the I. It was probably derived from the pesticide indus- Chinese government to investigate allegations of try. Chloropicrin is an immediately irritating sub- chemical warfare in the Korean War came to the stance, and it is still used to create a warning odor same conclusion. for the fumigation of large structures. California law, for example, requires about 1 ounce of Industrial Accidents chloropicrin during the “tenting” of houses for in- The hazards of choking agents present themselves secticide treatment. Concerns over the environmen- most often in industrial settings. A tragic example of tal effects of methyl bromide for soil fumigation this was the Bhopal disaster of 1984, which involved have led to considering the use of chloropicrin in- the massive release of methyl isocyanate in a densely stead. (For more on this chemical, see the separate populated area of India. Due to what probably was entry Cholopicrin.) insider sabotage, thousands of pounds of methyl iso- cyanate—an extremely toxic lung irritant—killed at Perfluoroisobutylene least 3,000 people, injuring thousands more (see Another highly toxic gas, perfluoroisobutylene Bhopal, India: Union Carbide Accident). Because (PFIB), known as the agent in “polymer fume fever,” potentially harmful chemicals such as chlorine and is a potential military or terrorist chemical threat. anhydrous ammonia (NH3) are used throughout the Because it is many times more toxic than phosgene, industrialized world, their bulk storage could present PFIB was made a Schedule 2 toxic chemical in the targets for terrorist attacks. Chlorine is ubiquitous,
    134. 104 CHOLERA not only as a chemical reactant for commercial into the intestinal cavity. Cholera could potentially processes but also for water treatment. Ammonia is be employable as a biological warfare agent by con- widely used in rural areas in concentrated form as taminating food or posttreatment water supplies. fertilizer, and it is also a cost-effective coolant for Another species, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, also public utilities. causes severe diarrhea in humans following the con- For these industrial chemicals and the hazards sumption of infected raw seafood (especially in they could pose, meteorological conditions play a Japan). This bacterium also could have a potential critical role. In the case of Bhopal, the release of role in sabotage, such as poisoning food and water. methyl isocyanate occurred during an inversion, the In 1848, the British physician John Snow, a optimal situation for high concentrations of a gas to trained anesthesiologist, set out to find the source of linger for a long period of time. Alternatively, chem- an especially severe outbreak of cholera in London. ical releases are mitigated during conditions of un- In his classic work On the Mode of Transmission of stable air (lapse) and of high winds that quickly dis- Cholera (1849), Snow concluded that contaminated sipate the concentration. water was the source of the widespread disease. —Eric A. Croddy Using techniques recognizable today in modern epi- See also: Bhopal, India: Union Carbide Accident; demiology, Snow also sought to understand the ori- Chemical Warfare; Chlorine Gas; gins of another serious cholera outbreak in 1854, Perfluoroisobutylene (PFIB); Phosgene Gas tracing victims and water sources to a single water (Carbonyl Chloride); World War I pump. Known for having obtained a pure culture of References Bacillus anthracis (anthrax), Robert Koch discov- Cheng, Shuiting, and Shi Zhiyuan, Military Technology ered the causative agent for cholera in 1883. Information Handbook: Chemical Weapons, second Vibrio cholerae is capable of causing epidemic edition (Beijing: People’s Liberation Army Press, and pandemic disease. Cholera is particularly devas- 1999; second printing, January 2000). tating in areas with marginal hygiene or inadequate Sidell, Frederick, Ernest T. Takafuji, and David R. Franz, eds., Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, medical support, particularly in refugee camps and Weaponry, and the Casualty: Medical Aspects of among impoverished populations with inadequate Chemical and Biological Warfare (Washington, DC: water treatment infrastructure. The German army is Borden Institute, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, alleged to have used cholera in Italy in World War I, 1997), p. vi. although evidence for this is largely anecdotal. Taylor, Eric R., Lethal Mists (Commack, NY: Nova Cholera was one of several biological agents devel- Science, 1999). oped by the Japanese in the infamous Unit 731 of- Urbanetti, John S., “Toxic Inhalational Injury,” in fensive biological warfare laboratory. Cholera was Frederick R. Sidell, Ernest T. Takafuji, and David R. reportedly disseminated against Chinese villagers in Franz, eds., Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: 1940, along with typhus and plague, in support of Warfare, Weaponry, and the Casualty: Medical Aspects Japan’s invasion of China. of Chemical and Biological Warfare (Washington, Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, DC: Borden Institute, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 1997), pp. 247–270. the threat of water-borne agents (including cholera) was among the key concerns behind a biological threat reduction plan for U.S. bases in the Pacific CHOLERA (VIBRIO CHOLERAE) theater. Germany’s biological warfare program was Vibrio cholerae is a gram-negative bacterium that considerably less advanced than their work with causes cholera, a diarrheal disease, in humans. In- chemical agents, but they had experimented with, fection can lead to a massive, secretory diarrhea that and perhaps had produced in volume, cholera as an results in a life-threatening loss of fluids in the in- antipersonnel agent that could be used against lo- fected patient. Transmission is typically through an gistical units in support of large military forces. So- oral route, usually as the result of drinking water viet scientists purportedly developed strains of Vib- contaminated with V. cholerae. The organism grows rio cholerae that exhibited enhanced virulence and in the small intestine and secretes an enterotoxin antibiotic resistance as part of the USSR’s biowar- (choleragen) that disrupts the osmotic homeostasis fare research initiatives. Claims of the use of cholera of the intestine, resulting in the secretion of water by U.S. forces against North Korea were levied by
    135. CONOTOXIN 105 China and Russia in 1952. It is possible that North mental electrolyte solutions significantly reduce the Korean prisoners were exposed to cholera and morbidity and mortality of cholera infection. plague by Chinese field advisors to the North Ko- Cholera continues to be considered a potential rean army and were then flaunted as “victims” of the biological threat, although it is a low-risk threat U.S. biological attacks. agent for domestic terrorism in most industrialized The world is presently experiencing the seventh nations. Cholera vaccines are no longer available to pandemic (worldwide outbreak) of cholera. The the general population in the United States, princi- current pandemic is thought to have started in In- pally as a result of their rather limited and short-du- donesia in 1961 and has spread through the Middle ration protection. Oral vaccines are available out- East, Asia, Africa, and South America. Of concern to side the United States that afford better protection public health officials is the emergence of a second and may convey protective immunity following a biotype of V. cholerae in Bangladesh and its subse- single-dose administration. Public health authori- quent spread throughout Southeast Asia. In modern ties do not recommend vaccination for travelers, industrialized countries, cholera is less of a threat given the lack of an efficacious vaccine and the neg- due to residual chlorine in the water supply that ligible risk of exposure. The duration and extent of keeps bacterial populations low in number. In Peru, the seventh cholera pandemic is unknown, but it is an especially severe outbreak of cholera (biotype El not considered to be a significant health risk to most Tor) was exacerbated in 1991 when Peru lowered travelers. the amount of residual chlorine in its water system, The lack of serious risk of cholera, even in the and the disease spread to sixteen other Latin Amer- context of domestic bioterrorism, has reduced the ican countries. level of federally funded cholera research in the United States. It is quite likely that a considerable Medical Properties level of concern would be needed before substantive Cholera is generally acquired by oral ingestion of reinvestment in cholera research or vaccine devel- water or food containing V. cholerae, typically as the opment would occur. Developments continue, result of fecal contamination from patients or from however, on rapid detection kits and sensors for asymptomatic carriers of the bacteria. The orga- cholera toxin. nism colonizes the lining of the small intestine and —J. Russ Forney secretes choleragen, a toxic protein. Infection causes See also: Biological Warfare; Japan and WMD a spectrum of disease severity, and many individu- References als do not exhibit the profound diarrheal illness Galal-Gorchev, Hend, “Chlorine in Water Disinfection,” often associated with cholera; however, asympto- Pure and Applied Chemistry, vol. 68, no. 9, 1996, pp. matic individuals can pass V. cholerae in their feces 1731–1735. and can serve as reservoirs of the disease agent. The Snow, John, On the Mode of Communication of Cholera biochemical properties of the intestinal epithelial (London: John Churchill, 1965 Reprint). cells are altered by choleragen such that these cells lose their ability to regulate water loss from the CONOTOXIN body. The resulting pathology contributes to mas- Conus, or cone shells (also called marine snails), are sive, watery diarrhea, with patients reported to have predacious animals whose venom is used to immo- lost between 10 and 20 liters of fluid during the bilize their prey. They are found resting in shallow- course of the infection. Mortality may exceed 50 water sand or under coral or rocks in the daytime. percent in the absence of supportive therapy. Infec- At night they become active predators. Conus auli- tion with V. cholerae is treatable with readily avail- cus, C. geographus, C. gloria-maris, C. marmoreus, C. able antibiotics; fatality rates can be reduced to less omaria, C. striatus, C. textile, and C. tulipa are capa- than 2 percent with effective intervention. Multiple ble of inflicting human fatalities. biotypes (or serogroups) of V. cholera exist. Most To acquire food, a conus extends a radular important to human disease are the O1 (synonym tooth (a harpoonlike apparatus) to inject venom, El Tor) and O139 (synonym Bengal). Both are rec- paralyzing the prey. The conus venom contains a ognized as potential agents of epidemic and pan- variety of polypeptide toxins, composed of amino demic disease. Rehydration therapy and supple- acids bonded in a chain. These various toxins affect
    136. 106 CRIMEAN-CONGO HEMORRHAGIC FEVER different aspects of the nervous system. There are livestock serve as reservoirs of the virus. This in turn also types of conotoxin that induce sleep (sleeper supports an infected population of blood-feeding peptides) and muscle damage (myotoxin). Cono- ticks to serve as vectors. Virus spread among ticks toxins and other types found in marine animals can also be sustained by infection of the eggs in fe- have been suggested as possible biological warfare male ticks and transmission to offspring. agents. However, these are also fragile proteins, and CCHF is caused by a midsize virus (0.1 micron) their toxicities are not generally high enough to belonging to the family of bunyaviruses (genus make effective weapons. Nairovirus). Its genes form helical strands of RNA —Anthony Tu and are protected by a protein coat and fatty enve- See also: Bioterrorism; Toxins (Natural) lope, facilitating virus entry into host cells by uti- References lizing receptors on the surface. In the first round of Franz, David R., “Defense against Toxin Weapons,” in virus multiplication, RNA of the host cell primes Frederick R. Sidell, Ernest T. Takafuji, and David R. expression of the virus genome, the essential ge- Franz, eds., Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: netic information for replication. The virus then Warfare, Weaponry, and the Casualty: Medical Aspects becomes self-replicating and produces proteins of Chemical and Biological Warfare (Washington, that are essential to its maturation and release DC: Borden Institute, Walter Reed Army Medical from the cells. After contamination of broken skin Center, 1997), pp. 603–619. or a tick bite, the virus multiplies in local tissues. Marine Biotoxicology (Beijing: Chinese Navy, 1996). The onset of clinical disease is rapid. In addition to common flulike symptoms and joint soreness, pa- CRIMEAN-CONGO HEMORRHAGIC FEVER tients may complain of abdominal pain or sore Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a throat. Within 24–96 hours, the virus spreads viral disease that occurs sporadically in western and through the bloodstream to multiply in many of central Asia, eastern Europe, and Africa. It was first the body’s organs. The liver, especially, is a major observed in workers clearing agricultural lands in site of virus multiplication. This disrupts produc- Soviet Crimea during World War II. Natural trans- tion of blood clotting factors and contributes to mission of the virus is often through tick bites or bleeding manifestations. contact with infected livestock. The resulting illness Signs of hemorrhagic fever include bleeding often shows hemorrhage and shock. Convalescence from the gums or nose, seepage of blood under can be prolonged, and death occurs in 10–30 per- the skin (ecchymoses), and blood in the urine or cent of patients who come down with the disease. stools. Hemorrhagic complications often indicate Infection of animals exposed to CCHF is often in- life-threatening disease; they reflect a combina- apparent, even while the virus circulates in the tion of liver failure, virus growth in the lining of bloodstream (viremia). The body fluids of slaugh- blood vessels, and exhaustion of clotting factors. tered animals are thus a frequent cause of unex- CCHF is fatal in up to 30 percent of cases, with pected disease. Accidental inhalation of virus-con- most deaths occurring within 1–2 weeks. The taminated fluids during care of human patients has virus can persist for up to 10 days in the blood or been a recurring cause of hospital-centered CCHF other tissues and can be detected by tissue culture, outbreaks. For this and other reasons, CCHF virus is brain inoculation of suckling mice (for culture one of several candidates for aerosol dissemination growth of virus), or more recent techniques utiliz- in biowarfare. ing polymerase chain reaction (PCR, which can In 1969, Jordi Casals showed a link between multiply small amounts of genetic material for Crimean viral illnesses reported in the former Soviet easier detection). In the past, diagnosis usually de- Union in 1944 and a disease of African patients in pended upon laboratory detection of protective the Congo that occurred in 1956. Despite such a antibodies that appear 7–10 days after infection. wide geographic separation, viruses from these eco- In fatal cases, though, there may be a poor anti- logically diverse regions nonetheless generated anti- body response, so virus culture or PCR detection bodies that were indistinguishable from each other. is essential for diagnosis. Patients with CCHF Many species of forest and domestic animals can ac- often become weak and lethargic, and convales- quire CCHF infections, and small wild animals or cence can require 3–6 weeks.
    137. CROP DUSTERS 107 Vaccination with heat-inactivated CCHF virus an erudite commentator from the 1930s described has been tested on a small scale in eastern Europe, the threat from “aerial chemical warfare,” and sug- but the efficacy and safety of the vaccine are uncer- gested that sulfur mustard could be poured from tain. Protection through the use of clothing and in- modified barrels kept in the fuselage of a aircraft. secticides by livestock handlers are basic measures The large-scale spraying of pesticides from aer- that can limit the spread of CCHF. Hospitalized pa- ial applicators was also a pre-World War II idea. In tients suspected of having the disease must be the 1930s, the U.S. Army Air Corps refined tech- strictly isolated to prevent spread to medical work- niques that would prove useful for the application ers. Physicians should be wary of mistaking the ab- of DDT. As a consequence of dealing with disease- dominal signs of a virus infection for a surgical carrying vectors and unwanted vegetation during emergency. Treatment of CCHF usually is symp- modern times, the techniques and engineering tom-oriented. Replacement of fluid loss or clotting were already in place for the herbicidal campaigns factors may be necessary. In severe cases, the antivi- conducted by the U.S. military during the Vietnam ral drug ribavirin or immune plasma from recov- War. These were conducted largely from the air, dis- ered patients may help to control infection. pensing enormous quantities of herbicides such as The potential for criminal use of CCHF as an Agent Orange over South Vietnam and Laos. Al- aerosol obviously exists. Exposed military or civilian though herbicides and insecticides like DDT are populations could be severely debilitated for many only toxic to the targeted pests in question, it is not weeks. To date, however, no known artificial out- a great leap to convert aircraft to deliver highly po- breaks of this disease have occurred. A type of virus tent chemical warfare (CW) agents. By using a sharing similarities to CCHF, Rift Valley Fever highly toxic substance such as VX, an aerial appli- (RVF), has been tested for use in biowarfare by the cation system could be utilized to spray lethal U.S. Army, although the results are classified. This droplets of nerve agents over densely populated agent was not reported to be a major consideration areas, with catastrophic results. Furthermore, with in the Soviet bioweapons program. the myriad applications of aerial chemical spraying —Phil Grimley used every day around the world, one can easily See also: Hemorrhagic Fevers; Marburg Virus; Rift imagine the possible role of aerial applicators in Valley Fever bioterrorism. References From the perspective of delivering chemical war- Casals, Jordi, “Antigenic Similarity between the Virus fare or biological warfare (BW) agents, crop dusters Causing Crimean Hemorrhagic Fever and Congo used in the modern civilian agricultural industry Virus,” Proceedings of the Society of Experimental could be diverted into weapons of mass destruction Biology and Medicine, vol. 131, no. 1, May 1969, pp. (WMD) platforms. These include rotary and fixed- 233–236. wing aircraft that are capable of disseminating par- Monath, Thomas P., The Arboviruses: Epidemiology and ticulates and aerosols, usually for the purpose of Ecology, vol. 2 (Boca Raton, FL: CRC, 1988), pp. 177–222. crop protection, mosquito abatement, and other World Health Organization, Crimean-Congo civilian uses. For example, in the 1990s, while at- Hemorrhagic Fever Fact Sheet no. 208, revised tempting to account for and disarm Iraq’s various November 2001, Geneva: United Nations. WMD programs, United Nations inspectors had suspicions about Iraq’s work with aerial spray mechanisms. Although Iraqi officials claimed that CROP DUSTERS (AERIAL APPLICATORS) these were solely for use in agriculture, U.N. Special The threat from aircraft dispensing a lethal sub- Commission (UNSCOM) inspectors in Iraq found stance has been a concern since at least the begin- that these so-called Zubaidy devices were in fact ning of military aviation. During World War I, the modified—possibly to deliver bacterial aerosols extremely toxic arsenical compound lewisite was from helicopters. synthesized and developed in 1917, intended for de- In 2003, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency livery by aircraft over enemy concentrations. (This (CIA) warned that terrorists (including the organi- was partly what earned Lewisite its moniker, dew of zation al-Qaeda) could utilize crop dusters and re- death.) Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, lated techniques to dispense deadly biological
    138. 108 CROP DUSTERS aerosols. One pamphlet produced by the CIA re- they have a short shelf life). Furthermore, using ported,“Spray devices disseminating biological war- suspensions of microorganisms can create prob- fare (BW) agents have the highest potential impact. lems during the hydrodynamic flow from holding Both 11 September attack leader Mohammad Atta tank to spray nozzle, potentially clogging the aper- and Zacharias Moussaoui expressed interest in crop tures. Flow agents would probably be required to dusters, raising our concern that Al-Qaida has con- ensure efficient spraying of CW, but especially BW, sidered using aircraft to disseminate [biological agents. Dried preparations of BW agents would warfare] agents” (Terrorist CBRN). offer the advantage of a long shelf life, but these also require substantial modifications to the dissemina- Technical Details tion process. When CW or BW agent is sprayed from a moving Among the models that most closely resemble a aerial platform such as a crop duster, it is described worst-case scenario—say, an aerosolized release of as a line source. As opposed to a point source, in anthrax bacteria delivered over large, densely popu- which a munition releases its contents at a single lated area—studies on the use of biopesticide spot, a line source describes a trail of released parti- (Bacillus thuringiensis) for eradication of gypsy cles generated by shear and gravity forces caused by moths are instructive. In North America, gypsy the moving aircraft. Crop spraying mechanisms also moths have been responsible for devastating losses include pumps. Crop dusters can release a line of of forests both in Canada and the United States. By particles in their wake over a considerable distance, spraying forests with aerosolized formulations of depending on rate of release, payload, and other fac- Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) bacterial spores, the pop- tors. Winds approaching the line spread the dis- ulations of gypsy moths have been dramatically re- pensed particles to form a cloud of increasing size, duced. After the caterpillar ingests a Bt spore, a toxin blanketing the target below. The ultimate behavior generated within the vegetating bacteria destroys and fate of these particles will depend upon the the gut lining of the caterpillar. (Unlike some of the wind velocity, temperature, release height, and aver- more toxic organophosphate insecticides, Bt bacte- age droplet size. In the case of mosquito abatement, ria are safe to use around animals and humans.) for example, the average particle size is approxi- Most of the Bt particles range from about 4–7 mi- mately 20–50 microns—generally outside the opti- crons in diameter, and they have been shown to drift mum range for inhaled aerosols causing infection more than a kilometer from the targeted area. Fol- with pathogenic organisms. This would be more lowing the application of Bt spores—in many ways than adequate, however, for some CW agents such similar to Bacillus anthracis insofar as their physical as mustard or VX nerve agent. properties are concerned—bacteria have been cul- The efficient delivery of chemical or biological tured at relatively large numbers inside buildings as agents—and the potential effects of such an at- well as outdoors. tack—depend on a number of factors such as the The challenges for terrorists using crop dusters type of agent involved (chemical versus whole cell are the technical hurdles required in manufactur- or virus) and the form, whether liquid suspension ing lethal chemical agents, and especially the none- (slurry) or dry forms of payload. And even more so too-trivial tasks involved in the isolation, growth, than in the commercial utilization of aerial applica- and formulation of BW agents. The final product tors, efficient delivery of BW agents requires proper would then have to be configured for dissemina- average particle size, usually considered to be tion in some form—liquid or dry—compatible within the range of 5–10 microns. One also needs with an aerial platform using commercially avail- to consider the engineering modifications neces- able equipment. Other factors to consider are the sary to deliver a CBW agent payload versus an agri- operational details of flying crop dusters near pop- cultural treatment via aerial application. Liquid ulated areas without being seen. Environmental (slurry) suspensions of a BW agent are probably conditions (inversion) most amenable to dissemi- more practical for bioterrorists in terms of produc- nating aerosols occur during the evening or early tion and delivery. BW agents suspended in liquid, morning hours, and during such times, the likeli- however, are more apt to degrade over time (i.e., hood for visual spotting of aircraft from the
    139. CYCLOSARIN 109 ground would be poor. But there would still be pressed to do so without attracting attention from some risk to the terrorist that something unusual interested authorities. would be seen and that the attack would no longer —Eric A. Croddy be covert. See also: Aerosol; Al-Qaeda; Bioterrorism; Line Source; Given adequate warning, and depending on the Terrorism with CBRN Weapons level of CBW agent detection available on the References ground, it would then be possible to warn and med- CIA online pamphlet, Terrorist CBRN: Materials and ically treat those exposed with collective protection, Effects, 3 June 2003, www.cia.gov/cia/publications/ nerve antidotes, and (in the case of biological terrorist_cbrn/terrorist_CBRN.htm. agents) prophylactic vaccines and antibiotics. In the Fradkin, Elvira, The Air Menace and the Answer (New event of a chemical attack, detection techniques York: Macmillan, 1934), p. 82. Teschke, K., Y. Chow, K. Bartlett, A. Ross, and C. van would be much more rapid, but so would be the ef- Netten, “Spatial and Temporal Distribution of fects from the CW agent. Therefore, quick detec- Airborne Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki during tion, decontamination, and evacuation would be re- an Aerial Spray Program for Gypsy Moth quired. In biological attacks from aerosol delivery, Eradication,” Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. there would be more time to react. Viral exposures 109, no. 1, January 2001, pp. 47–54. (e.g., smallpox) can also be successfully treated with vaccines, especially during the first few days follow- CS ing exposure. In short, if the bioterrorist attack is CS is the code that refers to the riot control agent discovered, much of the impact of the biological (RCA) most often used nowadays for crowd control agents can be mitigated. (chemical name ortho-chlorobenzylidene mal- ononitrile). Originally named after its inventors The Human Factor in Bioterrorist Corson and Stoughton, CS has high potency with a Use of Crop Dusters large safety margin. However, if used in confined Finally, one must also consider the human element spaces, and given large enough doses, CS tear gas involved in a venture to employ crop dusters to de- can be lethal. liver biological weapons. Because of the interdisci- —Eric A. Croddy plinary nature of CW and BW, with both involving a number of different areas of expertise, such oper- See also: Riot Control Agents ations leave themselves more vulnerable to penetra- tion by law enforcement and/or intelligence agen- CYCLOSARIN (GF) cies. From a preventative standpoint, human Cyclosarin (cyclohexyl methylphosphonofluori- intelligence sources are required to ensure that plots date) is a less-well-known organophosphate that to execute a CBW terrorist event are discovered be- can be used as a nerve agent in chemical munitions. fore they can be carried out. Other considerations Also referred to as CMPF (its chemical abbrevia- include more mundane, but critical, aspects to a tion) during its early stage of development by the WMD terrorist scenario using crop dusters. For ex- U.S. military, GF (named for being a continuation ample, in the aerial application industry, pilots are of the German series: GA, tabun, GB, sarin, GD, highly trained and specialized in the exacting busi- soman, etc.) was devised as a way to create a more ness of spraying agrochemicals, flying sorties at persistent agent that was also volatile enough to heights as low as 5 feet off the ground. A bioterror- cause mass casualties. Iraq used GF in its 1980–1988 ist would be limited, therefore, to hiring someone war against Iran, and it later stockpiled the agent for from within this relatively tight-knit and profes- use in aerial bombs as well on its al-Hussein (mod- sionalized community of aviators. Terrorists could ified Scud) missile warheads. During the Iran-Iraq obtain their own aviation skills and training else- War, Iraqi military units often combined difluor where, but in light of special attention given to the (DF) with cyclohexanol and isopropyl alcohols just threat from crop dusters in bioterrorism, especially before an aerial assault on targets. This procedure since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the formed a near equivalent mixture of GF and sarin United States, potential terrorists would be hard (GB) from the respective precursors.
    140. 110 CYCLOSARIN GF is a volatile, odorless, and colorless liquid. It is the inhibition of acetylcholinestrase (see Carba- nearly insoluble in water and is quite stable for stor- mates). The most common cause of death after age purposes. The cyclohexanol portion of the mole- acute exposure is respiratory arrest. cule, however, has a ring structure that can revert into —Anjali Bhattacharjee benzene, making it a less stable compound than other See also: Binary Chemical Munitions; Nerve Agents nerve agents. GF is, however, believed to be highly References persistent, and splashed GF liquid can last up to a Compton, James A. F., Military Chemical and Biological couple of days under normal weather conditions. Agents (Caldwell, NJ: Telford, 1987). Cyclosarin primarily affects the victim through Sidell, Frederick R., “Nerve Agents,” in Frederick R. the respiratory tract, although cutaneous and diges- Sidell, Ernest T. Takafuji, and David R. Franz, eds., tive entries can be quite harmful to the body as well. Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, Weaponry, and the Casualty: Medical Aspects of It probably shares a similar toxicity profile to that of Chemical and Biological Warfare (Washington, DC: sarin (GB). Exposure to a small amount of vapor Borden Institute, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, from cyclosarin can cause dimness of vision, runny 1997), pp. 129–196. nose, chest tightness, and tearing of the eyes within U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, minutes of exposure. As with other nerve agents, ex- Technologies Underlying Weapons of Mass posure to high amounts may lead to loss of muscle Destruction, OTA-BP-ISC-115 (Washington, DC: control, twitching, paralysis, coma, and death due to U.S. Government Printing Office, December 1993).
    141. DECONTAMINATION Decontamination—the removal of contaminants from people, materiel, and the environment— would likely be required in the event of real or sus- pected nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological D (NBCR) incidents. Each particular weapon type may, of course, necessitate its own specialized de- Fallout from a nuclear device includes smoke and contamination regimen. In general, however, several dust particles that emit beta radiation, leading to steps are common to most efforts at decontaminat- surface-layer tissue damage if allowed to remain on ing personnel or physical objects to mitigate the con- the skin. But in the event of a true nuclear explo- sequences of an NBCR event. Materials (including sion—that is, an actual fission device—triaging ca- military equipment) may require extensive cleaning sualties would first require a judgment based on the with water, soap, and oxidizing chemicals such as unlikely, probable, or definitive symptoms of partial bleach and peroxides. The decision to use solvents or or full-body exposure to high-energy radiation (X- caustic chemicals for decontaminating equipment rays, gamma rays, and neutrons). Such radiation ex- largely depends on the resiliency of the materials posure is instantaneous with the initial nuclear blast used in the equipment’s construction. In the case of itself. Most casualties of severe and immediate nu- treating individual persons, one authority in re- clear radiation cannot be saved if they have been ex- sponses to NBCR events notes, “the use of bleach posed to large (especially full-body) doses. In these and water solution in terrorism decontamination is unfortunate cases, cleaning the skin of radioactive no longer considered an acceptable practice” (Haw- fallout is only a palliative measure, although it may ley, p. 153). For people, removing all clothing and be useful to ensure a cleaner environment in the bathing with soap and water is usually sufficient. medical treatment facility and for safer burial of re- Generally speaking, a hazardous materials (HAZ- mains. Others who may have only received partial MAT) response approach can be used in the early exposures can certainly benefit from complete de- stages of an NBCR incident. Conventional weapons contamination using soap and water, once their such as a very large explosive device are not likely to conventional injuries (including, probably, severe cause significant long-lasting toxicological hazards. burns) have been assessed. In the immediate aftermath of a conventional deto- Following radiological events—nonfission ex- nation, however, there will be large quantities of plosions that spread radioisotopes in so-called dirty toxic gas (carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and so bombs—relatively straightforward decontamina- on) that could cause a short-term danger to person- tion measures such as discarding clothing and nel. These gases, unless trapped in an unventilated bathing can be undertaken to prevent serious injury area, will disperse quickly. Conventional explosives to exposed individuals and to clean up the environ- also may produce secondary damage at facilities that ment. Compared to an actual fission explosion, contain toxic or radiological materials, in which case such events are relatively benign in terms of risk decontamination may be necessary if the materials from radioactive exposure. are released from containment. Biological Decontamination Radiological Decontamination In the event of biological warfare (BW) or bioter- In the aftermath of a nuclear detonation or radio- rorism, decontamination is largely a secondary logical event, decontamination would be needed. issue. The immediate hazard—and the type more 111
    142. 112 DECONTAMINATION Diluted bleach is one of the most effective decontamination agents, although caution must be used with bare skin. (Reuters/Corbis) likely to cause mass casualties—is the exposure to spores through the envelopes, and these generated infectious aerosols. Following their release, these sufficient infectious particles to cause casualties aerosols quickly degrade in both potency and con- among U.S. Postal Service workers at the Trenton, centration, lessening the need for deliberate efforts New Jersey, Processing and Distribution Center. at decontamination. Environmental factors includ- Contaminated surfaces were also found at the U.S. ing air currents, inversion conditions, ultraviolet Senate Hart building in Washington, D.C. Subse- light, and relative humidity all play a role in the quently, these offices were decontaminated using decay rate of BW agent aerosols. Over time and dis- chlorine dioxide gas (ClO2). In the event of conta- tance, at some point the concentration of infectious gious BW agents such as smallpox, secondary trans- particles drops below that which is dangerous to hu- mission is highly likely following initial infections. mans or animals. When particles have reached the Here, quarantine and decontamination measures ground surface, they are usually resistant to used in hospitals would play significant roles in reaerosolization, and exposure to the elements stopping the spread of disease. quickly denatures pathogenic microbes and toxins. Once individuals become infected, or suspected Chemical Decontamination airborne particles containing BW agents are identi- Although exposure to radiological and biological fied, it becomes important to prevent further expo- materials necessitates decontamination, particular sures (usually by relying on air flow management immediacy is involved in the event of chemical war- and use of protective masks). However, following a fare (CW) agents. Mustard (blister) agent, for exam- biological attack, decontamination can become crit- ple, acts upon the skin as well as the upper respira- ical when airborne infectious particles can become tory tract. Contaminated victims may have reaerosolized. The anthrax letters that were sent in sufficient amounts of chemical on their skin and late 2001, for example, leaked Bacillus anthracis clothes to present a secondary exposure hazard to
    143. DEMILITARIZATION OF CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL AGENTS 113 first responders. Most casualties from mustard can complete chemical weapons demilitarization. Al- be mitigated and even avoided by means of physical though timetables for destruction have shifted, the removal of the material from the exposed skin areas, most concrete plan for demilitarization of the U.S. using absorbent materials to prevent any agent from chemical arsenal was established when the United reaching the skin, and thorough washing. Persistent States ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention. agents such as VX nerve agent would also require The treaty requires member countries possessing fast and thorough decontamination. With a lethal chemical weapons to complete the elimination of dose of as little as 15 milligrams on the skin, VX is their stockpiles within 10 years of the convention’s an extremely dangerous CW agent and must be entry into force, which will be April 2007. States that dealt with using extreme caution. Some events may are party to the convention who need to extend this involve relatively volatile substances, such as hydro- deadline may receive permission from the Executive gen cyanide or sarin nerve agent. In such cases, pre- Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of liminary steps toward decontamination can take Chemical Weapons, the secretariat responsible for place by moving victims from the contaminated implementing the various aspects of the treaty. area into fresh, ventilated air. Off-gassing from When the U.S. chemical demilitarization effort clothes and skin can occur, so emergency workers began, eight sites in the continental United States need to be cognizant of secondary exposures. and one site in the Pacific housed the tons of nerve —Eric A. Croddy and blister agents accumulated since the advent of See also: Bleach; Protective Measures: Biological the U.S. chemical weapons program in World War I. Weapons; Protective Measures: Chemical Weapons The locations of the U.S. stockpiles were Johnston References Island, Johnston Atoll; Blue Grass Army Depot, Dons, Robert F., and T. Jan Cervany, “Triage and Kentucky; Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland; Treatment of Radiation-Injured Mass Casualties,” in Newport Army Ammunition Depot, Indiana; Richard I. Walker and T. Jan Cervany, eds., Medical Umatilla Army Depot, Oregon; Pueblo Army Consequences of Nuclear Warfare (Falls Church, VA: Depot, Colorado; Anniston Army Depot, Alabama; TMM, Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, 1989), pp. Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas; and Tooele Army 37–53. Depot, Utah. Approximately 60 percent of the orig- Hawley, Chris, Hazardous Materials Incidents (Albany, NY: Delmar, 2002). inal stockpile was contained in bulk ton containers. The remainder was in weaponized form (e.g., rock- ets, bombs, mines, cartridges, projectiles, and spray DEMILITARIZATION OF CHEMICAL AND tanks). BIOLOGICAL AGENTS In addition to the actual chemical agents and In the context of chemical and biological weapons munitions, the U.S. demilitarization program ad- issues, demilitarization refers to the elimination of dresses the destruction of nonstockpile chemical both a country’s weapons stockpile and its capabili- materiel, including buried or chemical weapons, ties to reconstitute that stockpile. Under the 1997 former production facilities, miscellaneous related Chemical Weapons Convention, the United States materials such as containers or testing kits, and bi- and three other countries declared possession of nary chemical weapons. stockpiles of chemical weaponry: Russia, India, and The Army was charged with overseeing the U.S. South Korea. Of these states, Russia had the largest demilitarization effort. For most of the history of declared stockpile with more than 40,000 tons of the program, responsibility was split between the chemical weapons, located at seven locations across Program Manager for Chemical Demilitarization, the country. The United States followed closely be- which supervised the actual weapons destruction hind with just over 30,000 tons. program, and the U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command, which administered the stor- U.S. Chemical Demilitarization Program age sites, handled safety and security issues, and as- In November 1985, Public Law 99-145 mandated sisted in the development of emergency response that the Department of Defense destroy 90 percent capabilities in communities near the sites. In Febru- of the U.S chemical weapons stockpile. In 1992, Pub- ary 2003, these tasks were combined and assigned to lic Law 102-484 expanded that program to include the Chemical Materials Agency.
    144. 114 DEMILITARIZATION OF CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL AGENTS Disposal of chemical weapons and materiel took located near destruction facilities have the proper many forms in the past. Between 1915 and 1969, personal protective equipment and are properly weapons the United States wished to discard were trained should an accident occur. sometimes buried, sometimes burned in open pits, and sometimes dumped at sea. By the time these Destruction Technologies methods were outlawed by the Chemical Weapons Important experience for the U.S. chemical demili- Convention, the United States was already well on tarization program was gained during regular dis- its way to developing other destruction technolo- posal of weapons prior to Congress’s decision to dis- gies. Although the Convention does not dictate how mantle the stockpile. Even during the active U.S. weapons are destroyed, it requires that countries program, chemical weapons in the arsenal could not utilize methods that are both irreversible and safe be kept indefinitely because of corrosion or leakage for people and the environment. problems. One munition in particular, the M55 The decisions regarding what technologies rocket, suffered from instability in one of the ele- would be employed to destroy the U.S. stockpile re- ments contained in its propellant. Nitrocellulose in quired years of deliberation. Incineration was the the propellant could degrade and cause the weapon choice for destruction at five of the nine sites, where to auto-ignite. Disposal of these weapons began in the stockpile chiefly consisted of weaponized agents. the late 1960s, when they were dumped in the ocean The Army found incineration to be the best way to as part of “Operation CHASE” (“Cut Holes and dispose not only of the chemical agent, but also of Sink ‘Em”). Opposition to the environmental effects contaminated weapons parts, propellants, and ex- of this type of destruction, and public reports such plosives. At the other four sites, an alternative de- as that released by the National Research Council in struction technology, neutralization, was chosen. 1969 that advised against further ocean dumping, Because the agent housed at these sites is predomi- led the Department of Defense to consider other nantly in bulk form in ton containers, there is less methods. peripheral materiel that requires destruction than in Incineration and chemical neutralization were stockpiles consisting of munitions. the two leading alternatives to dumping munitions Another challenge for the demilitarization pro- in the ocean. Between 1972 and 1976 at Rocky gram was to determine where destruction of Mountain Arsenal in Colorado, 2,700 tons of blister weapons would take place. The Army presented agent were incinerated and 3,700 tons of nerve Congress with three alternatives: on-site destruction agent were neutralized. To further test these two at each site; moving all the weapons to a single facil- technologies, the Army constructed a pilot facility, ity at Tooele, Utah; or a mid-range alternative, di- the Chemical Agent Munitions Disposal System, at viding the entire stockpile between two regional Tooele Army Depot in Utah where the largest per- sites at Tooele and at Anniston, Alabama. Ulti- centage of the original U.S. stockpile was located. mately, it was decided that public safety could be Based on the results of this testing, the Army chose better assured during on-site destruction than dur- incineration as its standard or “baseline” destruc- ing transportation across the country to a single site. tion technology. Several negative aspects of neutral- As early as 1970, when the United States was ization discouraged its selection, including the gen- drawing up initial destruction plans for some of its eration of more waste products, inappropriateness weapons, Congress required that the Department of for use with certain agents, and the production of Health and Human Services conduct a public health hazardous by-products that at that time would have review of the disposal plans. The Centers for Disease required incineration for disposal. Likewise, incin- Control and Prevention’s National Center for Envi- eration was found by a contracted study to be less ronmental Health (NCEH) retains responsibility for expensive than the neutralization process. this mission. In addition to assisting in the monitor- A full-scale prototype incinerator, the Johnston ing of emissions, the NCEH has provided informed Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System, was con- counsel to the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Pre- structed in 1985. The results of pollution monitor- paredness Program, a joint effort of the U.S. Army ing during test burns in this facility met or ex- and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ceeded U.S. national standards. The National ensure that emergency responders in communities Research Council issued multiple reports stating
    145. DEMILITARIZATION OF CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL AGENTS 115 that the dangers of continued storage of weapons Pueblo Chemical Depot, Colorado, and Blue Grass outweighed the dangers posed by incineration: In- Army Depot, Kentucky. cineration destroys the entire weapon, through ex- posing the munition and the agent to extremely International Demilitarization high temperatures. Due to economic difficulties, Russia’s chemical The incineration process begins when Army per- weapons demilitarization efforts struggled in the sonnel remove weapons from the storage area and initial years after ratification of the Chemical transport them to the incineration facility in special Weapons Convention. Russia consistently stated protective containers, reinforced against fire and ex- that international assistance would be required to plosion. Upon arrival, personnel then inspect the destroy its extensive cache of nerve and blister weapons to verify that none of the munitions are agents. In 2001, the Group of Eight countries agreed leaking. Next, the weapons are placed on a conveyor to a “10 plus 10 over 10” commitment, in which, belt and carried to a reinforced room, where a ma- during the next 10 years, Canada, France, Germany, chine punches a hole in the munition and drains Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom would pledge out the chemical agent. The weapon is then broken $10 billion to match a U.S. pledge of $10 billion to into pieces. The resultant parts of this process— help rid Russia and other former Soviet states of agent, explosives, weapons parts, and packing mate- their weapons of mass destruction. Some of those rials—are divided and destroyed in separate, dedi- funds will assist in the destruction not only of Rus- cated incinerators. sia’s chemical weapons, but also of the facilities that Concerned citizen groups representing the resi- manufactured them. In 2002, Russia requested and dents of communities located near destruction fa- was granted the allowable 5-year extension of the cilities have questioned the safety of incineration Chemical Weapons Convention’s 2007 destruction and expressed concern that insufficient considera- deadline. It is likely that Russia will be given more tion had been given to alternative technologies. In time to complete its chemical destruction, probably response, the Army created the Alternative Tech- until 2015. nologies and Approaches Program (ATAP) in 1992 India met its first two deadlines under the treaty, to further investigate whether other methods of destroying 1 percent of its stockpile by 1999 and 20 chemical weapons destruction might be workable at percent of its most dangerous weapons by 2001. some sites. Chemical neutralization was again con- South Korea met the first 1-percent deadline but re- sidered as an option. The Army found, among other quested and received an extension of the 20-percent drawbacks to this method, that draining chemical deadline during the fourth conference of the Chem- agents from individual munitions was too danger- ical Weapons Convention’s parties in 2002. ous and complicated a process to merit changing the destruction method to neutralization at most Biological Weapons Demilitarization sites. As some of the U.S. stockpile consisted of agent The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention stored in bulk containers, however, implementation (BTWC) enjoins parties to destroy all stocks of bio- of neutralization was a more practical possibility in logical weapons and biological warfare (BW) those cases. ATAP pursued research, development, agents. In 1971, the United States completed the de- and testing of chemical neutralization at two storage struction of its offensive biological weapons stock- sites that contained single types of agent in bulk pile. Destroying BW agents is, in many ways, simpler containers: Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, than demilitarizing chemicals. The goal of biologi- and Newport Chemical Depot, Indiana. Full-scale cal weapons demilitarization is to destroy the ability neutralization was then adopted at these sites. In of BW agents to infect and to cause disease, and 1997, Congress created the Assembled Chemical killing or denaturing pathogens and toxins can be Weapons Assessment to examine the possibility of accomplished by heating (pasteurization), mixing also using alternative technologies for weaponized with harsh chemicals (bleach, phenol, alcohols, and agents, such as the use of microorganisms for neu- formaldehyde), or a combination of steam and tralization (biodegradation). Neutralization was ul- chemical treatment. timately chosen to destroy the stocks at two addi- At facilities such as Pine Bluff in Arkansas, hot tional sites that had some assembled munitions: steam treatment and formaldehyde were both used
    146. 116 DIANISIDINE to ensure that no organisms survived. In facilities ritating substance, especially to the eyes and upper inside the former Soviet Union, such as the biologi- respiratory tract, it was demonstrated later in the cal weapons facility in Stepnogorsk, Kazakhstan, field that its toxicity was certainly not high enough Kazakh workers used calcium hypochlorite in solu- to cause severe casualties. tion to spray down walls, and dry formulation On October 27, 1914, the Germans fired some mixed with earth to decontaminate equipment and 3,000 shells filled with dianisidine chlorosulphonate other materials. Tons of anthrax bacteria that had near Neuve-Chapelle, France, but none of the at- been buried near the Aral Sea in Kazakhstan by for- tacked British soldiers seemed to have taken notice mer Soviet biological weapons scientists was finally of any chemical effects. Some have suggested that mixed with calcium chloride and cement in 2003 by the TNT charge used in the shells was excessive and the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency and decomposed the chemical compound. Not knowing other Department of Defense personnel. None of the full assessment of this failed attempt to use di- the anthrax spores were known to have survived fol- anisidine chlorosulphonate as a weapon, Germany lowing this last burial activity. continued to experiment with chemicals in the field, —Claudine McCarthy later developing a stabilized artillery round with See also: Aberdeen Proving Ground; Biological and xylyl bromide. But it would later take the initiative Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC); Chemical of Fritz Haber, a bitter professional rival of Nernst, Weapons Convention (CWC); Newport Facility, to take charge of using chemicals in warfare for Ger- Indiana; Tooele, Utah many. Haber planned the first successful attack References using chlorine gas at Ypres, Belgium, in 1915. Hart, John, and Cynthia Miller, eds., Chemical Weapon —Eric A. Croddy Destruction in Russia: Political, Legal, and Technical See also: World War I Aspects, SIPRI Chemical & Biological Warfare Reference Studies, 17 (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, Heller, Charles E., Chemical Warfare in World War I: The July 1999). American Experience, 1917–1918 (Fort Leavenworth, Noyes, Robert, Chemical Weapons Destruction and KS: Combat Studies Institute, U.S. Army Command Explosive Waste (Norwich, CT: William Andrew, 1996). and General Staff College, 1984). Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons website, http://www.opcw.org. Program Manager for Chemical Demilitarization website, http://www.pmcd.army.mil. DIFLUOR (DF, DIFLUOROMETHYL- Smithson, Amy E., The U.S. Chemical Weapons PHOSPHONATE) Destruction Program: Views, Analysis, and Difluor is short for difluoromethylphosphonate, Recommendations (Washington, DC: Henry L. usually referred to in U.S. and NATO military code Stimson Center, 1994). as DF. Going back to the first German synthesis of sarin nerve agent during World War II, diflour has been commonly used to react with other chemicals DIANISIDINE to form various G-nerve agents. Some processes uti- A dye intermediate that is still produced today, di- lize DF in combination with other compounds in a anisidine was among the first toxic chemicals to be cascadelike reaction process using dichlor to manu- used in modern warfare. In World War I, the facture sarin (GB). This is called the di-di method. chemist Walter Nernst recommended that the Ger- Because of the highly reactive nature of fluorine, man military fill 105-mm shells with dianisidine process equipment that is resistant to corrosion is chlorosulphonate (a chemical salt of the dye base). usually required. In Nazi Germany, one step of the There were two purposes to this strategy: it would sarin production process took place in a solid silver serve as a chemical weapon, while conserving explo- vessel. In modern times, highly resistant pipes and sive materials that were in short supply. The diani- reaction vessels, including those made of Hastelloy, sidine salts were impacted as a powder and meant to steel that is especially designed to handle strong shower the enemy with a sternatutory (sneezing) acids, would be needed for producing DF. powder following detonation using a small charge In recent decades, DF was the main component in the shrapnel round. Although dianisidine is an ir- in U.S. binary chemical munitions, especially the
    147. DIISOPROPYL FLUOROPHOSPHATE 117 155-mm howitzer shell.. Although a number of pro- DIISOPROPYL FLUOROPHOSPHATE (DFP) posed binary nerve weapons never entered into ser- Diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) is a toxic vice, the United States did produce the M-687 GB organophosphate that was investigated by both the binary projectile. This contained DF in one con- Allies and German scientists during World War II. tainer and isopropyl alcohol in another, separated Its effects are nearly identical to those of other nerve by a thin membrane. Another component, a so- agents in that it inhibits the enzyme acetyl- called promoter, was used to push the reaction cholinesterase. Like the other anticholinesterases, process to completion. When the shell was DFP leads to overexcitation of the nervous-muscu- launched, the membrane was broken from the ini- lar system by increased levels of acetylcholine. DFP tial firing shock, and the rotational spin further does have some commercial uses, primarily in the mixed the chemical compartments to form sarin. field of medical therapeutics. Though not specifi- The shell would then release the agent with a spe- cally listed in the Chemical Weapons Convention cially designed fuse mechanism. As in any chemical toxic chemical lists, the use of DFP—as with any reaction, a certain amount of time is required for other toxic chemical—is prohibited as a means of the reaction to run its course. In the case of the GB warfare. binary, this required about seven seconds. Thus, di- DFP is not nearly as toxic as other recognized rect-fire use of binaries may have limitations. DF chemical warfare (CW) agents such as sarin or VX. would also have found a role in certain ordnance Nonetheless, if used in a weapon of mass destruc- such as the multiple launch rocket system in combi- tion, large quantities of DFP—a volatile agent that nation with other alcohols to form a so-called inter- could rapidly spread inside closed areas—would mediate volatile nerve agent, but this ordnance was cause many deaths and injuries, and intensive med- never produced. ical treatment would be required for the survivors. DF is also a key compound for the mass produc- Although German chemists were the first to syn- tion of sarin nerve agent. During the 1980–1988 thesize and develop the highly toxic organophos- Iran-Iraq War, the Iraqi military utilized DF in a phates such as tabun, sarin, and soman (the G-nerve method that could be described as a crude binary agents), ongoing research in World War II by British system—a kind of “quick-mix” procedure. They scientists followed along similar lines. The principal combined DF with the other necessary chemicals on British researcher in the field of nerve agents was Dr. the tarmac while aircraft were being readied to con- Bernard Saunders, who often subjected himself to duct bombing sorties. The chemicals were mixed in dangerous experiments using these substances in the aerial munitions, forming a roughly equal mix- order to evaluate their effects in humans. It had long ture of sarin and cyclosarin (GB/GF) before being been known that phosphorus could be poisonous in dropped on enemy troops or Kurdish populations. certain formulations, and fluorine had been recog- DF was also used by the organic chemist of the Aum nized early as a highly reactive and caustic sub- Shinrikyo cult in Japan to manufacture sarin. DF is stance. During the course of work with these com- listed as a Schedule 1 (B), a strictly controlled pre- pounds, Saunders discovered that DFP caused one cursor in the Chemical Weapons Convention effect typical of nerve agents: pinpoint pupils. Saun- (CWC). ders also found that by mixing DFP with mustard, —Eric A. Croddy the resultant product could remain liquid at much lower temperatures. British investigators found a See also: Binary Chemical Munitions; Nerve Agents; relatively simple, almost one-step process for the Precursors; QL manufacture of DFP. Thus, a weapon was conceived References that not only included a nerve agent (DFP), but also Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), The Problem of Chemical and Biological increased the performance of blister agent in winter Warfare, vol. 2, CB Weapons Today (New York: conditions. Humanities, 1973). It is not known if modern militaries have con- U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, tinued the production or deployment of chemical Technologies Underlying Weapons of Mass weapons using DFP. Its relatively low toxicity prob- Destruction, OTA-BP-ISC (Washington, DC: U.S. ably means that it is not favored by state programs. Government Printing Office, 1993). Terrorists, however, may consider the use of DFP in
    148. 118 DIOXIN an improvised chemical weapon. An individual in Figure D-1: Dioxin the United States who held antigovernment atti- (2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin) tudes and was probably active in the manufacture of Cl O Cl illicit drugs was found with an empty container la- beled DFP at his home in 1997. It was probably ac- quired from a commercial chemical supply house. Although less toxic than modern nerve agents, Cl O Cl DFP is still highly poisonous, with potentially dev- astating long-term consequences. One side effect of DFP poisoning, most marked in large doses, stems during the 1970s, one writer postulated that dioxin from its targeting of special enzymes in the nervous could be used as a chemical warfare (CW) agent system; this can result in long-term neuropathy. (Holmberg, p. 211). There is no evidence in the Thus, although not as deadly as the typical nerve open literature to suggest, however, that dioxin has agents developed for warfare, DFP may pose greater ever been seriously considered as a potential com- long-term problems when it comes to casualty ponent in chemical weaponry. For the modern management. chemical industry, it would not be particularly diffi- —Eric A. Croddy cult to mass-produce dioxin and to divert it for mili- See also: Nerve Agents; Organophosphates tary use. At the same time, the conflicting data of References dioxin’s real or alleged toxicity in humans has prob- Franke, Siegfried, Manual of Military Chemistry, vol. 1, ably led CW scientists to turn to other proven Chemistry of Chemical Warfare [Lehrbuch der chemicals for use in warfare. Militärchemie der Kampfstoffe] (East Berlin: The notion persists that exposure to Agent Or- Deutscher Militärverlag, 1967). ange has been the cause of cancer and birth defects Saunders, Bernard Charles, Some Aspects of the for Vietnam veterans and their families, including Chemistry and Toxic Action of Organic Compounds Americans, South Koreans, and Vietnamese civil- Containing Phosphorus and Fluorine (Cambridge, ians. Dioxin was formed as a contaminant during UK: Cambridge University Press, 1957). Toy, Arthur D. F., Phosphorus Chemistry in Everyday the manufacture of 2,4,5-T, a major component (50 Living (Washington, DC: American Chemical percent) of Agent Orange, and it was implicated by Society, 1976). U.S. veterans groups and the government of the So- cialist Republic of Vietnam as the etiologic agent.Yet it is extremely difficult (if not impossible) to find DIOXIN adequate studies to prove a link between dioxin and Dioxin is the generic name for the chlorinated poly- veterans’ illnesses. The most recent studies suggest cyclic hydrocarbon (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- that U.S. veterans who were exposed to dioxin from para-dioxin) or TCDD. It is a chemical by-product Agent Orange may have higher rates of diabetes and contaminant found in many modern sources, than other populations. Even in the case of these including the herbicide Agent Orange, which was findings, however, the results could be confounded manufactured during the Vietnam War. by other non-dioxin-related risk factors such as In its pure form, dioxin is relatively toxic. Its toxic obesity. effect, however, is dependent upon the species of an- Dioxin and its alleged role as a toxic environ- imal exposed to the compound. In small concentra- mental contaminant continue to stir debate in sci- tions such as those found from industrial by-prod- entific and other realms. Because of its ubiquitous ucts, little evidence has been shown to link dioxin nature as a very low-level presence in a number of directly with human disease. In 1986, for example, consumer products, especially bleached paper and Michael Gough wrote, “the position of the majority other goods, some have suggested that there is “no of scientists who have examined the human health safe level” of dioxin. Such proclamations, however, effects of dioxin is that little or no harm has been have no supporting facts in the study of dioxin to done” (Gough, p. 254). date, or even in the field of toxicology itself. Still, Some have suggested, however, that dioxin could prudence would dictate that levels of dioxin should be used as a mass casualty weapon. For example, be kept at below the point at which toxic effects
    149. DIPHOSGENE 119 Dioxin can occur in many settings due to both natural and industrial processes. Its toxicity, however, is often exaggerated. (Bettmann/Corbis) would be seen in human populations. When it Diphosgene was first used by the German military comes to determining public health policy, knowl- at Verdun, France, in May 1916, probably as a re- edgeable toxicologists—and cautious governmental sponse to the French use of phosgene in February of administrators—must determine how low these that same year. Diphosgene was later used by the concentrations should be. French army in World War I under the code name —Eric A. Croddy Surpalite. In one World War I attack, 100,000 diphos- See also: Agent Orange; Herbicides gene shells were fired during a single engagement References: near Verdun. Diphosgene was probably the principal Gough, Michael, Dioxin, Agent Orange: The Facts (New killing “gas” used in artillery shells during that war. In York: Plenum, 1986). terms of total casualties, however, diphosgene was not Holmberg, Bo, “Biological Aspects of Chemical and nearly as significant as mustard gas in World War I. Biological Weapons,” Ambio, vol. 4, nos. 5–6, 1975, Diphosgene was named on the apparent belief pp. 211–215. that it was the exact double of phosgene; that is, that phosgene (COCl2) multiplied by two equaled DIPHOSGENE diphosgene (C2O2Cl4). Such a relationship is in fact Diphosgene is also known as trichloromethyl chlo- spurious, as the chemicals are very different from roformate. It is a highly toxic lung irritant that first each other in terms of chemical and physical prop- found use as a chemical warfare (CW) agent during erties. In terms of their action as lung irritants, how- World War I. Despite its well-earned notoriety as a ever, their effects are similar. Fritz Haber, generally war gas, diphosgene does not have the degree of tox- considered the father of modern chemical warfare, icity or ease of acquisition that would make it a ranked diphosgene at an index of 500 in terms of likely CW agent for use in weapons of mass de- toxicity compared to 450 for phosgene. struction. Nor are there significant sources of the An oily liquid, diphosgene was derived by German chemical in modern industry. military chemists. The toxic effects of diphosgene
    150. 120 DUAL-USE mirror those of phosgene: interacting with vital mol- the Department of Commerce is responsible for ad- ecules and enzymes in the pulmonary system, caus- ministering the EAR, licensing exports, providing ing pulmonary edema by irritating lung tissue.At suf- outreach services to U.S. industry, and enforcing the ficient concentrations, diphosgene has an odor like provisions of the EAR through civil and criminal that described for phosgene, often characterized as legal actions against violators. newly mown hay. Treatment options for diphosgene In some instances, dual-use items may require exposure are similar to those for chlorine or phos- export authorization from the Department of Com- gene intoxication; little can be done beyond support- merce. In determining whether a license is required, ive care and assistance in breathing. EAR guidelines consider both the technology to be Diphosgene remains liquid at a larger range of exported and the country of destination. As a gen- temperatures than other CW agents used in World eral rule of thumb, dual-use exports are more highly War I. This makes it easier to fill munitions with restricted to countries considered to be terrorist or diphosgene. Once fired at targets and after the deto- proliferation risks. nation of shells, however, diphosgene still proved to Export restrictions on dual-use items are sub- be quite volatile, and lethal concentrations on the ject to review and change. Accordingly, the Com- battlefield were difficult to create. It also was found merce Control List is altered several times each that diphosgene was prone to decompose following year. In some cases, restrictions on exporting spe- the explosion of its delivery munitions. In addition, cific dual-use items are relaxed as the underlying production of phosgene during World War I was technologies become more common or wide- easier than that of diphosgene. spread throughout the world. Restrictions placed As is the case of phosgene and some other World on individual countries also are reviewed and War I–era compounds, it is unlikely that diphosgene changed periodically, based on the proliferation will pose a significant modern military threat. Some and terrorist risk each country poses. Changes are have suggested that diphosgene liberates chloro- coordinated through the Departments of Com- form upon contact with protective filters and that it merce, Defense, and State, as well as other federal perhaps defeated early gas masks. The Chemical organizations where applicable. Weapons Convention lists diphosgene (as it does —Lawrence R. Fink phosgene) a Schedule 3 compound due to its poten- See also: Australia Group; Chemical Weapons tial use as a weapon. Convention (CWC); Fermentation; Lyophilizers; —Eric A. Croddy Precursors See also: Choking Agents (Asphyxiants); Phosgene References Oxime (CX, Dichloroform Oxime); Phosgene Gas Bureau of Industry and Security, Introduction to (Carbonyl Chloride); World War I Commerce Department Export Controls (Washington, References DC: Department of Commerce, May 2003), http:// Lohs, Karlheinz, Synthetic Poisons, second edition (East www.bis.doc.gov/licensing/exportingbasics.htm. Berlin: German Military Publishing, 1963). Code of Federal Regulations, CFR Part 730. Prentiss, Augustin M., Chemicals in War: A Treatise on Chemical Warfare (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1937). DUGWAY PROVING GROUND Wachtel, Curt, Chemical Warfare (Brooklyn, NY: Dugway Proving Ground is a chemical and biologi- Chemical, 1941). cal weapons facility that once served as a vast test site for U.S. chemical and biological weapons. It is DUAL-USE located in the Great Salt Lake Desert, about 80 miles U.S. technology and hardware items with both civil- southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah. The Dugway fa- ian and military applications are considered dual- cility, 25 percent larger than the state of Rhode Is- use items under the U.S. Export Administration land, was opened in 1942 as the United States, which Regulations (EAR). In accordance with the EAR, all had just entered the Second World War and feared dual-use items are evaluated and listed on the Com- the use of chemical weapons by the Axis powers, merce Control List, which is used to determine looked to expand its own production and testing fa- whether a dual-use item may be exported from the cilities. Closed when the war ended, it was reopened United States. The Bureau of Industry Security in and enlarged in 1950 in response to the outbreak of
    151. DUGWAY PROVING GROUND 121 the Korean War. Biological weapons were tested of chemical and biological weapons and struck a there for the first time in 1953. chord with the burgeoning environmental move- After it became a permanent installation in 1954, ment. It also led to increased interest in more public the infrastructure of Dugway grew over the years in accountability when it came to activities undertaken response to the Cold War. As new and more effective at the Dugway facility. chemical and biological agents were developed in Although open-air testing ended at the facility, U.S. government laboratories (primarily at Fort De- Dugway remained the prime U.S. site for the testing trick, Maryland), they were sent for testing at Dug- of chemical and biological warfare agents within fa- way. Most testing involved the use of animals such cilities that could safely contain dangerous agents. as goats. In outdoor tests, animals would be tethered In 1976, however, fifty wild horses died on the prov- in test grids at increasing ranges from the release of ing ground in mysterious circumstances. The mili- agents. One such test of anthrax resulted in a section tary again denied responsibility for the deaths of of Dugway being permanently contaminated and these animals. set off-limits. Today, Dugway is part of the U.S. Army Test and Such open-air testing, however, was brought to a Evaluation Command (TECOM), headquartered at halt after an airborne dispersal experiment went Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Some 500 awry in March 1969. The aircraft in question was people are still employed at Dugway, the majority of carrying canisters that were designed to open and them civilian scientists. Most of their work is con- release VX nerve agent over the proving ground. cerned with testing defensive measures against chem- The aircraft, however, continued to release agent as ical and biological agents, but research also is con- it turned away and left the confines of the proving ducted to perfect battlefield smokes and obscurants. ground. The agent contaminated an area 20 miles —Rod Thornton north of the perimeter, killing more than 6,000 See also: United States: Chemical and Biological sheep grazing there. The incident was worsened by Weapons Programs the fact that, for more than a year, the military de- References nied any responsibility for the deaths, noting that Lanier-Graham, Susan, The Ecology of War (New York: the dead sheep showed atypical signs of nerve agent Walker and Co., 1993). poisoning. This incident alerted the U.S. public to Mauroni, Albert, America’s Struggle with Chemical- the dangers of the production, storage, and testing Biological Warfare (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2000).
    152. EA2192 EA2192 (named after the U.S. Army’s Edgewood Ar- senal) is a VX analogue. The chemical name for EA2192 is S, 2-(diisopropylaminoethyl) methyl- phosphonothioic acid. Because it possesses both E high toxicity and a chemical structure very similar to VX nerve agent, EA2192 is classified as a Schedule EBOLA 1A toxic chemical under the Chemical Weapons See Hemorrhagic Fevers Convention (CWC). It is unknown whether EA2192 has been produced or utilized as a chemical weapon EDGEWOOD ARSENAL in the past or present. The toxicity of technical or See Aberdeen Proving Ground pure EA2192 is on par with that of VX. This compound is of recent interest given U.S. EMPTA (O-ETHYL METHYLPHOSPHO- efforts to destroy its remaining stockpile of VX NOTHIOIC ACID) nerve agent. Due to environmental and other tech- EMPTA, for O-ethyl methylphosphonothioic acid, nical concerns, the U.S. Army decided that bulk VX is a precursor for V-type nerve agents. EMPTA has would be chemically neutralized rather than sent few, if any, commercial uses. EMPTA is useful as a straight to incineration. When VX is mixed with hot VX precursor, however, because although EMPTA sodium hydroxide (NaOH), most of the toxic is not especially toxic, much of the difficult chem- chemical warfare agent is hydrolyzed (broken down istry required to manufacture the toxic nerve agent by water) into nontoxic compounds. Still, as VX is is already present in the EMPTA molecule. It is sus- hydrolyzed, a small quantity of EA2192 is formed as pected that Iraq used EMPTA to produce VX, and a by-product. The potential hazard posed by other countries (e.g., the Soviet Union) may have EA2192 during the neutralization process is miti- also used EMPTA to create their chemical arsenals. gated by the formation of a nonvolatile salt. Fur- According to the schedules of precursor chemi- thermore, the so-called hydrolysate remaining after cals restricted by the 1993 Chemical Weapons Con- neutralization has less than 0.1 percent by weight vention (CWC), EMPTA would be included (albeit concentration of EA2192. The subsequent and large not explicitly) in the Schedule 1 category. EMPTA dilution factor makes the resultant hydrolysate an has been a noted precursor for CW agents in the irreversible end product of VX destruction, and open literature since at least 1986. negligible amounts of EA2192 are eventually biode- Because Iraq had been using EMPTA as a means graded by microorganisms found in nature. to produce VX nerve agent, this precursor had been —Eric A. Croddy on the current watch list by Western intelligence agencies for about 2 years before a soil sample was See also: Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC); obtained in Khartoum, Sudan in late 1997. This Demilitarization of Chemical and Biological Agents; V-Agents sample was taken near the grounds of Al Shifa, a Reference pharmaceutical plant that was ostensibly in the DuPont Secure Environmental Treatment Fact Sheet, business of producing medicines for humans and “Analyzing Hydrolysate: DuPont Secure livestock. After U.S.-based laboratory analysis, it Environmental Treatment,” 2004, http://www. was determined that the soil contained EMPTA. dupont.com/det/pdf_files/Analyzing_Hydrolysate. Other and more circumstantial evidence had also pdf. pointed to production of VX or a similar type of 123
    153. 124 ENTEROVIRUS 70 nerve agent at Al Shifa. According to newspaper re- particularly among infants and children. After in- porting, Emad al-Ani, an important figure in Iraq’s fluenza, they are second only to the common cold as development of chemical weapons (the “father” of a source of flulike ailments. Iraq’s VX program), had contacts with officials from Enterovirus-70 (EV-70) can cause acute hemor- Al Shifa. rhagic conjunctivitis (AHC), a highly contagious, Due to this evidence, and as a means to signal its self-limiting inflammation of the eye. Following an capability to strike back at terrorists following two incubation period of 12 hours to 3 days, exposure large bombings at U.S. embassies in Africa, the causes a sudden onset of conjunctivitis with lid United States launched a cruise missile attack in swelling, subconjunctival hemorrhage, and 1998 against a suspected Osama bin Laden training marked eye pain without systemic effects. These camp in Afghanistan and at the Al Shifa factory, symptoms usually resolve within 1 to 2 weeks. Al- which was demolished by the attack. though not fatal and not listed as a high-priority Chemical weapons experts have since suggested bioagent by the Centers for Disease Control, AHC that Fonophos, an organophosphate insecticide, can be incapacitating. had been used quite often throughout Africa and AHC was first reported in Ghana and Indonesia could have been “misinterpreted” for EMPTA. An in 1969 and was called Apollo conjunctivitis. A new unnamed spokesman from the Organization for the enterovirus, EV-70, was identified as a cause of AHC Prohibition of Chemical Weapons also said that in 1972. EV-70 was subsequently responsible for a Mobil Corporation and the International Chem- pandemic of the disease in 1980–1982, during istry Industries of America had published reports which it spread to tropical areas of Asia, Africa, Cen- describing how EMPTA had possible commercial tral and South America, the Pacific islands, and applications. Thomas Carnaffin, a British engineer parts of Florida and Mexico. Small outbreaks asso- who had helped to design the Al Shifa plant from ciated with EV-70 have been reported in European 1992–1996, said that he never saw evidence of VX or eye clinics, among refugees in North America, and its precursors being made at Al Shifa Pharmaceuti- among travelers returning to North America. cals, and he claimed that security was very lax dur- UN Special Commission (UNSCOM) Chairman ing the time he was technical manager at the facility. Richard Butler reported in a March 18, 1999 letter to As to the veracity of the evidence and the appro- the UN Security Council about inspections of a fa- priateness of the U.S. military response, the attack cility in Daura, Iraq, where research was undertaken on Al Shifa remains controversial to this day. on viral agents for Iraq’s biological warfare pro- —Claudine McCarthy gram, including enterovirus. See also: Al-Qaeda; Al Shifa; Osama bin Laden; V-Agents This virus may be reemerging. EV-70 has led to References various epidemics in India, including a major out- Croddy, Eric, “Dealing with Al Shifa: Intelligence and break of AHC in Delhi, India, during the rainy sea- Counterproliferation,” International Journal of son in August and September 1996. In August 1999, Intelligence and Counterintelligence, vol. 15, no. 1, the Ministry of Health of Romania reported an out- spring 2002, pp. 52–60. break of aseptic meningitis. The CDC and the Ember, Lois R., “Worldwide Spread of Chemical Arms Robert Koch Institute in Berlin, Germany, assisted Receiving Increased Attention,” Chemical & in the investigation, and the responsible agents were Engineering News, vol. 64, no. 15, 14 April 1986, p. found to be three separate enterovirus serotypes. 11. Risen, James, “Question of Evidence: A Special Report: EV-70 only infects humans. It is shed in tears and To Bomb Sudan Plant, or Not: A Year Later, Debates spread via fingers, towels, clothing, and so on. As the Rankle,” The New York Times, 27 October 1999, p. virus can survive for weeks in water and other flu- A1. ids, indirect transmission via food and water is seen in areas of poor sanitary conditions and overcrowd- ing. Infants in diapers are particularly efficient ENTEROVIRUS 70 transmitters of infection, as direct contact with feces Human enteroviruses are a large family of ubiqui- occurs with activities such as diaper changing. This tous viruses causing a spectrum of both common is a virus with mysterious epidemiological charac- and uncommon illnesses with flulike symptoms, teristics. It is responsible for sharp, severe outbreaks
    154. EQUINE ENCEPHALITIS 125 of intense conjunctivitis, which seem to cease as severity of the human disease, with significant mor- suddenly as they arise. In temperate climates, infec- tality and permanent neurological damage in in- tions occur mainly in the summer and fall and can fants and children and indications that infection affect more than half of a community. caused fetal malformations. Some strains appeared —Beverley Rider considerably more lethal, and these were investi- See also: Iraq: Chemical and Biological Weapons gated as lethal BW agents. Programs References Technical Details Hierholzer, J. C., and M. H. Hatch, “Acute Hemorrhagic The VEE virus can be transmitted by the bite of an in- Conjunctivitis,” in R.W. Darrell, ed., Viral Diseases of fected mosquito or by inhalation of an artificially the Eye (Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger, 1985), pp. generated infectious aerosol. In nature,VEE normally 165–196. exists in a rodent-mosquito cycle that causes human Pallansch, Mark A., and Larry J. Anderson, cases only sporadically in restricted localities. When “Coxsackievirus, Echovirus, and Other mutations occur that allow the virus to replicate in Enteroviruses,” in Sherwood L. Gorbach, John G. Bartlett, and Neil R. Blacklow, eds., Infectious horses, large-scale equine outbreaks occur that can Diseases (Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders, 1992), pp. kill thousands of horses, spread for hundreds of kilo- 1774–1779. meters, and persist for years. During these epizootics, infectious mosquitoes spread the disease to humans, sometimes causing human outbreaks. EQUINE ENCEPHALITIS (VEE, WEE, EEE) The U.S. Army developed an attenuated live- Equine encephalitis (also referred to as the equine virus VEE vaccine that was protective in humans encephalitides) is a group of diseases affecting both but provoked reactions nearly as severe as the dis- horses and humans, caused by a family of viruses ease itself. This vaccine was never used in humans to that are transmitted by the bite of mosquitoes. One control VEE outbreaks, but it proved to be an effec- of these viruses, Venezuelan equine encephalitis tive veterinary vaccine. virus (VEE virus), was developed by the United States into a standardized biological weapon before Current Status the renunciation of biological weapons by the VEE remains on the U.S. Centers for Disease Con- United States. Other viruses of this family, such as trol and Prevention (CDC) Category B list of po- western equine encephalitis (WEE), eastern equine tential biological agents, although terrorists or hos- encephalitis (EEE), and St. Louis encephalitis (SLE), tile states would seem unlikely to choose an agent are less likely to be developed as biological weapon with such generally benign effects as a weapon of agents as they do not share the advantages of VEE in terror or mass destruction. terms of infectivity. However, they too may be con- As a biological weapon, contemporary informa- sidered potential viruses for weaponization. tion about the genetics of VEE indicate that it is considerably less controllable than was believed History and Background during the period when it served as a U.S. biological The equine encephalitis viruses and the related agent. U.S. BW doctrine called for the use of non- Japanese B encephalitis virus were investigated as communicable agents to allow precise control of the potential BW agents during WWII by the U.S. BW extent of an outbreak in tactical scenarios in which program. Immediately following WWII, the U.S. an incapacitating BW agent such as VEE would be weaponization effort concentrated on VEE because used. Yet, in retrospect, it has been found that many of the large number of laboratory infections it outbreaks of VEE that were once considered natural caused and its ability to grow well in the laboratory. were in reality the result of the “escape” of labora- VEE was developed primarily as an incapacitat- tory strains, either through inadequately inactivated ing BW agent because, in healthy adults, death or veterinary vaccines or other, uncharacterized envi- permanent disability from infection was very rare, ronmental releases from virology laboratories. This but the disease was severe enough to incapacitate its propensity of isolated releases to develop into victims for several days. Natural epidemics of VEE, poorly controllable regional outbreaks reduces the however, showed considerable variations in the attractiveness of VEE as a BW agent.
    155. 126 ETHIOPIA Brains from dead crows are tested for Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), as well as West Nile Virus. (Wyman/Corbis Sygma) After many spontaneous outbreaks in Latin Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, America during the period 1938–1975, VEE out- Weaponry, and the Casualty: Medical Aspects of breaks became quite rare after the mid-1970s. Chemical and Biological Warfare (Washington, DC: Its benign effects make unmodified VEE virus Borden Institute, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, unappealing for use as a terrorist BW agent. The fact 1997), pp. 561-89. “Venezuelan Encephalitis: Proceedings of the that it can be grown to high titer (strength) and be Workshop-Symposium on Venezuelan Encephalitis delivered by direct aerosol suggests the possibility Virus,” Washington, DC, 14–17 September 1971. that it might form a basis for a molecularly modified BW pathogen. Its genome is small, and genomic variations are highly limited by the stringent con- servation of its protein products, making such a “ge- ETHIOPIA (ABYSSINIA) netic vector” role problematic. The Soviet BW pro- Italy’s use of chemical weapons in Abyssinia (now gram attempted to incorporate VEE genes into a Ethiopia) in 1935 is the only time a European power vaccinia virus, apparently in an effort to develop a has used such weapons in a conflict since the end of better VEE vaccine. World War I. This action contravened the Geneva —Martin Furmanski Protocol of 1925, which Italy had signed and rati- fied, and which outlawed the use of gas and bacteri- See also: Biological Warfare; Centers for Disease Control ological weapons. and Prevention (CDC); United States: Chemical and Biological Weapons Programs In October 1935, the Italian dictator Benito Mus- References solini was anxious to expand his African colonial Smith, Jonathan, Kelly Davis, Mary Kate Hart, George V. empire. From bases in two Italian colonies in east Ludwig, David J. McClain, Michael D. Parker, and Africa, Eritrea and Somaliland, Mussolini’s forces William D. Pratt, “Viral Encephalitides,” in Frederick invaded the neighboring independent state of R. Sidell, Ernest T. Takafuji, and David R. Franz, eds., Abyssinia. The Ethiopian troops, under their leader,
    156. EXPLOSIVES 127 Emperor Haile Selassie, despite being outgunned See also: Mustard (Sulfur and Nitrogen) and poorly equipped, put up stiff resistance against References the Italian invaders. Lack of progress in what the Coffey, Thomas, Lion by the Tail: The Story of the Italians expected would be an easy advance caused Italian-Ethiopian War (London: Hamish Hamilton, them to think about employing poison gas. The use 1974). of such weapons, despite their illegal nature, had Fuller, J. F. C., The First of the League Wars (London: Eyre and Spotiswoode, 1936). been considered by Mussolini even before the inva- sion had begun. He had previously cabled his gen- erals: “Authorized [to] use gas as last resort in order EXPLOSIVES to defeat enemy resistance and in case of counterat- Explosives are energetic materials that expand or tack” (Coffey, p. 263). decompose quickly, giving off large amounts of The “last resort” apparently had been reached heat and/or rapidly expanding gases. Black powder on December 23, 1935. On this day, a body of was probably the earliest explosive, used in warfare Ethiopian troops came under attack from Italian by the Chinese as early as 920 C.E. Commonly used planes. Aerial bombardment was nothing new to explosives in both civilian engineering projects as these soldiers, but their commander noted that the well as warfare—including terrorism—are trinitro- planes dropped “strange containers that burst open toluene (TNT), nitroglycerine (component in dy- almost as soon as they hit the ground or the water, namite), and ammonium nitrate fuel oil (ANFO) releasing pools of colourless liquid” (Coffey, p. mixtures. 196). Those splashed by the fluid “began to scream High explosives fall into three general cate- in agony as blisters broke out on their bare feet, gories based on their sensitivity: primary, sec- their hands, their faces.” Those that rushed to the ondary, and tertiary. A primary explosive is one river to alleviate their suffering with water found that will detonate upon exposure to heat, shock, little relief, because the river was polluted with the friction, flame, or static discharge. They are gener- same substance. Men took hours to die. Local peas- ally extremely sensitive and are used in small ants who drank water from the river shared the quantities as detonators to initiate secondary ex- same fate as the soldiers who had been attacked plosives. with mustard agent. Secondary explosives cannot be detonated Blister agents, such as mustard gas, were eventu- readily by heat or shock. Several explosives in this ally employed widely by the Italians. Canisters gave category can be burned without detonating, and way to the use of aerial sprays created by planes in are relatively insensitive to shock, making them formation. Whole areas became covered in blister safer to handle than primary explosives. While a agents that created a long-term danger for the bare- detonation may spontaneously occur, it is far less foot Ethiopian soldiers and peasants. Grazing ani- likely than with a primary explosive. In most mals were also affected by the agent. The use of such cases a primary explosive must be used to initiate agents by the Italians—who always denied employ- detonation of the secondary explosive. Thus, a ing them—proved very effective in the war. They “train” is needed for one group of explosives to began to achieve easy victories as Ethiopian morale link detonation to another less sensitive group of crumbled in the face of chemical attacks. By the explosives. war’s end in May 1936, when the Italians occupied The third group, tertiary explosives, is the least the capital of Addis Ababa, some one-third of all sensitive. ANFO falls into this category. Sponta- Ethiopian casualties (15,000) had probably been neous detonation isn’t likely unless several factors caused by chemical weapons. occur. In some cases a secondary explosive, func- The international community was shocked by tioning as a booster for the detonator, must be used the Italian use of chemical weapons, and the League to induce detonation. This creates still another link of Nations applied sanctions on the country. These in an explosives train. sanctions, in keeping with the weak nature of the High explosives create two types of effects on League in the 1930s, were soon dropped. the target material: shattering and heaving. All have —Rod Thornton both characteristics but tend to have one more than
    157. 128 EXPLOSIVES the other. Shattering is inducement of shock waves Explosives with low detonation rates are used for into the material that break up its composition. An this sort of activity. example would be using plasticized explosives —Dan Goodrich and Eric A. Croddy (such as C-4 or Semtex) to “cut” through steel; the See also: Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil (ANFO); C-4; target is destroyed but attached material inches Plasticized Explosives; TNT away remains intact. Explosives with extremely References high detonation rates are normally used for this Military Explosives, Technical Manual no. 9-1910 type of activity. Heaving is the physical movement (Washington, DC: Departments of the Army and the of material due to the expansion of gases from the Air Force, 14 April 1955). explosion. An example would be using ANFO in U.S. Army Field Manual 5-250, Explosives and earthmoving operations. It compresses rock be- Demolitions (Washington, DC: Department of the yond its elasticity threshold, thereby breaking it up. Army, 1992).
    158. FENTANYL The synthetic opiate fentanyl and its derivatives are among the many different pharmacological substances investigated for the purpose of inca- pacitating personnel. Especially during the Cold F War, a great deal of research was expended by the United States and the former Soviet Union on risks for complications, particularly in terms of res- chemical substances that would not necessarily piratory depression during recovery. kill, but would instead merely incapacitate the Recently, a number of different analogues based enemy. In the offensive U.S. chemical warfare on fentanyl have been introduced, including sufen- (CW) program of the 1950s and 1960s, a large tanil, alfentanil, and remifentanil for use in anesthe- number of pharmacological substances were in- sia. If drugs like the belladonna alkaloids could be vestigated for their potential as incapacitants, in- utilized in chemical weapons, some CW specialists cluding depressants, hallucinogens (e.g., LSD), have wondered if opioid derivatives could also play belladonna drugs (scopolamine, BZ), and the opi- a role in warfare or in certain tactical operations. ate derivatives. The opiates in particular, such as During their own research, however, U.S. military morphine, fit receptors in the human brain and chemists found that the dose of opiate-related drugs nervous system as a key would fit into a lock, re- needed to cause the desired degree of incapacitation leasing painkilling endorphins and inducing a was not far from their lethal dose. With such a nar- state of euphoria. Given the right amount, opium- row margin of relative safety, there was not much based drugs can also induce sleep and uncon- rationale for using these substances as incapacitat- sciousness. One U.S. Army study in 1989 used car- ing weapons. fentanil—a synthetic opiate related to Although considered unfit for large-scale pro- Fentanyl—and saw a nearly tenfold increase in its duction or weaponization, opiate drugs like fen- potency when delivered in aerosol form to experi- tanyl may have had some applications in specialized mental animals. warfare or covert operations. During his tenure in The properties of poppy-derived medicaments southeast Asia (1966–1968), retired Major General had been known for many centuries, and morphine John K. Singlaub recalls a time when the military had already found some use as an anesthetic agent use of fentanyl or similar drugs was considered for by the late 1800s. However, the use of morphine as tactical roles in Vietnam. The U.S. Military Advisory a total anesthetic (inducing unconsciousness, versus Command (MAC) Studies and Observation Group local, in which the patient is awake) sometimes led (SOG) was assigned, among other things, to gather to deadly complications both during and following intelligence by capturing enemy officers for interro- medical procedures. In 1939, the synthesis of gation. This proved to be among the most daunting meperidine and its improved safety profile led to re- challenges that Singlaub and others faced along the newed interest in the use of opiates for anesthesia. Ho Chi Minh trail, where North Vietnam shuttled But arguably the most important development was logistical and other support to the Viet Cong irreg- the synthesis of fentanyl, its structure first patented ulars in the South. Although most of these Viet- by Paul Janssen in 1963. Fentanyl remains among namese carrying supplies on foot or on bicycles the more commonly used compounds in combina- were low-ranked soldiers—mainly peasants pressed tion with other drugs, or even by itself, for anesthe- into labor—some high-ranking North Vietnamese sia. Large doses of fentanyl, however, can increase Army officers were often also present. Often, when 129
    159. 130 FERMENTER SOG units engaged these caravans, it would quickly Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical turn into a desperate firefight. General Singlaub Weapons in The Hague concerning the legality of wondered if there was a way to temporarily knock incapacitants and riot control agents. out some isolated individuals while scattering away —Eric A. Croddy and Anthony Tu the irrelevant logistical support units. He could then See also: Bioregulators; Riot Control Agents bring these NVA officers in for questioning. One of References the plans was to utilize some type of tranquilizing Bailey, Peter L., Talmage D. Egan, and Theodore H. dart with fentanyl or a related substance. In the end, Stanely, “Intravenous Opioid Anesthetics,” in Ronald however, the science advisor to General Westmore- D. Miller, ed., Anesthesia, fifth edition (Philadelphia: land, commander of the U.S. military in Vietnam, Churchill Livingstone, 2000), p. 274. did not approve of this venture, and only CS (a riot Carpin, J., C. Whalley, and R. Mioduszewski, The control agent) was ever approved for the southeast Evaluation of a Synthetic Opiate Aerosol in Inducing Narcotic Hypnosis in the Rat (Aberdeen Proving Asian theater of operations. Ground, MD: U.S. Army Chemical Research, In October 1997, the Israeli Mossad (intelligence Development, and Engineering Center, 1989). bureau) used fentanyl in either an assassination at- Singlaub, John K. Personal communication, May 1999. tempt or a snatch-and-grab operation that subse- quently went awry. In this incident, Israeli intelli- gence operatives (including one physician) traveled FERMENTER to Jordan and followed Khalid Mishal, a Jordan- Fermenters, or bioreactors, have wide and varied based Hamas (Palestinian-based terrorist organiza- civilian applications in basic research and in large- tion) leader, in a car. The plan was to deliver fentanyl scale chemical and biological processes in the phar- in a spray that would be absorbed through Mishal’s maceutical, food and beverage industries, and at ear, but Khalid Mishal was able to escape. He was re- wastewater treatment facilities, among many other portedly affected by the drug, however, and required applications. Although the understanding of fer- significant medical attention afterward. mentation was originally confined to the produc- On October 23, 2002, during an evening perfor- tion of alcohol, it has since been found to be possi- mance at a Moscow music theater, some 50 ble to utilize microorganisms (e.g., bacteria, fungi, Chechen terrorists, equipped with firearms as well and yeasts) for the efficient manufacture of other as large quantities of explosives, seized the venue carbon compounds. Fermentation can suggest bio- and the 800 people inside. The terrorists threatened logical activity in which metabolism takes place in to kill everyone inside unless Russia ended the war an oxygen-free environment (anaerobic). In recent in Chechnya. Although the Chechen militants years, fermentation has sometimes been understood agreed to release some of the hostages during the to include such a process under aerobic (with oxy- first couple of days, negotiations with the Russian gen) conditions as well. Virus production, especially authorities eventually stalled. Just before dawn on for the production of vaccines, can also be accom- October 26, Russian special police units resorted to plished using specialized cell lines in fermenters using an incapacitating gas based on the drug fen- (also referred to as bioreactors). tanyl to end the crisis. All of the Chechen militants Fermenters would be a necessary part of a bio- were immobilized, and were shot and killed when logical weapons program, especially for the produc- Russian police finally stormed the theater. At first it tion of bulk agents—bacteria, toxins, and viruses. appeared that most of the civilian captives survived. Past BW programs, such as those in the United But although the operation was largely a success, States and former Soviet Union, used very large fer- 129 people eventually died from the effects of the menters to produce biological agents such as an- gas, most of these being hostages. The fact that so thrax. For example, at Stepnogorsk in Kazakhstan, many died because of fentanyl (or a related deriva- the Soviet BW program utilized 20,000-liter fer- tive) poisoning has been the source of some contro- menters. Transfers of certain types of fermenters are versy about how the Moscow theater operation was regulated by national export controls, including an handled. During the 2003 review conference of the informal export arrangement known as the Aus- Chemical Weapons Convention, the Moscow the- tralia Group. The ubiquity of fermenters in a variety ater incident also led to increased discussions in the of commercial enterprises, from foodstuffs to vac-
    160. FERMENTER 131 cines, however, makes the control of fermenters menters operate continuously as feedstocks are problematic if not impossible. added and product removed. Typical fermenters used to produce vaccines, There are two broad types of industrial produc- for example, are likely not to differ when used to tion configurations involving the use of fermenters. produce BW agents. In the case of diphtheria vac- One is a traditional single-purpose plant, such as cine, for example, bacteria are grown and the toxin those found in the petrochemical industry, where responsible for disease—diphtheria toxin—is large volumes of commodity chemicals are pro- detoxified following separation from the biomass. duced on a continuous basis. The other is a smaller, Typical production of other toxoids for childhood more versatile facility where smaller quantities of vaccinations, including against tetanus, might fine chemicals are produced to order in batch mode. begin in a fermenter of about 1,000-liter capacity. Such facilities may, for example, use lines of auto- The bacteria are cultivated under controlled con- mated microreactors capable of producing large ditions with sufficient growth media in a sterile en- volumes of specialized chemical or biological sub- vironment. Although viruses require living cells to stances over a period of days or hours. reproduce, this technique has also given way to One of the most significant trends involving using large fermenters to achieve large amounts of the use of fermenters and their possible applica- cells for viral production. This approach has made tion for the production of chemical or biological the manufacture of viral-based vaccines much warfare agents is that the distinction between more economical. chemical and biological processes is increasingly Among other intermediate and final products blurred. This is reflected in the increasing use of produced in processes involving the use of fermen- biocatalysts (microbial enzymes) in the chemical tation are acetone, amino acids, antibiotics, beer, industry, including for the large-scale production cellulose, citric acid, enzymes, and perfume. In beer of cosmetics, food products, and plastics. Catalysts production, wort—the filtration product derived are often required to accelerate or induce desired from a rice and barley mixture following heating— reactions. The chemical and biotechnology indus- is fermented using yeasts such as Saccharamyces tries have a growing interest in the research and cerevisiae. During wastewater treatment, sludge is development of biocatalysts because their use can collected following preliminary treatment and sepa- reduce production costs. Biocatalysts, usually en- ration. The sludge is then typically transferred into zymes or enzyme-based substances, are more se- an enclosed tank (an “anaerobic digester”), where lective in their end products than traditional bacteria partially convert it into methane gas. The chemical processes. Processes involving the use of unconverted portion of the sludge may then be used biocatalysts also generally involve fewer interme- in fertilizers, incinerated, dumped, or buried, and diate production steps than traditional chemical the methane may be collected for use as fuel. synthesis routes. The terms fermenter and bioreactor are often —John Hart used interchangeably. Fermenters are vessels in See also: Dual-Use which fermentation occurs through the optimized References distribution of gases, liquids, and nutrients at se- Australia Group website, http://www.australiagroup.net. lected temperatures and pH levels; the fermentation Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention website, vessels may range in size from a few milliliters to http://www.opbw.org. tens of thousands of kilograms (liters). Fermenta- International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry tion processes generally require carbon and nitro- (IUPAC), Impact of Scientific Developments on the gen sources, as well as other growth factors such as Chemical Weapons Convention: Report by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry to vitamins and minerals. There are a wide variety of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical fermenters differing in design and function. Some Weapons and Its States Parties (Research Triangle involve the immobilization of cells or their em- Park, NC: IUPAC, 2002). placement behind a membrane through which nu- Jadhav, S.S., and S.V. Kapre, “Vaccines and Antisera in trient media may then be passed. Other fermenters India/Southeast Asia,” in Anthony T. Tu, ed., Toxin- are batch reactor vessels that are periodically emp- Related Diseases (Hampshire, U.K.: Andover, 1993), tied and sterilized before reuse. Still other fer- pp. 501–543.
    161. 132 FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE VIRUS Moses, V., and Cape, R. E., eds., Biotechnology: The heart muscle, and surviving animals can suffer some Science and the Business, second edition long-term effects, including diabetes mellitus. (Amsterdam: Harwood Academic, 1999). FMDV has been investigated as a potential BW Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons agent by the United States, the Soviet Union, Iraq, website, http://www.opcw.org. and probably other states. During the Second World War, research was conducted on FMDV by H. W. Schoening at the U.S. Department of Agriculture as FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE VIRUS a joint War Research Service project with the United Long a scourge in animal husbandry, foot-and- Kingdom, although little seemed to have resulted mouth disease (FMD) is especially worrisome for from this project. modern agriculture industries that employ dense- Upon confirmation of an FMD outbreak in a animal farming. FMD is generally not a lethal disease country member of the Office International des in animals, nor does foot-and-mouth disease virus Epizooties (OIE), the International Office of Epi- (FMDV) directly affect humans, although infections zootics, exports of domestic animals and related do occur (generally in a laboratory setting, and only products are banned. The effects of an FMDV out- with considerable effort). FMDV affects animals break can have significant financial repercussions, as with cloven hooves, such as pigs, cattle, sheep, goats, witnessed in Taiwan in 1997 (up to U.S. $25 billion and giraffes, but not single-toed animals such as in losses) and the United Kingdom during horses. Infected animals generally develop painful 2000–2001 (estimates range in the billions of dol- sores (starting as vesicles) in the mouth. Vesicles also lars). One estimate in 2002 suggested that an FMD form at the hoofs and between the digits, with shed- outbreak in the United States could cost as much as ding of epithelium. Animals thus affected do not $27 billion. thrive. In cattle, sores can develop on the teats, ruling Transmission of FMDV is usually due to contact out milk production, at least during the course of with infectious animals or ingestion of contami- disease. Most animals ordinarily will survive FMDV nated feedstuffs. Hedgehogs have also been impli- infection, although some strains of the virus are cated in the transmission of FMD in cattle. The more potent than others (e.g., many pigs died from causative organism of FMD is a picornavirus (small FMD in the 1997 Taiwan FMD outbreak). Death in RNA virus). Like other viruses of this type that can animals from FMD is usually caused by damage to cause human disease (including the common cold Foot-and-mouth disease can usually only be stopped by culling animals. (Reuters/Corbis)
    162. FORT DETRICK 133 and polio), the viral particle is nonenveloped. Infectious Diseases of Wild Mammals (Ames: Iowa Nonenveloped viruses are generally more resistant State University Press, 1970), pp. 68–75. to environmental stresses, and can remain a source Wilson, Terrance M., Linda Logan-Henfrey, Richard of infection for a considerable time. Although easily Weller, and Barry Kellman, “Agroterrorism, killed in acid (pH<6.8–6.5), FMDV is otherwise a Biological Crimes, and Biological Warfare Targeting Animal Agriculture,” in Corrie Brown and Carole very hardy organism. It can survive for long periods Bolin, eds., Emerging Diseases of Animals in soil and on fomites (infectious objects), and it can (Washington, DC: ASM, 2000), pp. 23–57. be carried in the throat passages of humans. Though still a subject of some controversy, it has been substantiated that FMDV can be transmissible FORT DETRICK through the air and can survive being airborne, es- Although Fort Detrick, Maryland is today home to pecially under conditions of high relative humidity. several U.S. government agencies including the Na- Swine tend to shed many more viral particles than tional Cancer Institute, it is primarily known as the other animals. This may help to explain why the home of the U.S. military’s biological weapons re- outbreak in Taiwan was so devastating to its swine search program. As the Department of Defense’s industry. The similarity between FMDV and swine lead laboratory for medical biological defense, the vesicular disease, also caused by a picornavirus, also U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious makes rapid diagnosis in the field difficult because Diseases (USAMRIID) is an organization designed both diseases share the same clinical manifestations. to develop vaccines, strategies, treatments, training Once it has occurred, the proper control of an programs, and information packages to counter of- FMD outbreak is a matter of some dispute, but it fensive biological weapons and naturally occurring generally involves culling animals, setting up infectious diseases that require special containment. perimeters around infected herds, and vaccinating a The Institute is a world-renowned reference labora- ring of animals around infected herds. Although tory for definitive identification of biological threat vaccines are available for FMD, the efficacy of inoc- agents and diagnosis of the diseases they produce. ulating herds is limited by the wide number of USAMRIID’s staff of 500 includes physicians, micro- serotypes of FMDV and the fact that the vaccine biologists, pathologists, chemists, veterinarians, mol- may not stop animals from shedding virus. Further- ecular biologists, pharmacologists, and physiologists. more, once vaccinated, the animal is thus serologi- Originally a National Guard airfield, Camp Det- cally indistinguishable from other infected animals, rick was acquired by the U.S. Army’s Chemical War- and this confounds accurate disease surveillance. fare Service in March 1943 as a center for research From an economic perspective, destroying infected into biological weapons. Camp Detrick, near Fred- animals and thorough cleaning of contaminated erick in the foothills of western Maryland’s Catoctin areas are usually the only practical options for con- Mountains, was ideal for such research because it trolling the disease. was isolated, yet close to Washington, D.C., and to —Eric A. Croddy the already existing U.S. chemical warfare research See also: Agroterrorism (Agricultural Biological Warfare) establishment at Edgewood Arsenal. The U.S. Army References needed a research facility to develop the defensive Beard, Clayton W., and Peter W. Mason, “Genetic and offensive biological warfare (BW) capabilities Determinants of Altered Virulence of Taiwanese that it lacked on entry into the Second World War. Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus,” Journal of Virology, Of particular concern was the need to match Japan- vol. 74, no. 2, January 2000, pp. 987–991. ese biological warfare capabilities. There were strong Donaldson, A. I., and N. P. Ferris, “The Survival of Foot- rumors at the time that the Japanese had already and-Mouth Disease Virus in Open Air Conditions,” employed biological weapons in the late 1930s fol- Journal of Hygiene, vol. 74, 1975, pp. 409–416. Donaldson, A. I., and N. P. Ferris, “The Survival of Some lowing their invasion of China. Air-Borne Animal Viruses in Relation to Relative Humidity,” Veterinary Microbiology, vol. 1, 1976, pp. Background 413–420. Although much was known about the use of chem- Fletch, A. L., “Foot-and-Mouth Disease,” in John W. ical weapons in the early 1940s, given their wide- Davis, Lars H. Karstad, and Daniel O. Trainer, eds., spread use in the First World War, little was known
    163. 134 FORT DETRICK about biological agents—the use of living organ- windowless factory for producing perhaps the most isms (bacteria and viruses)—as weapons of war. virulent biological agent, anthrax, appeared, as did a These weapons had the advantage over their chem- structure four stories high to house a huge metal ical counterparts in that not only were they cheaper, sphere for testing aerosols. Work was conducted not but they were also more insidious; they could be only on lethal agents, but also on incapacitants and used in an attack without the victim knowing that hallucinogens. Some 60,000 animals per month they were being used until it was too late to take de- were required for the testing of such agents during fensive measures. The goal of research into biologi- the 1950s and 1960s. cal agents was to manufacture a biological weapon The increasing scale of the work of the scientists that generated a highly infectious disease against from Fort Detrick (as it was renamed in 1956 to which there was no natural immunity developer imply its more permanent nature) was not confined (e.g., vaccines) readily available. Research efforts to the facility itself. Large-scale experiments were went into ensuring that the biological agents could undertaken by personnel from the Maryland facil- be produced in bulk and be “weaponized,” that is, be ity, involving the release of clouds of what were then able to survive outside the laboratory, be easily presumed to be safe bacteria in cities such as San spread, and be easily absorbed into the human body. Francisco, Minneapolis, New York, and even Win- Research was undertaken into offensive biological nipeg, Canada. These cities were chosen because warfare, creating the weaponized agents, and defen- they approximated in size certain Soviet cities. The sive BW, or developing counters to an enemy’s use of scientists wanted to investigate the behavior of bac- biological agents. teria in the atmosphere, looking at how far they During the Second World War, under conditions spread, how infectious they appeared to be, and how of great secrecy and under the direction of George many people they might be expected to kill in a large Merck (head of the Merck pharmaceutical organiza- city. The civic authorities in these test urban envi- tion), Camp Detrick housed the testing, develop- ronments were told by the Detrick scientists that the ment, and production of both anthrax and botu- “smoke” that appeared above their cities was related linum munitions. Some of the facility’s product was to the testing of radar. (Experiments involving bio- shipped to England later in the war in preparation logical agents were much too sensitive an issue to re- for any German use of BW. None of these muni- veal to the public or even to local elected officials.) tions was ever used either in Europe or in the Pacific The fact that several mysterious deaths brought theater. about by rare bacteria were recorded at the time of After the war, research by the Army’s Chemical the experiments was only explained years later in Corps continued at Camp Detrick. Many new re- the 1970s, when the actual work of the scientists search data were gathered from captured Japanese from Detrick was brought to light. scientists and military figures who, in the 1930s and By the end of the 1960s, the work at Fort Detrick 1940s, had participated in notorious BW experi- had led to the weaponization of such lethal biologi- ments conducted at Unit 731 in Manchuria. Despite cal agents as anthrax, tularemia, and botulinum and the war crimes committed in the course of that re- of incapacitating agents such as brucellosis, Q-fever, search, scientists from Camp Detrick considered the Venezuelan equine encephalitis, and staphyloccocal information from these Japanese BW scientists to be enteroxin. These incapacitants were considered to so vital to U.S. national security that they argued for be more humane than lethal agents and could be the Japanese scientists to be granted immunity in used, it was hoped, against targets where there return for their cooperation. might be large numbers of noncombatants. The sci- Although large-scale production of biological entists had also produced biological agents to target agents ceased at Camp Detrick after World War II, it food supplies. These were designed to destroy crops, began again in earnest again in 1950 following the and they included cluster bombs containing turkey outbreak of the Korean War. Against a background feathers impregnated with crop disease spores that of the Korean conflict and a general fear that the were to be dropped from aircraft. new Cold War enemy, the Soviet Union, was devel- Viruses, too, had been engineered into weapons oping a substantial BW, or “germ” warfare, capabil- of war. Viruses are less complex than bacteria and ity, Camp Detrick was expanded. An eight-story often more deadly. Being much smaller, viruses such
    164. FORT DETRICK 135 as Ebola and smallpox can invade the human body ing that the vaccines designed for troops were effec- more easily than bacteria, and there are fewer treat- tive. Although none of these volunteer servicemen ments against them. Moreover, friendly forces could died, three employees died in accidents at Fort Det- be immunized against viruses, enabling them to op- rick over the years: two were killed by anthrax and erate in environments where viral weapons were one by Venezuelan equine encephalitis. Several hun- being used. The staff at Detrick also developed dred more have also become ill through accidents drugs for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and carelessness, although no fatalities have oc- for use in interrogations, and they developed quick- curred at the facility since the 1960s. acting poisons for assassinations. Gary Powers, the U-2 spy plane pilot shot down over the Soviet The End of U.S. Biological Weapons Research Union in 1960, was supposed to commit suicide, if After a series of accidents at U.S. military chemical captured, by using a shellfish (saxitoxin) poison and biological warfare installations and amid a gen- produced at Detrick. eral Vietnam-era disquiet over the role of the mili- tary, the U.S. public became more alarmed about Ethical Concerns the activities undertaken at Fort Detrick and other In the heyday of Fort Detrick in the 1950s and chemical and biological weapons facilities. Biologi- 1960s, the scientists there were attempting to over- cal agents came to be perceived as doomsday come several difficulties. Perhaps the most funda- weapons that had no place in the arsenals of civi- mental was the fact that it was impossible to target lized states. In 1969, President Richard M. Nixon, re- biological weapons; they were indiscriminate. They sponding to the mood and speaking at Fort Detrick, would kill military and civilian, friend and foe, announced that the United States would give up its without distinction. Some discrimination was at- BW program and destroy existing weapons stocks. tempted; research, for instance, went into develop- Scientists at Fort Detrick accordingly halted re- ing weapons that only worked on certain ethnic search into offensive biological weapons and de- groups. But such work was never popular among stroyed large stocks of stored agents. Small amounts researchers. were retained so that testing work could continue, Most researchers at Fort Detrick believed that but this work could only be defensive in nature and the end justified the means, that the demands of na- had to be geared to developing protection, including tional security justified their activities. For these sci- vaccines, against biological agents. Nixon’s initiative entists, any weapon, no matter how ethically dubi- led to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Conven- ous, that could help defeat a mortal enemy was a tion of 1972, which outlawed the storage of signifi- welcome addition to the arsenal of democracy. cant amounts of biological agents by any state. In Moreover, there was a sense that whatever research the aftermath of Nixon’s announcement, many was being conducted in the United States was being workers left Fort Detrick, and the facility was down- more than matched behind the Iron Curtain. The sized. In 1971, it was renamed the U.S. Biological United States had to keep up, they felt. Defense Research Laboratory and officially handed Ethics, of course, made testing on human sub- over to the civilian National Cancer Institute, which jects difficult. It was vital, though, that such testing was one of a number of new civilian tenants at the be carried out. Fortunately for the scientists at Det- base. Part of the camp, however, continued to func- rick, some 2,000 men volunteered their services tion as a secure facility housing the USAMRIID. during the period from 1954 to 1973. These were Fort Detrick scientists have contributed to the servicemen, mostly Seventh-Day Adventists, who, treatment of various diseases. Researchers at Fort De- rather than serve in combat roles (they were consci- trick have produced vaccines, toxoids (toxin-based entious objectors), agreed to act as test subjects. Al- vaccines), and antibacterial and antiviral drugs, and though subjected to various tests and often becom- they have conducted groundbreaking work in bacte- ing ill, none of the servicemen actually died. Their rial genetics. Fort Detrick, in the early part of the assistance was useful in establishing the effect of in- twenty-first century, remains a valuable resource in dividual agents, in developing protective clothing, in terms of developing protective measures against proving that certain antibiotics worked against such bioterrorism. Nevertheless, Fort Detrick remains agents as Q-fever and tularemia, and in demonstrat- controversial. The anthrax letter attacks that followed
    165. 136 FUEL-AIR EXPLOSIVE the September 11 atrocity in 2001 actually employed the effect of an FAE to that of a low-yield nuclear a strain of anthrax manufactured at Fort Detrick. weapon. Additionally, the psychological effect of —Rod Thornton such a weapon is significant. See also: Bioterrorism; United States Chemical and FAEs were initially developed by the United Biological Weapons Programs; World War II: States for use in Vietnam. U.S. forces used them to Biological Weapons clear landing strips and to destroy North Viet- References namese tunnel complexes. Prompted by the U.S. Cole, Leonard, The Eleventh Plague: The Politics of program, the Soviet Union developed its own Biological and Chemical Warfare (New York: W.H. FAEs and may even have employed some of its Freeman, 1998). earliest versions against the Chinese military dur- Covert, Norman M., “Cutting Edge: A History of Fort ing a border conflict in 1969. The Soviet military Detrick,” http://www.medcom.amedd.army.mil/ did use FAEs against entrenched mujahideen detrick/. Harris, Robert, and Jeremy Paxman, A Higher Form of (Afghan and Arab resistance fighters) positions Killing: The Secret Story of Gas and Germ Warfare during its invasion and subsequent occupation of (London: Random House, 2002). Afghanistan. Since that time, the Russian military Miller, Judith, and Stephen Engleberg, William Broad, has used FAEs on several occasions during mili- Germs: Biological Weapons and America’s Secret War tary operations in Chechnya. From 1994 to 1996, (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2001). Russian troops regularly used FAEs on entrenched Chechen separatist positions in the mountains outside of the city of Grozny. When the conflict FUEL-AIR EXPLOSIVE (FAE) resumed in 1999, the Russian military employed The basic operating principle of a thermobaric or limited numbers of FAEs on separatist-controlled fuel-air explosive (FAE) is analogous to a dust villages near Dagestan. cloud explosion, similar to those that occasionally Later, when Russian conventional arms once occur in coal mines or grain silos. In the latter case, again failed to dislodge Chechen separatists from fine particles of grain dust in the air can suddenly their fortified mountain positions near Grozny, the ignite with a spark, setting off a huge conflagration Russian government again authorized the use of in a chain-like reaction. Unlike a dust cloud explo- FAEs. Although both FAEs and chemical weapons sion, however, most FAE munitions employ a were initially considered for use against the volatile liquid such as ethylene oxide. An FAE gen- Chechens, the use of chemical weapons was ruled erally consists of a fuel container and two separate out, perhaps due to concern that such an action explosive charges. At a predetermined altitude, the would violate the Chemical Weapons Convention. initial explosive charge ruptures the fuel container, The use of FAEs is not limited by either interna- diffusing the fuel, which then mixes with air, creat- tional law or arms control agreements. Recently, ing a vapor cloud. The second explosive charge ig- some man-portable systems produced by the Rus- nites the vapor cloud, creating a massive explosion sian military have been sold to the Chinese People’s accompanied by an enormous shock wave and in- Liberation Army. These disposable, shoulder- tense heat. The explosion can generate tempera- mounted devices fire a self-propelled shell contain- tures ranging as high as 2,500° to 3,000° Celsius. ing ethylene oxide. Its effects—according to the The shock wave can travel at speeds of more than manufacturer—are equivalent to those of a 122- 9,800 feet per second, creating overpressures of 427 millimeter howitzer shell. pounds per square inch at the center of the explo- Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, U.S. develop- sion, flattening nearby structures. Anyone caught ment of FAEs was primarily concentrated at the within the immediate blast area would be crushed Naval Weapons Center in China Lake, California. by the intense pressure. Even those along the blast’s FAEs developed at the China Lake facility proved fringes are likely to suffer serious internal injuries their value in Operation Desert Storm, where they caused by the subsequent vacuum created by the overwhelmed entrenched Iraqi forces and cleared shock wave. For this reason, the Russian military minefields in preparation for the allied ground at- sometimes refers to FAEs as vacuum bombs. Both tack. Although FAEs are effective against any “soft U.S. and Russian military analysts have compared target,” such as personnel and light structures, they
    166. FUEL-AIR EXPLOSIVE 137 have proven to be particularly useful against mine- ulate the targets that the DOD (Department of De- fields, bunkers, and caves. fense) anticipated using it against in Afghanistan. Press reports during Operation Desert Storm On December 21, 2001, Edward C. Aldridge, often mistakenly identified FAEs as Daisy Cutters. In Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Tech- fact, the BLU-82B Daisy Cutter is not an FAE, but nology, and Logistics, announced that the BLU rather a 15,000-pound conventional explosive that 118/B had completed testing and was being de- includes both the agent and oxidizer. By compari- ployed to Afghanistan to support Operation En- son, FAEs weigh between 500 and 2,000 pounds and during Freedom. Less than 3 months later, on are oxidized by exposure to the atmosphere. Due to March 3, 2002, the BLU 118/B was used for the first the difficulty of maintaining the proper fuel-to-air time on an al-Qaeda cave complex located in the mixture, it would be highly problematic to develop Gardez region of Afghanistan. In less than 5 an FAE as large as a Daisy Cutter months, the DTRA team had been able to develop, Despite their proven battlefield utility, ten years produce, test, and deploy a weapon system critical after the end of Operation Desert Storm, the U.S. mili- to U.S. success in Afghanistan. tary had decommissioned all but a few hundred of its Since the attacks on September 11, 2001, the FAEs, probably due to their uncertain roles in future United States has perceived a growing threat from conflicts. This put the military in an unwelcome posi- rogue states and international terrorist organiza- tion as it prepared for operations in Afghanistan in tions that are attempting to acquire nuclear, bio- late 2001: It faced a severe shortage of a weapon de- logical, and chemical (NBC) weapons. Given the signed for use against precisely the targets that it now capabilities of current U.S. space-based reconnais- expected to encounter in Afghanistan. To resolve this sance satellites, clandestine NBC development and situation,on October 11, 2001,the Defense Threat Re- processing facilities are likely to be located under- duction Agency (DTRA) began a 60-day effort to de- ground. The U.S. Air Force and Navy are currently velop a new weapon specifically designed to defeat un- attempting to develop a conventional weapon ca- derground targets. The development team included pable of destroying a potential underground NBC members from the Air Force, the Department of En- target while limiting potential agent dispersal. The ergy, the Naval Surface Warfare Center at Indian new BLU 118/B, with its ability to penetrate hard- Head, Maryland, and private industry. ened structures and to produce significant At the end of 67 days, the team unveiled the BLU amounts of heat, is a potentially significant step to- 118/B “Thermobaric Weapon.” The term thermo- ward realizing this objective with a nonnuclear baric comes from the Greek words for heat (therme) weapon. and pressure (baros). The BLU 118/B has a fuel-air —William S. Clark explosive warhead fitted onto the body of a BLU 109 Penetrator that can punch through hardened con- See also: Aerosol References crete structures. As such, the BLU 118/B possesses Department of Defense website, http://www. the penetrating ability of a BLU 109 Penetrator and defenselink.mil. the destructive capability of a fuel-air explosive. On Federation of American Scientists website, http://www. December 14, 2001, the BLU 118/B successfully fas.org. completed both static and flight tests conducted at Global Security website, http://www.globalsecurity.org. the Nevada test site. These tests included fitting a Naval Weapons Center, China Lake website, http:// BLU 118/B warhead onto a laser-guided weapon www.navwcwpns.navy.mil/clmf/faesq.html. and “skipping” it into the mouth of a tunnel to sim- U.S. Air Force website, http://www.af.mil/.
    167. GAS GANGRENE Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) is a com- mon bacteria associated with three distinct disease syndromes: gas gangrene, enteritis necroticans, and clostridium food poisoning. Clostridium bacteria G produce at least twenty different toxins; the toxins produced by the clostridium bacteria are what Technical Details cause disease in its victims. Although weaponiza- C. perfringens is an anaerobic (i.e., it is unable to tion of C. perfringens would be a difficult endeavor, grow in the presence of free oxygen) spore-forming it is not impossible, and it therefore merits consid- rod bacterium. Commonly found in the environ- eration as a possible biological warfare agent. ment and the intestines of humans and animals, its spores persist in soil, sediments, and areas subject to History and Background human or animal fecal pollution. Though the Louis Pasteur, in 1861, identified the first clostridial clostridium bacteria produce at least 20 types of species, Clostridium butyricum. Later, other scien- toxins, four are of particular BW interest because tists isolated a gram-positive anaerobic (see below) they can cause potentially fatal syndromes: alpha, bacterium from gangrenous wounds. This orga- beta, epsilon, and iota. These toxins, one of the nism, originally known as Bacillus aerogenes capsu- main causes of gas gangrene, can cause tissue death, latus (later Bacillus perfringens, then Clostridium destruction of blood, decrease in circulation, and welchii, and now C. perfringens), gained recognition leaking of the blood vessels. for its appearance in battlefield wounds. Called gas gangrene because of the bubbles seen Despite the inherent difficulties associated with in the wounds (a result of bacteria-produced hy- weaponization of C. perfringens—notably challeng- drogen gas), gas gangrene typically develops in deep ing would be the isolation of toxins or the use of the crushing or penetrating wounds that have been whole cell—the gas gangrene-causing bacterium cleaned improperly. Disease onset typically begins has appeal as a biological weapon for its range as ei- one week after the introduction of bacteria to the ther a toxic or bacteriological weapon and its ability wound. The main initial symptom of gas gan- to exploit the condition of existing battlefield grene—or “wet” gangrene—is pain at the site of the wounds. Although the toxins are lethal in and of wound, which becomes progressively worse. Un- themselves in an aerosolized form, the use of the C. treated, gas gangrene can be fatal; progression from perfringens spore bacteria in a shrapnel munition— symptomatic disease onset to death can occur either as a slurry or as a refined powder—would ag- within 2 days. The main treatments for gas gan- gravate penetrating wounds and create a potentially grene are antibiotics and surgical removal of af- fatal condition among its victims, at the very least fected tissue. When the C. perfringens toxins are in- removing them from the theater of combat. haled as an aerosol, severe lung damage results, At least three countries investigated the leading to pulmonary edema and respiratory fail- weaponization of C. perfringens: Japan, South ure. When absorbed by the body, red blood cell de- Africa, and Iraq. Information on the measure of struction and liver damage occur. success each of these countries had in weaponizing —Jennifer Lasecki C. perfringens is scant. It does appear that their ef- See also: Iraq: Chemical and Biological Weapons forts at the weaponization process were forestalled. Programs 139
    168. 140 GB References to address the use of poisons in war was the Hague Bellamy, Ronald F., and Russ Zajtchuk, “The Peace Conference of 1899, sponsored by Tsarist Rus- Management of Ballistic Wounds of Soft Tissue,” in sia. In line with what had been previously raised in Ronald F. Bellamy and Russ Zajtchuk, eds., the Brussels Declaration of 1864 that had prohibited Conventional Warfare: Ballistic, Blast, and Burn poisons or poisoned gases meant to cause unneces- Injuries (Washington, DC: Walter Reed Army sary suffering in war, three declarations were made Medical Center, 1990), pp. 163–220. at the Hague Conference of 1899: Reflecting the Gorbach, Sherwood L., “Gas Gangrene and Other Clostridial Skin and Soft Tissue Infections,” in times and new technology, one declaration prohib- Sherwood L. Gorbach, John G. Bartlett, and Neil R. ited the use of projectiles from balloons. Another re- Blacklow, eds., Infectious Diseases (Philadelphia: W.B. quired that the treaty’s parties agree to end the use Saunders, 1992), pp. 764–770. of “dum-dum” or expanding bullets in war. Finally, Niilo, L., “Measurement of Biological Activities of the third prohibition concerned itself with those Purified and Crude Enterotoxin of Clostridium projectiles “the sole object of which is diffusion of perfringens,” Infection and Immunity, vol. 12, no. 2, asphyxiating or deleterious gasses.” The American August 1975, pp. 440–442. delegate, Admiral Alfred T. Mahan,was certainly not impressed, however, when it came to the latter pro- GB hibition of asphyxiating or deleterious gasses: “It is See Sarin illogical and not demonstrably humane to be tender about asphyxiating men with gas, when all are pre- GENEVA PROTOCOL pared to admit that it is allowable to blow the bot- The “Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War tom out of an ironclad at midnight, throwing four of Asphyxiating, Poisonous, or Other Gases and of or five hundred men into the sea to be choked by the Bacteriological Methods of Warfare” was signed on water, with scarcely the remotest chance to escape” June 17, 1925 and entered into force on February 8, (Fries and West, p. 6). 1928. Early signatories included the United States, Germany signed and ratified the Hague agree- Germany, Iraq, and Russia. Japan signed in 1970, ment in September 1900, but the United States and the United States formally ratified the Protocol elected not to sign the Hague declaration. Those in 1975. (Signing a treaty basically means that a state countries that did accede to the regime by signing is willing to abide by its precepts, but its government the document pledged to “Abstain from the use of will have to ratify it through a formal process before projectiles the sole object of which is the diffusion it becomes law.) The 1925 Geneva Protocol, also of asphyxiating or deleterious gases” (Hague Dec- known as the Gas Protocol, was meant to codify an laration, emphasis added). As Augustin Prentiss international opprobrium on using “asphyxiating, noted in his treatise on chemical warfare, at the poisonous or other gases, and of bacteriological time of the Hague Conference, such projectiles methods of warfare.”Although the Geneva Protocol had not yet been perfected for use in battle. Later, attempted to prohibit (with certain and significant this technicality would be invoked during World exceptions) the use of chemical and biological War I, some arguing that the use of static canisters weaponry, the historical record shows the agree- to release poison gas was exempt as they were not ment to have been largely ineffectual. Although the “projectiles.” Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) does not Despite earlier pessimism expressed by President concern itself with biological weapons, since com- William McKinley and Admiral Mahan, President ing into force in 1997 the CWC has superseded the Theodore Roosevelt put his imprimatur on a sec- 1925 Geneva Protocol. ond round of talks to further discuss a prohibition of chemical weapons at the Hague Convention in Background 1907. It was concluded as Article XXIII of Hague Interrupted by World War I—and the advent of Convention IV, regarding laws and customs of war modern chemical warfare—the 1925 Geneva Proto- on land, “in addition to the prohibitions provided col was really the culmination of previous attempts by special conventions, it is expressly forbidden to to outlaw the use of toxic chemicals on the battle- employ poisons or poisonous weapons” (Hague field. One of the first meetings of the major powers Declaration, 1907).
    169. GENEVA PROTOCOL 141 PROTOCOL FOR THE PROHIBITION OF THE USE IN WAR OF ASPHYXIATING, POISONOUS, OR OTHER GASES, AND OF BACTERIOLOGICAL METHODS OF WARFARE Opened for signature: 17 June 1925, entered into force: 8 February 1928 The undersigned Plenipotentiaries, in the name of their respective governments: Whereas the use in war of asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and of all analogous liquids, materials or devices, has been justly condemned by the general opinion of the civilised world; and Whereas the prohibition of such use has been declared in Treaties to which the majority of Powers of the world are Parties; and To the end that this prohibition shall be universally accepted as a part of International Law, binding alike the conscience and the practice of nations; Declare: That the High Contracting Parties, so far as they are not already Parties to Treaties prohibiting such use, accept this prohibition, agree to extend this prohibition to the use of bacteriological methods of warfare and agree to be bound as between themselves according to the terms of this declaration. The High Contracting Parties will exert every effort to induce other States to accede to the present Protocol. Such accession will be notified to the Government of the French Republic, and by the latter to all signatories and acceding Powers, and will take effect on the date of the notification by the Government of the French Republic. The present Protocol, of which the English and French texts are both authentic, shall be ratified as soon as possible. It shall bear to-day's date. The ratifications of the present Protocol shall be addressed to the Government of the French Republic, which will at once notify the deposit of such ratification to each of the signatory and acceding Powers. The instruments of ratification of and accession to the present Protocol will remain deposited in the archives of the Government of the French Republic. The present Protocol will come into force for each signatory Power as from the date of deposit of its ratification, and, from that moment, each Power will be bound as regards other Powers which have already deposited their ratifications. In witness whereof the Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Protocol. Done at Geneva in a single copy, the seventeenth day of June, One Thousand Nine Hundred and Twenty- Five. For the United States military at the time, rules The Hague Convention had attempted to outlaw against using poisons in battles were already in place. the use of projectiles carrying toxic chemicals. What General Order No. 100 by the War Department in could not have been foreseen were the massive clouds April 1863 had laid down the following: “The use of of chlorine gas that augured in modern CW during poison in any manner, be it to poison wells, or food, World War I. In fact, not long after the chlorine gas at- or arms, is wholly excluded from modern warfare” tack at Ypres, Belgium, in 1915, a German newspaper (Smart, p. 13). Following the Hague Convention of explained that “the basic idea of the Hague agree- 1907, the United States published its own regulation ments was to prevent unnecessary cruelty and unnec- in War Department Document No. 468 that put essary killing when milder methods of putting the more detail and emphasis into the agreement, enemy out of action suffice and are possible. From this adding that biological warfare was implied as well: standpoint the letting loose of smoke clouds,which,in “This prohibition extends to the use of means calcu- a gentle wind, move quite slowly toward the enemy, is lated to spread contagious diseases, and includes the not only permissible by international law, but is an ex- deliberate contamination of sources of water by traordinarily mild method of war” (SIPRI, p. 53). throwing into same dead animals and all poisonous Following the cataclysm that was World War I substances of any kind” (Prentiss, p. 687). and the unpleasant memory of chemical warfare,
    170. 142 GENEVA PROTOCOL polling data in the United States showed that a large eration concerns that would still remain 75 years percentage of Americans wanted to abolish chemi- later, the originator of the initiative to ban biologi- cal weapons. At the Conference for the Limitation of cal weapons in the 1925 Geneva Protocol, Polish Naval Armament (1921–1922, later referred to as general Casmir Sosnkowski, warned that the bacte- the Washington Arms Conference), the American riological weapon “can be manufactured more eas- delegation, chaired by General John J. “Blackjack” ily, more cheaply and with absolute secrecy” (Geisler Pershing, argued for the prohibition of chemical and Moon, p. 66). weapons. Still, the delegation noted “that there are A campaign led by U.S. general Amos Fries, chief arguments in favor of the use of gas which ought to of the Army Chemical Warfare Service, argued that a be considered. The proportion of deaths from their vote for ratification of the 1925 protocol by the U.S. use, when not of toxic character, is much less than Senate would mean a decline in military readiness. from the use of other weapons of warfare” (Ewing, The American Chemical Society was also against the p. 69). Nonetheless, the U.S. Senate unanimously agreement. Partly as a result of such lobbying, the ratified the treaty signed at the Washington Confer- United States did not ratify the Geneva Protocol ence, with only minor objections made during floor until 50 years later. Other countries that did not rat- debates. But the Washington Arms Conference of ify the Protocol in 1925 included Argentina, Brazil, 1922 never went into force due to objections by Czechoslovakia, and Japan, but thirty-nine countries France, a key player in the Conference. ratified the protocol before World War II. Regarding In 1925, the League of Nations called for a meet- the Geneva Protocol and its lack of commitments ing that was originally called the International Con- from the global community, in 1937, Prentiss ference on Supervision of the International Trade in warned that “its apathetic reception by various gov- Arms and Ammunition and Implements of War. It ernments has tended to defeat the purpose it was ex- was in this conference on arms regulation that the pected to serve” (Prentiss, p. 693). United States suggested adding proposals to ban With the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention chemical warfare, in order to lessen “the horrors of now in force, the Geneva Protocol is mostly only rel- war and ameliorating the sufferings of humanity in- evant today in its prohibition of biological warfare. cident thereto” (Prentiss, p. 692). The U.S. State De- However, its glaring loopholes (as presciently noted partment wanted an international approval of a ban by General Sosnkowski) remain. As of 2004, move- on the export of war gases. France made the sugges- ment toward a global treaty to enforce the toothless tion to ban the use of such chemicals, and Poland Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention has recommended that the agreement further prohibit stalled, awaiting some initiative to achieve consen- bacteriological warfare as well. Thus came into sus among its parties. being the 1925 Geneva Protocol. —Eric A. Croddy The Geneva Protocol began with considerable See also: Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention vision and promise. Though farsighted in the sense (BTWC); Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC); that it banned both chemical and biological forms Hague Convention of combat, the Protocol also contained key condi- References tions and exemptions that made it an ineffective Ewing, Russell H., “The Legality of Chemical Warfare,” treaty. For although the agreement prohibited the American Law Review, vol. 61, January-February use of such weapons in battle, it did not expressly 1927, pp. 58–76. prohibit the use of CW agents against nonratifying Fries, Amos A., and Clarence J. West, Chemical Warfare parties, the retaliatory use of chemical weapons (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1921). (making the Protocol a de facto “no first use” agree- Geissler, Erhard, and John Ellis von Courtland Moon, eds., Biological and Toxin Weapons: Research, ment), or the use of chemical weapons in civil con- Development, and Use from the Middle Ages to 1945 flicts within a country’s own borders. Perhaps the (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1999). most glaring flaw in the 1925 Geneva Protocol was Prentiss, Augustin M., Chemicals in War: A Treatise on that it did not prohibit research, production, or Chemical Warfare (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1937). stockpiling of chemical or biological weapons, and SIPRI: Continuity and Change, 1966–1996 (Solna, some countries additionally reserved the right to re- Sweden: Stockholm International Peace Research taliate using these weapons. Anticipating the prolif- Institute, 1996).
    171. GLANDERS 143 Smart, Jeffery K., “History of Chemical and Biological disruption of the supply of horses occurred on the Warfare: An American Perspective,” in Frederick R. western front. Large outbreaks of glanders did occur Sidell, Ernest T. Takafuji, and David R. Franz, eds., in Russia and Portugal, but as glanders was endemic Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, in these areas, it is unknown whether these out- Weaponry, and the Casualty: Medical Aspects of breaks were natural or the result of BW sabotage. Chemical and Biological Warfare (Washington, DC: During World War II, the Imperial Japanese Borden Institute, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Army’s biological weapons program developed 1997), pp. 9–86. United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, glanders as a major agent for both antianimal and Arms Control and Disarmament Agreements: Texts antihuman biological warfare. In undertaking this and Histories of the Negotiations (Washington, DC: program, the Japanese committed atrocities by in- Government Printing Office, 1990). tentionally causing fatal human glanders infections Utgoff, Victor A., The Challenge of Chemical Weapons: at their research facilities. Glanders bacteria were An American Perspective (New York: St. Martin’s, produced in industrial quantities and were em- 1991). ployed with other biological agents against Chinese civilians, Chinese troops, and military draft animals GF during a campaign in 1942 in Zhejiang Province. See Cyclosarin This campaign resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths from glanders among the local Chinese pop- GLANDERS (BURKHOLDERIA MALLEI) ulation, as well as losses of military equids. Burkholderia mallei is the bacterium that causes the After erroneous reports of continued German disease glanders. It has been researched, developed, interest in glanders as a BW weapon, the U.S. bio- and utilized as a biological weapon in wartime by logical weapons program investigated the possible national bioweapons programs. use of glanders as a weapon during World War II. The program inadvertently caused at least seven Historical Background laboratory infections among workers, and investiga- Glanders was once the most feared and economi- tion into the offensive use of glanders was stopped cally important fatal contagious disease of equids at the end of the war. (horses, asses, and mules). It was eradicated by 1920 in western Europe and North America through the Technical Details identification and destruction of infected animals. Glanders can be spread by inhalation, by inocula- Before this, humans occasionally contracted glan- tion, by ingestion, or by direct contamination of the ders, which was often fatal. Autopsy material from nose and mouth. The signs and symptoms of glan- equids that died of glanders and laboratory cultures ders in humans vary. Rapidly progressive cases show of the bacteria were extremely dangerous to handle. fever and septic collapse, often with a rash similar to Before it was eradicated, glanders was the most smallpox developing on the day prior to death. Di- common cause of fatal laboratory infections among rect exposure of the face often causes deforming ul- bacteriologists. cers in the nose and mouth. Slowly progressive and During World War I, the German military at- chronic cases develop persistent fever with multifo- tempted to use glanders bacteria in a worldwide ef- cal pulmonary and liver lesions. Chronic cases often fort to infect the horses of the Allied powers and to develop soft-tissue swellings, notably on the arms disrupt shipments of horses and mules from neutral and legs, that break down into draining sores. countries to the Allies. Saboteurs using glanders Under natural conditions, water troughs that bacteria cultures were active in France, the United were contaminated by nasal secretions transmitted States, Romania, Spain, and Latin America. Despite glanders from horse to horse. Humans were infected these extensive efforts, the effects of this campaign by contact with this water or with contaminated bits were minimal in western Europe and North Amer- and harnesses. The Japanese caused thousands of ica. There was a single suspicious glanders outbreak cases of human and equine glanders by contaminat- that occurred in Britain in a military stable, but ing rural Chinese water supplies with glanders. For- glanders cases among horses in combat units in tunately, standard chlorination and other modern France were few and easily contained. No significant water purifying processes very easily kill glanders
    172. 144 GRUINARD ISLAND bacteria. There is, however, the potential for glan- logical weapons facilities. Even a single case of ders to be developed into an airborne biological human glanders should act as a very important weapon. “sentinel event” for identifying clandestine Because glanders has been essentially extinct in bioweapons activities or an intentional BW release. Europe and North America for more than 50 years, If the low-virulence strains now circulating are and because it apparently does not cause human modified to develop increased virulence, glanders disease in areas where it is still endemic in equids, could become the basis of a biological weapon. current hospital automated bacteriological labora- —Martin Furmanski tory procedures fail to identify it accurately in hu- See also: Agroterrorism (Agricultural Biological mans. Likewise, descriptions of human glanders Warfare); Bioterrorism; World War I usually do not appear in current, standard medical References textbooks. This presents a major problem in the sur- Steele, J. H., “Glanders,” in J. H. Steele, ed., CRC veillance of glanders as a potential bioweapon. Handbook Series in Zoonoses, Section A: Bacterial, The glanders bacterium currently has the name Rickettsial, and Mycotic Diseases (Boca Raton, FL: Burkholderia mallei. Its genus name, however, has CRC, 1979), pp. 339–362. often changed. It is closely related to the bacterium Wheelis, Mark M., “Biological Sabotage in World War I,” in Erhard Geissler and John Ellis van Courtland that produces melioidosis (Burkholderia pseudomal- Moon, eds., Biological and Toxin Weapons: Research, lei). Glanders is classified as a Category B threat Development, and Use from the Middle Ages to 1945, agent by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and SIPRI Chemical & Biological Warfare Studies no. 18 Prevention (CDC), a category that also includes less (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1999). lethal BW agents such as Q-fever and Brucellosis. The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infec- tious Diseases (USAMRIID) has begun to investi- GRUINARD ISLAND gate it again, and a laboratory infection involving Gruinard Island is an island off the northwest coast glanders occurred in 2000. of Scotland that was used as a British biological In its natural state, glanders apparently requires weapons testing ground during World War II. Gru- large, crowded urban or military populations of inard (pronounced “grin-yard”) is a 522-acre island horses to maintain the dangerous, highly virulent measuring 1.24 miles by 0.62 miles, situated one-half strains so common before the twentieth century. mile off Scotland’s coast in Gruinard Bay. Although With the advent of modern mechanized transport, a handful of people lived on Gruinard at the turn of these sorts of dense animal populations have gener- the century, there were no human inhabitants left by ally ceased to exist. The remaining natural reservoirs the 1930s. Early in World War II, based on intelli- of glanders in Asia consist of much-attenuated gence concerning Axis biological research, the British strains that seldom cause death in horses and that War Cabinet decided to investigate ways to retaliate apparently do not infect humans. No human case of should the Germans employ biological warfare. Ini- naturally occurring glanders has been reported in tial research on Bacillus anthracis (the causative agent the United States since 1939. of anthrax) had been conducted with American and Only a few specialized veterinary laboratories Canadian help at Porton Down (U.K.), but by the can claim legitimate civilian veterinary uses for even summer of 1942, the British government sought a the highly attenuated laboratory strains of this orga- site for open-air trials to see whether B. anthracis nism used to produce diagnostic reagents. Glanders spores would remain infective after explosive disper- has ceased to circulate among horses in Europe, the sal. Gruinard, being remote yet close to a large Allied Americas, and Oceania. It is no longer an important military base at Loch Ewe, was chosen, requisitioned, economic disease of horses even in areas where it re- and given the code name X Base. mains endemic, including parts of Turkey, Iraq, Under the project leader, microbiologist Paul Iran, Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan. Fildes, researchers first used an airplane to drop a The fact that glanders is highly dangerous to 30-pound bomb filled with a slurry containing handle, even in facilities as sophisticated as USAM- spores of B. anthracis. Subsequent trials included RIID, means that accidental infections are likely to a variety of explosive devices suspended from occur if it is handled in improvised or amateur bio- wooden scaffolding 6 feet above the ground.
    173. GRUINARD ISLAND 145 Gruinard Island—the site of World War II–era anthrax weapons testing—has since been returned to the original owners. (Topham/The Image Works) These devices were detonated electrically near lines of sheep positioned at various distances downwind from the explosions. Afterwards, the Gruinard Island sheep were transferred to an observation pad- dock. Dozens died, proving the efficacy of an an- thrax bomb. GRUINARD An unintentional outbreak of anthrax among ISLAND livestock on the mainland in 1943 was apparently caused by a contaminated sheep carcass from Gru- inard that had been unearthed by a storm and had floated to the mainland. No human fatalities were reported, and the outbreak was contained. Con- A832 cerned about public safety, however, the British Gruinard military ceased testing on Gruinard in August 1943 and declared the island off limits. Contrary to gov- Bay ernment expectations, samples taken in 1943, 1944, and 1946 indicated that the B. anthracis spores on the island remained viable, so in 1946 the United Little Kingdom bought the entire island of Gruinard, Gruinard promising to return it to the original owners for £500 (about one pound Sterling per acre) when it was deemed safe.
    174. 146 G-SERIES NERVE AGENTS Annual inspections between 1946 and 1968 re- heirs of its original owners. Gruinard Island re- vealed the continuing virulence of spores, and mained only an interesting historical footnote until sampling was mostly discontinued until 1979, the anthrax attacks in November 2001 in the United when responsibility for Gruinard was assumed by States, when reporters flocked to Gruinard to recall the Chemical Defense Establishment (CDE) at Britain’s brief foray into biological weapons. Porton Down. A comprehensive survey was under- —Gary Ackerman taken and an improved assay technique was used See also: Anthrax; Decontamination; United Kingdom: that could detect three spores per gram of soil. Chemical and Biological Weapons Programs This revealed that, despite the release of 1014 References spores, only approximately 3 acres around the test Manchee, R. J., M. G. Broster, J. Melling, R. M. site (less than 1 percent of the island’s surface) Henstridge, and A. J. Stagg, “Bacillus Anthracis on were found to have been contaminated, with Gruinard Island,” Nature, vol. 294, 19 November spores mostly found within the top three inches of 1981, pp. 254–255. soil. This finding meant that decontamination of Manchee, R. J., and W. D. P. Stewart, “The Decontamination of Gruinard Island,” Chemistry in Gruinard was feasible. Britain, vol. 24, no. 7, July 1988, pp. 690–691. An interesting episode occurred in October Pearson, Graham S., “Gruinard Island Returns to Civil 1981, when an ecologically motivated group called Use,” ASA Newsletter, vol. 90, no. 5, September 1990. Dark Harvest placed a bucket with contaminated soil from Gruinard at the CDE in protest of per- G-SERIES NERVE AGENTS ceived government indifference to the island’s con- The NATO coded G-series (“G” as in Germany) tamination. nerve agents include the first toxic organophosphates In 1985, the Ministry of Defense initiated the produced for chemical warfare by the German mili- creation of an Independent Advisory Group (IAG) tary during World War II, starting with tabun (GA), for Gruinard Island, made up of eminent scientists sarin (GB), soman (GD), cyclosarin (GF), and some to review the CDE’s findings and decontamination analogues synthesized many years after World War II proposal. In 1986, a private contractor was commis- (such as GV). There is no nerve agent referred to as sioned to decontaminate a total area of just over 10 “GC,” probably because this had already been used in acres on Gruinard. After spraying a herbicide and the U.S. military to code for gonorrhea. The more burning away the undergrowth, a system consisting toxic of the G-series include GB and GD, but are less of 30 miles of irrigation tubing was used to soak the toxic than V-series agents (e.g., VX). ground with 280 tons of formaldehyde diluted in —Eric A. Croddy 2,000 tons of seawater in amounts of 50 liters per square meter. Topsoil was also removed in sealed See also: Cyclosarin (GF); Nerve Agents; Sarin; Soman; containers and decontaminated. After retreating a Tabun few areas in July 1987, no viable spores of B. an- thracis were detected on the island. As an extra pre- GULF WAR: CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL caution, forty sheep belonging to a local farmer WEAPONS were allowed to graze on the island from May to Oc- When a U.S.-sponsored coalition attempted to drive tober 1987 and were closely monitored. Iraqi forces from Kuwait in early 1991, there were In its final 1988 report, the IAG concluded that fears that Iraq would use a weapon of mass destruc- Gruinard Island could be returned to civilian use, tion. This proved not to be the case, but for coalition and, in May 1990, the island was sold back to the leaders, the threat that Iraq might use a chemical or biological weapon was very real. Iraq had shown dur- ing the Iran-Iraq War that it had chemical warfare ca- pability and was willing to use it against its adversary “For air, stone, and the equilibrium of in the war and against domestic opposition groups. understanding, welcome back Gruinard” Even before his invasion of Kuwait, Saddam —inscription on a plaque commemorating Hussein had threatened to “rain down fire” on Is- Gruinard’s decontamination rael, which a number of commentators interpreted as a threat to employ chemical weapons. Once the
    175. GULF WAR SYNDROME 147 invasion of Kuwait had taken place, Iraq threatened Hussein also may have been deterred by the to use such weapons against coalition forces and Is- threat of U.S. dominance in the event of escalation rael. Hussein was attempting to establish a deter- of the conflict: if Iraq employed chemical weapons, rence relationship with the coalition by suggesting it might have been subjected to devastating U.S. that any attack on Iraq (including Kuwait, which conventional or even nuclear retaliation. (In a final Iraq claimed was its lost “nineteenth province”) meeting before the outbreak of the war, U.S. Secre- would justify retaliation with chemical weapons. By tary of State James Baker had handed Iraqi Foreign threatening to attack Israel, Hussein promised to Minister Tariq Aziz a letter from President George spread any Gulf conflict throughout the Middle East H. W. Bush, which was purported to carry a warn- and turn Arab public opinion to the Iraqi cause by ing about Iraqi use of weapons of mass destruc- somehow linking the seizure of Kuwait to the Pales- tion.) In any case, it is doubtful whether Iraqi use tinian-Israeli dispute. To reinforce this threat, Iraq of chemical weapons would have significantly al- reportedly established decontamination sites in the tered the outcome of the war. After the war, no ev- Kuwaiti theater of operations. idence was discovered that suggested that these Prewar coalition assessments credited Iraq with a weapons were even deployed with the fielded Iraq formidable arsenal of chemical weapons, including forces. mustard, two nerve agents (tabun and sarin), and —Andrew M. Dorman other compounds that were in development or pro- See also: Gulf War Syndrome; Iraq: Chemical and duction. In addition, the Iraqi military had experi- Biological Weapons Programs; United Nations ence in actually employing chemical weapons in Monitoring, Verification, and Inspection combat. Little was known, however, about Iraq’s bi- Commission (UNMOVIC) ological weapons program. After the war, it was dis- References covered that Iraq had accelerated its production of Cigar, Norman, “Chemical Weapons and the Gulf War: anthrax and botulinum toxin prior to Desert Storm. The Dog That Did Not Bark,” Studies in Conflict and Rolf Ekeus, the Executive Chairman of the UN Spe- Terrorism, vol. 15, no. 2, April–June 2002, pp. 145–155. cial Commission (UNSCOM), was subsequently in- “Iraq’s Biological Weapons Programme,” Strategic formed that authority had been delegated to local Comments, vol. 2, no. 5, June 1996, pp. 1–2. Iraqi commanders to use chemical and biological Terrill, W. Andrew, “Chemical Weapons in the Gulf weapons in response to a massive coalition attack on War,” Strategic Review, spring 1986, pp. 51–58. Baghdad. UNSCOM, “Report on Status of Disarmament and During the war, Coalition air strikes destroyed or Monitoring,” S/1999/94 of 29/10/1999, damaged most of Iraq’s chemical warfare produc- http://www.un.org/Depts/unscom/s99–94.htm. tion and filling capabilities, but stocks that had been relocated before the war were assumed to have sur- GULF WAR SYNDROME vived. Subsequent UN inspections of Iraq revealed a As the name suggests, Gulf War Syndrome refers to significant chemical weapons infrastructure. a clinical syndrome experienced by a cohort of United States and other Coalition personnel who Reasons for Nonuse served during the 1990–1991 Gulf War against Iraq. Why did the Iraqi regime fail to use its chemical and Gulf War syndrome (GWS) is a poorly defined con- biological arsenal during the Gulf War? Iraq had a dition generally described as a constellation of fa- variety of proven delivery mechanisms including tigue, mood-cognition problems, and muscu- aerial bombs, aerosol sprays, artillery shells, ground- loskeletal pain. No causative agent—by itself or in to-ground and air-to-ground rockets, chemical war- combination with environmental pollutants such as fare mines, and Scud missiles. Why it chose not to chemical warfare (CW) toxins or biological use this arsenal is not entirely clear. The weapons pathogens—has yet been identified as the cause of might have been viewed by the Iraqi regime as po- the mysterious ailment. Following the overthrow of litical and psychological weapons; once the war Saddam Hussein’s government in April 2003, simi- began and Iraq’s bluff had been called, these lar complaints that closely resemble that of GWS weapons might have been held in reserve to guaran- have surfaced among combatants participating in tee the survival of the Iraqi regime. Operation Iraqi Freedom.
    176. 148 GULF WAR SYNDROME Despite exhaustive (and, in some instances, re- U.S. military planners were concerned that Iraq dundant) clinical and epidemiological studies, an could use CW agents, including soman, a nerve organic cause of GWS has not been found. For ex- agent that is difficult to treat due to its propensity to ample, nearly a decade following the first Gulf War “age” the body’s enzyme acetylcholinesterase (1990–1991), British researchers studied 1,000 self- (AChE). In addition to antidotes containing a com- selected members of a Gulf War cohort who suf- bination of atropine and oxime to reverse the effects fered from GWS. They reported that “Fatigue, joint of nerve agents, U.S. personnel were prescribed and muscle aches and pains, and affective symp- pyridostigmine bromide (PB), a carbamate com- toms (such as mood swings and anxiety) were the pound, in the form of tablets. PB temporarily in- most common symptoms. Many other symptoms hibits a small portion of the body’s AChE as a means occurred, but no clinically consistent pattern existed to protect it from being permanently blocked by to suggest a common underlying disease process” soman or perhaps another nerve agent. The doses of (Coker et al., 1999, p. 294). Nor do follow-up stud- PB to be administered were relatively small, but they ies show any higher incidence of birth defects did cause some discomfort (intestinal gas and uri- among the progeny of Gulf War veterans than in nary urgency) among soldiers who took them. control groups. Anecdotal evidence also shows that more than a few Assuming that GWS can be clinically defined as soldiers simply decided not to follow this regimen. an illness, a number of candidate agents have been In any event, some advocacy groups and GWS re- offered as its cause. These include purported expo- searchers have suggested that PB tablets, in combi- sure to chemicals including chemical warfare (CW) nation with other factors, could have played a role in agents, anthrax vaccine, botulinum toxoid, and postwar illness. These suggestions, however, are not other biological pathogens. As far as CW agents are supported by available data. concerned, there is one publicly known incident in The use of vaccines to protect against biological which a U.S. soldier suffered injury following the warfare (BW) agents has also been suggested as a Gulf War in 1991. His exposure to sulfur mustard cause of GWS. Using last-minute approval from the led to minor burns while securing one of many Iraqi Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. military ammunition depots. After the war, U.S. military vaccinated a limited number of personnel (about personnel destroyed the Iraqi ammunition cache at 8,000) with botulinum toxoid. In 1997, the Presi- Khamisiyah, which later turned out to have con- dential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ tained unknown quantities of nerve agent. Thus, Illnesses concluded that the use of botulinum toxoid possible exposure to nerve agents was studied as a did not play a role in developing GWS among veter- potential cause of GWS among those veterans in the ans. In contrast to the small number of botulinum region. No evidence has been found to show, how- vaccinations, some 150,000 U.S. servicemen were ever, that any coalition forces were exposed to toxic inoculated against anthrax during the time leading concentrations of nerve agent at Khamisiyah. up to Desert Storm (1991). Since then, a number of Other researchers have suggested that long-term studies have been conducted to determine whether effects of toxic compounds, particularly the this might have contributed to ailments among Gulf organophosphate nerve agents, could cause neural War veterans. Here, too, the Presidential Advisory deficits even at low concentrations. Toxicological Committee concluded, “it is unlikely that health ef- studies of soman and sarin before and after the Gulf fects reported by Gulf War veterans today are the re- War, however, do not support this view. Unlike sult of exposures to the BT or anthrax vaccines, used some insecticides and toxic organophosphates used alone or in combination” (Presidential Advisory in other contexts, exposure to nerve agent that Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses: Final would cause long-term (or delayed) neuropathy Report, p. 114). would require very large doses—and probably In 1999, the periodical Vanity Fair carried a deadly ones at that. story that discussed claims by some medical re- Another purported cause of GWS is the use of searchers that squalene could be the cause of GWS. nerve agent antidotes by U.S. soldiers, or more An intermediate compound found in cholesterol specifically, pretreatment against soman nerve agent synthesis, squalene (molecular formula C30H50) is exposure. Prior to Operation Desert Storm (1991), found in earwax and shark liver oil, among other
    177. GULF WAR SYNDROME 149 sources. Squalene has been used as an adjuvant (a the following environmental risk factors assessed substance that can boost the immune system’s re- by the Committee: pesticides, chemical warfare sponse, enhancing the effectiveness of a vaccine) in agents, biological warfare agents, vaccines, pyri- human trials for possible HIV, herpes simplex virus dostigmine bromide, infectious diseases, depleted (HSV-2), cancer therapy, and malaria vaccine re- uranium, oil-well fires and smoke, and petroleum search. After some studies found evidence of squa- products.” The report did suggest, however, that lene antibodies in veterans who were complaining “stress is likely to be an important contributing fac- of GWS, advocates suggested a possible link, sug- tor to the broad range of illnesses currently being gesting that squalene had been used as an adjuvant reported by Gulf War veterans” (Presidential Advi- for anthrax vaccinations among U.S. military per- sory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses: sonnel during the 1991 Gulf War. There is no evi- Final Report, p. 114). dence, however, that squalene was ever used in an- If there is an identifiable disease known as thrax vaccinations. Nor has a link between squalene GWS, one is drawn after significant research into and GWS been demonstrated. its origins to the conclusion that its cause is un- Other chemicals that have been suggested as likely to be found. There is a possibility that GWS playing a role in GWS etiology include remnants of falls into a category of health conditions that have depleted uranium (DU) bullets (dense projectiles historically followed veterans and their war experi- containing uranium depleted of U235 isotope; used ences. Following the U.S. Civil War, for example, against armor), petroleum smoke, and organophos- the ailment was known as soldier’s heart. Among phate insecticides in combination with mosquito World War I veterans in England, it was called ef- repellent (diethyl toluamide or DEET). As with fort syndrome, and U.S. military physicians other claims that GWS was caused by certain types termed it neurocirculatory asthenia.”Many of the of chemical exposures during the Gulf War con- symptoms described in these syndromes are not flict(s), these have not been substantiated. dissimilar from those of GWS. In addition to chemicals having been alleged to —Eric A. Croddy cause GWS, microbiological agents such as My- See also: Iraq: Chemical and Biological Weapons coplasma fermentans have been implicated as a Programs; Nerve Agents; Pyridostigmine Bromide; source of illness. No links between this organism Vaccines and GWS were found in an extensive study per- References formed by the U.S. Armed Forces Institute of Asa, Pamela B., Yan Cao, and Robert F. Garry, Pathology (Lo et al., 2000). Another infectious dis- “Antibodies to Squalene in Gulf War Syndrome,” ease agent, a parasitic organism that causes leish- Experimental and Molecular Pathology, vol. 68, February 2000, pp. 55–64. maniasis (Leishmania tropica), a disease typified by Coker, W. J., B. M. Bhatt, N. F. Blatchley, and J. T. skin lesions (Kala-azar), affected at least thirty-two Graham, “Clinical Findings for the First 1,000 Gulf Gulf War veterans, a dozen of whom developed the War Veterans in the Ministry of Defence’s Medical more serious visceral form.. (The other twenty de- Assessment Programme,” British Medical Journal, veloped the cutaneous form, also known as the vol. 318, 30 January 1999, pp. 290–294. Baghdad boil.) Leishmaniasis in this limited num- Despommier, Dickson D., Robert W. Gwadz, and Peter ber of individuals, however, did not explain the J. Hotez, Parasitic Diseases, third edition (New York: wider prevalence of reported GWS among veterans. Springer-Verlag, 1995). In 1995, increased political pressure regarding Fumento, Michael, “What Gulf War Syndrome?” The GWS and its purported effect on U.S. Gulf War vet- American Spectator, vol. 28, no. 5, May 1995, pp. erans led President William Clinton to form the 28–34. “Gulf War Syndrome II? British Soldiers Claim Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Vet- Vaccinations Caused New Mystery Illness,” erans’ Illnesses. In its 1997 final report, the com- WorldNetDaily, 27 May 2003, http://www. mittee concluded: “although some veterans clearly WorldNetDaily.com. have service-connected illnesses, current scientific Lo, S. C., L. Levin, J. Ribas, R. Chung, R. Y. Wang, D. evidence does not support a causal link between the Wear, and J. W. Shih, “Lack of Serological Evidence symptoms and illnesses reported today by Gulf War for Mycoplasma Fermentans Infection in Army Gulf veterans and exposures while in the Gulf region to War Veterans: A Large Scale Case-Control Study,”
    178. 150 GULF WAR SYNDROME Epidemiology and Infection, vol. 125, no. 3, pp. Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ 609–616. Illnesses: Final Report (Washington, DC: U.S. Marrs, T. C., and R. L. Maynard, “Neurotoxicity of Government Printing Office, December 1996). Chemical Warfare Agents,” Handbook of Clinical Shapiro, S. E., M. R. Lasarev, and L. McCauley, “Factor Neurology, vol. 20, no. 64: Intoxications of the Nervous Analysis of Gulf War Illness: What Does It Add to System, part I, 1994. Our Understanding of Possible Health Effects of Matsumoto, Gary, “The Pentagon’s Toxic Secret,” Vanity Deployment?” American Journal of Epidemiology, vol. Fair, May 1999, pp. 82–98. 156, no. 6, September 2002, pp. 578–585. Mauroni, Albert J., Chemical-Biological Defense Smith, T. C., G. C. Gray, J. C. Weir, J. M. Heller, and (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998). M. A. Ryan, “Gulf War Veterans and Iraqi Nerve Penman, Alan D., Mary M. Currier, and Russell S. Agents at Khamisiyah: Postwar Hospitalization Data Tarver, “No Evidence of Increase in Birth Defects Revisited,” American Journal of Epidemiology, vol. and Health Problems among Children Born to 158, no. 5, September 2003, pp. 457–467. Persian Gulf War Veterans in Mississippi,” Military Staudenmayer, Herman, Environmental Illness: Myth Medicine, vol. 161, January 1996, pp. 1–6. and Reality (Boca Raton, FL: Lewis, 1999).
    179. HAGUE CONVENTION This treaty, developed at the First Peace Conference at The Hague, July 29, 1899, entered into force on September 4, 1900. The treaty discussed the most efficacious means of ensuring the benefits of real H and durable peace and addressed how to stop the progressive development of armaments, including ference at The Hague on October 18, 1907. (The the prohibition of the employment of poison or second convention entered into force on January poisoned arms in war. 26, 1910.) Despite these two Hague agreements, The conference was convened at the invitation of chemical weapons were used by both sides in World Count Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov, the foreign War I, by Italy in Ethiopia and by Japan in China affairs minister of Russia. It was one of a series of during the 1930s, and by both sides during the Iran- conferences intended to ensure a lasting peace Iraq war in the 1980s. among the great powers of Europe, and it followed The international community has established a in the aftermath of the partial successes of the regime to ban the use of chemical weapons in war- Geneva Convention (1864) and Brussels Declara- fare and also to ban the very possession of chemical tion (1874). The Hague Convention included many weapons. The Geneva Protocol (Protocol for the important declarations, the most significant being Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poi- the Declaration on the Use of Projectiles the Object sonous, or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological of Which Is the Diffusion of Asphyxiating or Dele- Methods of Warfare) was signed on June 17, 1925, terious Gases. and entered into force on February 8, 1928. The The asphyxiating gases declaration reached by most recent treaty that has banned the production the twenty-four states at the conference forbade the and use of chemical weapons is the Chemical use of projectiles that are solely intended to diffuse Weapons Convention (CWC), signed in 1993, which asphyxiating gases, and it also forbade the utiliza- entered into force in 1997. The CWC complements tion of asphyxiating gases as weapons on their own. the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. This included the use of a cloud of gas that was pro- —Glen M. Segell duced with the sole purpose to engulf an enemy po- See also Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention sition, used as a single weapon with no other explo- (BTWC); Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC); sive element. The declaration also imposed a Geneva Protocol condition on the use of gases built into an artillery References shell or bullet. The wording, however, was not clear Gray, Christine D., International Law and the Use of in the condemnation of the use of gas in warfare. It Force (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 2001). left room for its meaning to be questioned with re- Holland, T. E., ed., The Laws and Customs of War on gard to what gas constituted a poison, whether the Land, as Defined by the Hague Convention of 1899 (London: Harrison and Sons, 1904). use and further development of gas-based weapons was justifiable in circumstances of retaliation, and what exactly was meant by the term mass slaughter. HALABJA INCIDENT Only one case was heard under terms of the The Iraqi use of chemical weapons on the northern Hague Convention of 1899—the North Sea Inci- Iraqi village of Halabja in 1988 illustrates the im- dent in 1904, when Russian boats fired upon a mediate and long-term damage that such weapons British naval ship—before the Second Peace Con- can inflict. The attack also demonstrates how 151
    180. 152 HALABJA INCIDENT Saddam Hussein’s chemical attack on Halabja in 1988 resulted in the death of about 5,000 people. (Faleh Kheiber/Reuters/Corbis) chemical warfare agents can be used against an ad- The town of Halabja is situated approximately 15 versary, and it shows some of the possible motives miles west of the border with Iran. At the time, the for employing these weapons. Although allegations town, with a total population of 40,000, was home that Iraq used chemical weapons against Iranian to roughly 8,000 Kurds. As was the case with most of and Shi’ite territories also exist—at least twenty Iraqi Kurdistan, the inhabitants of Halabja sup- similar attacks against smaller northern Iraqi vil- ported the Peshmerga. These Kurdish fighters (the lages occurred in 1987—none matched the scale or name Peshmerga literally means “those who face intensity of the chemical assault on Halabja. death”) were in a state of perpetual revolt against the On March 16, 1988, the Iraqi military, at the time regime of Saddam Hussein, and they used the town also engaged in an 8-year-long war with Iran, as a safe haven and sometimes as a base of opera- launched a 3-day artillery and air attack against the tions for insurgency against Saddam’s Ba’ath Kurdish town of Halabja in northern Iraq. In addi- regime. Whenever the tide of battle would turn and tion to the chemical nerve agents tabun, sarin, Iranian forces controlled the region, Halabja was soman, and possibly VX, Iraq employed the blister used as a staging area for joint Iranian-Peshmerga agent mustard in artillery and aerial munitions to operations against nearby Iraqi positions. eliminate segments of the Kurdish population that On the morning of March 16, 1988, following a had become an irritant to Saddam Hussein. Some successful joint attack between the Peshmerga and sources suggest that this attack was launched to ex- the Iranian military on Iraqi outposts surrounding periment with different nerve agents. Estimates place the town, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard infil- the number of dead in the immediate aftermath of trated and passed through Halabja. The town’s resi- the chemical attacks at approximately 5,000. At the dents assumed that an Iraqi retaliatory air strike was end of the operation, a total of 12,000 are believed to imminent due to the town’s collusion with Iranian have perished. This was the largest chemical Revolutionary Guards, and began to take cover in weapons attack against a civilian population. cellars and other underground shelters. Eyewitness
    181. HEARTWATER 153 accounts reported that at approximately 10:30 A.M., taken place to document the total impact of the an Iraqi helicopter appeared over the horizon, snap- chemical attack on Halabja. She reported, however, ping aerial photographs and taking video of the that reproductive dysfunction, congenital malfor- town. Approximately one-half hour after the heli- mations, and long-term neurological and neuropsy- copter vacated the area, the Iraqi army began an ar- chiatric effects (particularly in those who were chil- tillery barrage on Halabja from a position in the dren at the time of the attack) found among the nearby town of Sayid Sadiq. Shortly after the ar- town’s residents may have been linked to chemical tillery bombardment began, Iraqi warplanes began exposure suffered during the 1988 attack. to drop what is believed to have been napalm near Iran utilized the event for propaganda purposes, the northern area of the town. stressing that this particular atrocity was committed After 3 hours, the pace of the opening barrage by Saddam’s military, and many in the West echoed began to taper off. As the explosions slowly sub- the sentiment that this chemical attack constituted a sided, a different sound was heard. As one survivor crime against humanity. In October 1988, the U.S. noted, it was like “pieces of metal just dropping State Department declared: “We have publicly and without exploding.” These were the first of many unambiguously opposed the illegal use of chemical chemical weapons canisters that were dropped by weapons in the Gulf War and by Iraq against the Iraqi aircraft, including by helicopters. Another he- Kurds. We have worked to obtain Security Council licopter soon returned to Halabja, this time drop- resolutions condemning chemical weapons usage ping small pieces of paper. It was later understood during the Gulf War” (Golden and Wells, p. 368). that the Iraqis were attempting to assess the wind di- The incident at Halabja nearly led the Reagan ad- rection and speed for delivery of their chemical ministration to impose economic sanctions against weapons. Iraq, but it did not cut off all military assistance. The Coinciding with the sound of falling metal, sur- U.S. government has been criticized for its collabo- vivors described a strange odor filling the air, remi- ration with Iraq in its war with Iran, given the Iraqi niscent of a cocktail of garbage, eggs, garlic, and ap- use of chemical weapons against Iranian forces and ples. As the inhabitants of the town began to panic, Kurdish civilians. Other foreign governments and they once again rushed to the perceived safety of businesses have been implicated in these attacks be- their cellars and underground bunkers. Tragically, cause they provided the Iraqi government with the these makeshift shelters quickly filled with the means to produce and deliver chemical weapons. deadly mixture of gases, killing everyone inside. —Brian L’Italien The chemical cloud engulfed the town, contam- See also Blood Agents; Iran-Iraq War; Nerve Agents inating water, land, and air. Those who ran became References disoriented, dying in the streets as the wind blew the Francona, Rick, Ally to Adversary (Annapolis, MD: Naval gas in all directions. Those who stayed behind in the Institute, 1999), p. 24. shelters met similarly grisly fates, choked by the in- Golden, Nancy L., and Sherrill Brown Wells, eds., visible fumes. American Foreign Policy: Current Documents 1988, Each gas attack lasted approximately 45 minutes, document no. 172 (Washington, DC: U.S. with 15 minutes between each wave. The Iraqis Department of State, 1989), pp. 368–369. Hamza, Khidhir, Saddam’s Bombmaker (New York: made a total of fourteen sorties, each using between Scribner, 2000), pp. 200–202. seven and eight warplanes.. The attack ended on the Kurdistan Regional Government Official Documents, following day. Iranian forces returned and occupied http://www.krg.org. the town shortly after the attack subsided, evacuat- Tyler, Patrick E., “Officers Say U.S. Aided Iraq in War ing many of the sick and wounded to hospitals in Despite Use of Gas,” The New York Times, 18 August Tehran. 2002, p. A1. Ten years after the attack, Dr. Christine Gosden, a British physician, became the first Westerner to visit the area, documenting the vast residual effects HEARTWATER (COWDRIA RUMINANTIUM) of the attack on the town and its people. In an April Heartwater is an acute infectious disease that causes 22, 1998, letter to a U.S. congressional committee, serious morbidity and mortality in livestock and Gosden noted that no systematic research had yet wildlife. The causative agent, Cowdria ruminantium,
    182. 154 HEARTWATER is a rickettsial bacterium that is transmitted by treatment has significantly decreased ticks when they feed on susceptible hosts. A con- efficacy. sistent finding in animals infected with C. rumi- • Ticks, potentially those infected with C. nantium is the abnormal accumulation of fluid in ruminantium, can travel on a number of body tissues, leading to, among other problems, wild animals, reptiles, and birds. hydropericardium (literally, water surrounding the • Tick species indigenous to the United heart). Of considerable concern to U.S. officials are States, such as Amblyomma maculatum the lethality of infection in susceptible animals, the and A. cajennense, are effective vectors for potential for rapid transmission to domestic live- heartwater under experimental stock through infected ticks, and the importation conditions. of symptomatic animals capable of serving as a source of infection for other animals. The epi- Technical Details demic transmission of heartwater disease could Cowdria ruminantium is a rickettsial organism ge- have a catastrophic impact on U.S. livestock pro- netically related to Ehrlichia species, a group of bac- duction and thus constitutes a potential biological teria that are known for causing numerous animal threat to domestic agribusiness and related eco- and human diseases. The bacterium is an obligate nomic interests. intracellular pathogen; that is, it requires a host to Cowdria ruminantium is endemic to sub-Saha- survive and replicate. C. ruminantium invades and ran Africa and has been responsible for epidemics in multiplies in vascular endothelial cells (inner cellu- both livestock and indigenous wildlife in that re- lar lining) in capillary beds throughout an infected gion. The most common vector of the bacterium is animal. Transmission is typically through the bite of the tropical bont tick, Amblyomma variegatum, an infected Amblyomma tick, although vertical which was probably introduced to several transmission (i.e., from infected cow to calf) is also Caribbean islands about 100 years ago in cattle im- possible. The clinical signs and pathology of heart- ported from Senegal (formally French West Africa). water are caused by the degeneration of endothelial The tick vector is now established throughout the cells lining the microvasculature of tissues and or- Caribbean, and the disease has been aided in its dis- gans in an infected animal. Vascular permeability— persion by migratory birds such as the cattle egret. the tendency of fluid to leak from blood vessels—is Of particular concern has been the migration of the severely altered with heartwater infection, resulting cattle egret from the Caribbean to Florida, illustrat- in the accumulation of fluids in body cavities and ing a potential route for the dissemination of C. ru- interstitial (in between tissue) spaces. The infection minantium into the southeastern United States is characterized by fever, signs of neurological im- from the Caribbean islands. Heartwater disease is a pairment and nervousness, and convulsions. Death serious threat, and its introduction could easily pass can occur within 1 to 2 weeks of acute onset. unnoticed until an epidemic occurred. Officials in Efforts to mount an effective and coordinated the United States and other countries with devel- program to eradicate tick vectors of heartwater in oped livestock industries have several specific con- the Caribbean have met with limited success in their cerns about heartwater: initial phases. Increased vigilance at the point of entry for exotic wildlife, birds, and reptiles is needed • Infection with C. ruminantium is difficult to minimize the importation of infected ticks or an- to diagnose in the field. imal reservoirs of C. ruminantium. Heartwater re- • Heartwater infection demonstrates variable mains a serious concern to U.S. agribusiness, in par- expression in terms of causing disease, ticular to domestic livestock. ranging from 40 to 100 percent in various Animals demonstrate protective immunity after livestock and many wildlife species, exposure to C. ruminantium, suggesting that vacci- including white-tailed deer. nation may be an effective countermeasure against • Antibiotics such as tetracycline, infection. An attenuated strain of C. ruminantium doxycycline, and rifamycin are effective has shown efficacy in controlled trails and may serve against heartwater, but only if administered as the basis for a preliminary vaccine program. early in the course of infection; delayed Strain variation and questionable cross-strain pro-
    183. HEMORRHAGIC FEVERS 155 tection introduce considerable uncertainty into vac- their large-scale dissemination. When evaluating the cine development research, however. threat from potential disease agents, the U.S. Work- —J. Russ Forney ing Group on Civilian Biodefense, which sees HFVs See also Agroterrorism (Agricultural Biological as a serious risk to civilian populations, also took Warfare); Vector into consideration previous attempts to weaponize Reference these agents. Burridge, M. J., “Heartwater: An Increasingly Serious State-run programs to research the weaponiza- Threat to the Livestock and Deer Populations of the tion of HFVs were known to have existed in the United States,” paper presented at the meeting of the United States, the former Soviet Union, and Russia, United States Animal Health Association, Frankfort, with additional reports of potential ongoing pro- Kentucky,October 18–24, 1997. Proceedings of the grams in other states, including North Korea. The United States Animal Health Association, 1997, United States pursued research on Junin (responsi- http://www.usaha.org. ble for Argentinean HF), Hantaan (responsible for Korean HF), Machupo virus (responsible for Boli- HEMORRHAGIC FEVERS vian HF), Lassa, yellow fever, Dengue, and Rift Valley Hemorrhagic fever viruses (HFVs) damage the vas- fever virus. (Rift Valley fever, for example, was tested cular system and are often (as their name implies) ac- by the United States as a potential weapon in field companied by hemorrhage, their unifying clinical aerosol tests, but it was never weaponized.) These feature, and by impairment of the body’s ability to programs were discontinued in 1969 when offensive regulate itself, leading to fever. HFVs cause multi- biological weapons research and development was symptom syndromes, meaning that multiple organ halted by order of President Richard M. Nixon. De- systems in the body are affected. There are four dis- spite having signed the 1972 Biological and Toxin tinct families of HFVs that have different clinical and Weapons Convention, however, the former Soviet epidemiological manifestations. All HFVs are Union continued with its own BW program. As far zoonotic viruses, meaning they reside in animal or as is known from open sources, Soviet BW scientists arthropod hosts, some of which are still unknown. successfully weaponized Marburg hemorrhagic fever Natural occurrence of this disease is usually restricted and conducted research into the weaponization of to the habitat of the host animal or arthropod vector. Ebola (which was less successful), machupo, junin, The viruses vary in their transmission but overall can Lassa, and yellow fever. Although research into bio- be transferred to humans through the bites of arthro- logical weapons continues until 1992, it is not known pods (ticks, mosquitoes), contact with hosts (often if further research in HFV research continued by rodents) or their droppings, exposure to infected live- Russian military scientists. North Korea is suspected stock, or sometimes person-to-person contact. Based of having weaponized yellow fever. on numerous criteria, HFVs have been identified as biological agents that carry particularly serious risk if Technical Details used as biological warfare (BW) agents against mili- All identified HFVs are simple, negative strand (a tary personnel or civilian populations. Additionally, category of viruses with antisense, nonmessenger- some HFVs can establish a large focus of infection in RNA capable) RNA viruses that have lipid envelopes the local environment’s animal hosts, which could ex- (fat-based covering making viral particles some- acerbate the impact of an attack. what vulnerable), rendering them relatively suscep- tible to detergents, low-pH environments, and History and Background household bleach. They are stable at neutral pH, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention however, especially in the presence of proteins. (CDC) has designated two of the families of HFVs Some of the viruses naturally aerosolize during dis- (filoviruses and arenaviruses) as Category A biolog- ease spread and thus tend to be stable and highly in- ical agents, meaning that they pose the greatest po- fectious as a fine-particle mist. With the exception of tential for “adverse public health impact” to the dengue, all HFVs can be transmitted as aerosols to United States. This is in response to the severity of laboratory animals. It is this feature that makes these disease, the lack of treatments or vaccines, and the viruses attractive as potential BW agents for state- level of disruption and fear potentially caused by level programs and perhaps terrorist organizations.
    184. 156 HEMORRHAGIC FEVERS The 1995 Ebola virus outbreak in Kikwit, Zaire, killed 245 people. (Patrick Robert/Corbis Sygma) What is known about VHFs and their associated tion in diagnosis of VHF, may be of limited use in diseases has been deduced from clinical observation the event of an intentional attack. (records of natural outbreaks) or experiments on VHFs are caused by four distinct viral families: various nonhuman primates. The sporadic appear- Filoviridae, Arenaviridae, Bunyaviridae, and Fla- ance of these diseases, often in areas not best viviridae. Marburg and Ebola are the only known equipped to record relevant epidemiological data, members of the Filoviridae family thus far identi- however, has caused information to be limited. Ad- fied. Marburg virus was first detected in 1967 when ditionally, it is not known whether an intentional at- laboratory workers in Marburg, Germany, and in tack would follow similar patterns as naturally oc- Yugoslavia became infected after handling tissues curring disease outbreaks. from green monkeys shipped from Africa. The ani- VHF is a disease associated with fever and bleed- mal host or mechanism of initial infection for this ing. Early symptoms are nonspecific and include virus is unknown; however, infected individuals can fever, rash, body aches, headaches, and fatigue. The spread the virus through bodily fluids during and characteristic bleeding can occur in the later stages after illness, as observed by a transmission occurring of disease. The incubation time for VHFs is roughly through semen up to 7 weeks after clinical recovery. 2 to 21 days, and the case fatality rate ranges from There is currently no treatment or approved vaccine 0.5 to 90 percent, depending on the agent. When for this rare disease, which has a case fatality rate be- death occurs, it is usually 1 to 2 weeks after exposure tween 23 and 25 percent. and occurs as a result of multiorgan system failure Ebola HF is one of the most virulent diseases preceded by hemorrhagic bleeding and shock. Diag- known to humans, with a fatality rate of 50–90 per- nosis is difficult and usually depends on clinical cent of all clinically ill cases. Ebola was first identi- symptoms, because few laboratories are equipped to fied in 1976 outbreaks that occurred in Zaire (now recognize these pathogens in tested blood or tissue. the Democratic Republic of Congo) and Sudan. Patient travel history, usually taken into considera- These viruses later proved to be distinct species and
    185. HEMORRHAGIC FEVERS 157 were named after the countries in which they first portive care for patients infected with hantavirus. appeared. Two additional subtypes were later iden- Rift Valley fever is spread to humans and other ani- tified, Ebola-Reston and Ebola-Ivory Coast, with the mals by a wide variety of mosquito species as well as former causing disease in nonhuman primates but through infectious bodily fluids. Domestic livestock not in humans. As with Marburg, the natural reser- such as sheep, cattle, buffalo, and goats are suscepti- voir for this virus is unknown but is suspected to be ble to Rift Valley virus. Most cases of Rift Valley are an animal that is native to the African continent. relatively mild, with an overall human fatality rate of The initial mode of infection is not understood, but less than 1 percent. However, a small portion of the virus can be spread by contact with bodily fluids those infected develop a hemorrhagic syndrome and possibly through intact skin, as both sweat that has a 50 percent case fatality rate. The incuba- glands and adjacent skin tissues have been shown to tion period is 2–6 days, and there is currently no contain viral particles. As in the case of Marburg HF, treatment or vaccine available. Other viruses in this there is currently no treatment or vaccine for Ebola. family spread by ticks, such as Crimean-Congo HF, The incubation time for Marburg and Ebola ranges Xinjiang HF (China), and the various agents of from 3 days to 3 weeks following exposure. Al- hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). though it has never been directly demonstrated in The latter includes hantavirus, which continues to human cases, airborne transmission of filoviruses inflict a heavy burden of disease through natural cannot be ruled out. outbreaks. In terms of BW, however, there are sub- The viruses in the family Arenaviridae can be di- stantial technological difficulties in weaponization vided into Old World and New World, all of which of such viruses, notably in culturing them, and as a are transmitted through a rodent reservoir. For consequence, hantavirus is not considered a major these viral diseases, contact with the excreta of in- threat in the United States. fected rodents (often via infectious aerosols) is the The last family of HFVs, Flaviviridae, includes primary mode of infection. Human-to-human viruses that are naturally transmitted by arthropods. transmission can occur through bodily fluids, and One of these, yellow fever virus, remains silent in the airborne transmission has also been suspected in body for an incubation period of 3–6 days, after these cases. There have been no reports document- which the disease manifests itself in two phases. The ing transmission during the incubation period. first, or “acute,” phase, from which most people re- Lassa fever, one of the Old World viruses, is an acute cover, can be followed by a “toxic” phase in about 15 illness with an incubation period of 6 to 21 days and percent of patients. Of these, about 50 percent will a fatality rate of 15 percent among hospitalized pa- die within 10–14 days. Although there is no specific tients. The New World viruses include junin virus treatment for the disease, an effective vaccine does (causes Argentine HF), machupo virus (causes Bo- exist for yellow fever. However, the vaccine would livian HF), Guanarito virus (causes Venezuelan have limited use in the event of a bioterror attack HF), sabia virus (causes Brazilian HF), and a newly due to the virus’s short incubation time. There have identified HFV that first appeared in California in been no reported cases of person-to-person or hos- 1999–2000. Each of the viruses has a unique species pital spread of the disease, although infection can of rodent that serves as its natural reservoir and an result from inhalation of aerosols. incubation period of between 7 and 15 days. Many Dengue HF is caused by one of four distinct viral of the diseases continue to appear sporadically in serotypes (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4) their natural environment. The use of ribavirin, an transmitted by a mosquito vector, resulting in a antiviral medication, has proved helpful in the treat- spectrum of clinical manifestations based on ment of arenaviruses. With the exception of junin serotype and the predisposition of the patient. Incu- virus, approved vaccines are not available. bation time is between 2 and 10 days. Although Members of the Bunyaviridae family are usually many cases resolve themselves naturally, untreated spread by arthropod carriers or exposure to infected patients that go into shock have a 40 to 50 percent animal tissues, with one notable exception. Han- fatality rate; this drops significantly if intensive care tavirus is transmitted through contact with infected is available. Currently, there is no vaccine for rodents and their excreta. After the incubation time Dengue HF. Because Flaviviridae viruses are carried of 7 to 28 days, there is little treatment beyond sup- by arthropod vectors, there is a theoretical risk of
    186. 158 HERBICIDES the disease being established in the environment in plicated this pursuit. Vaccines exist for yellow the event of large-scale exposure. fever, Rift Valley fever, and Junin (Argentine HF); the junin vaccine may give cross-protection for Current Status Machupo (Bolivian HF). Only the yellow fever Different HFVs are endemic to various geographical vaccine is licensed by most national drug authori- regions. Outbreaks that occur beyond their natural ties, and there is a limited global supply and ca- geographically restricted areas could be from one of pacity to deliver the vaccine. Following an attack the following sources: (1) imported from a region using this viral agent, the prophylactic use of the where it is endemic; (2) resulting from laboratories vaccine would not be very effective, because the doing research on these organisms or receiving time needed to raise immunity after vaccination is specimens from patients with fevers of unknown longer than the incubation period for the disease. origin; (3) imported from infected rodents or labo- Other vaccines are being researched and devel- ratory research animals; or (4) an act of biological oped against filoviruses and Lassa fever, but these warfare. Making a determination among these efforts are hampered by the strict safety protocols causes presents significant challenges. necessary to conduct research. Diagnosis of VHF should be made based on clin- —Elizabeth Prescott ical criteria, with laboratory testing used to conclu- See also Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever; Marburg sively confirm or rule out disease. In the event of a Virus; Rift Valley Fever large attack, the current laboratory capacity would References likely prove insufficient because there are few facili- Borio, Luciana, Thomas V. Inglesby, C. J. Peters, Alan L. ties properly equipped to deal with these pathogens. Schmaljohn, James M. Hughes, Peter B. Jahrling, There are limited quantities of ribavirin, an antiviral Thomas Ksiazek, Karl M. Johnson, Andrea drug that has been shown to be useful in treatment Meyerhoff, Tara O’Toole, Michael S. Ascher, John of Arenaviridae and Bunyaviridae but has not been Bartlett, Joel G. Breman, Edward M. Eitzen, Jr., Margaret Hamburg, Jerry Hauer, D. A. Henderson, approved by the FDA for treatment of VHFs. Rib- Richard T. Johnson, Gigi Kwik, Marci Layton, Scott avirin has also been linked to birth defects in preg- Lillibridge, Gary J. Nabel, Michael T. Osterholm, nant women, and safe doses have not been well es- Trish M. Perl, Philip Russell, and Kevin Tonat, tablished in children. In an emergency situation, “Hemorrhagic Fever Viruses as Biological Weapons: however, the administration of ribavirin and other Medical and Public Health Management,” Journal of new antivirals in these populations should not be the American Medical Association (JAMA), vol. 287, 8 ruled out. Treatment for people who may have been May 2002, pp. 2391–2405. exposed but are not showing clinical symptoms is Jahrling, Peter B., “Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers,” in not recommended. Ribavirin has not shown much Frederick R. Sidell, Ernest T. Takafuji, and David R. effectiveness against filoviruses or flaviviruses. It has Franz, eds., Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: been recommended that intravenous and oral rib- Warfare, Weaponry, and the Casualty: Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological Warfare (Washington, avirin be added to the U.S. National Pharmaceutical DC: Borden Institute, Walter Reed Army Medical Stockpile. In any event, infection control measures Center, 1997), pp. 591–602. will prove critically important in any large-scale outbreak of VHFs. HERBICIDES Developing Technologies Herbicides are weed killers. It is estimated that There are large gaps in knowledge about HFVs about 1,500 species of weeds cause serious eco- due to limited data about the diseases and the nomic losses to American farmers. Fifty-three per- need to perform research in high-safety labora- cent of the herbicides in the United States is used to tory situations. Mechanisms of disease outbreaks, aid in corn production, 21 percent is used for soy- airborne transmission, and rapid and safe diag- beans, 6 percent for wheat, 5 percent for cotton, and nostic methods all need to be further researched 5 percent for other crops. or developed. Better treatments and vaccines are Herbicides commonly used in the United States needed; however, the diversity and relative un- for large-scale agriculture are shown in Figure H-1 known nature of disease manifestation have com- and Table H-1.
    187. HERBICIDES 159 Fig. H-1: Structures of herbicides used Phenolic and phenoxy-type herbicides are other in large-scale agriculture in the United States commonly used types. Phenolic herbicides are usu- ally nitro- and chloro-derivatives of phenol. Exam- ples are dinitrophenol, dinitro-ortho-cresol, and pentachlorophenol. These phenolic herbicides kill weeds by contact with foliage rather than by uptake through the roots. Thus, they also are called contact herbicides. Phenoxy-type herbicides were used as defoliation agents during the Vietnam War by the U.S. Army. There are many varieties of herbicides, and the mechanism of herbicide action is different depend- ing on the compounds. The compounds 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T are similar in action to the plant hormone auxine. They promote rapid weed growth in a short time, creating an imbalance in the weeds’ metabo- lisms that causes the weeds to die. Amitrole inhibits the biosynthesis of chlorophyll and carotenoids, which are essential for proper plant growth. Atrazine blocks the breakdown of water molecules into 2H and 1/2 O2, which is a crucial step for pho- tosynthesis in plants. Diuron inhibits the break- down of water molecules and inhibits the enzymatic Table H-1: Herbicides Used in Large-Scale Agriculture in the step between Q and plastoquinone in the photosys- United States tem II metabolic pathway, a critical step in photo- Common Amount Used Percentage of synthesis. Name Trade Name (lbs.) Total Bipyridylium (Paraquat, Diquat) herbicides com- atrazine A Atrex 90.3 x 106 24.1 pete with electron acceptors, which are necessary for alachlor Lasso 88.5 x 106 23.7 continuous exchange of energy in photosystem I in 2,4-D Weeder 64 38.4 x 106 10.3 photosynthesis, causing weeds to die. Dinitrophenol, triflurallin Treflan 28.3 x 106 7.6 dinitro-ortho-cresol, and pentachlorophenol are toxic butylate Sutan 24.4 x 106 6.5 because they uncouple the oxidative phosphorylation propachlor Bexton 11.0 x 106 2.9 EPTC Eptam 8.6 x 106 2.3 used for energy transfer process in weeds. linuron Lorox 8.4 x 106 2.2 Herbicides are designed to kill plants; they gen- others — 76.0 x 106 20.3 erally have low toxicity in humans, with the excep- tion of paraquat and endothal. Phenolic herbicides, however, are moderately toxic to humans. In mam- Some herbicides are water insoluble; these are dis- mals, they cause fever, sweating, fast respiratory and solved in organic solvents for efficient distribution. heart rates, and dehydration. For water-based weed killers, however, water-soluble American troops in Vietnam were the first to use herbicides are used. The best examples of water-solu- herbicides extensively for military purposes (e.g., to ble herbicides are diquat, paraquat, morfamquat, and defoliate tropical vegetation used for cover by the chlormequat chloride. Because paraquat—a widely enemy). The most well known herbicide used dur- found and used herbicide—is water soluble, occa- ing the Vietnam War was Agent Orange, consisting sionally it is used for homicides by mixing it with of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and juice or soft drinks and giving it to a victim to drink. 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4,5-T). But Injection of paraquat into the human body is very U.S. forces also used other herbicide formulas dangerous, causing damage in liver and kidney tis- called Agent White, Agent Blue, Agent Purple, sues. Contact with paraquat causes skin, mucous Agent Pink, and Agent Green. They are shown in membrane, and cornea irritation. Table H-2.
    188. 160 HERBICIDES Table H-2: Herbicides Used in the Defoliation Operation in Vietnam from 1965 to 1971 Code Name Herbicide Quantity (gal.) Period of Use Dioxin (ppm) Orange 2,4-D; 2,4,5-T 10,646,000 1965–1970 1.98 White 2,4-D; picloram 5,633,000 1965–1971 — Blue cacodylic acid 1,150,000 1962–1971 — Purple 2,4-D; 2,4,5-T 145,000 1962–1965 32.80 Pink 2,4,5-T 123,000 1962–1965 65.60 Green 2,4,5-T 8,200 1962–1965 65.60 Total 17,705,200 Fig. H-2: Manufacture of 2, 4, 5-T and the by-product formation of dioxin Agent Orange created environmental and health the middle of the Pacific Ocean at temperatures of problems due to dioxin contamination (2,3,7,8- 1,000–1,500° centigrade. High temperatures are es- tetrachlorodibenzodioxin); when 2,4,5-T was pro- sential for destruction of Agent Orange; otherwise, duced (see Figure H-2), dioxin was produced as a dioxin can be formed. by-product. The lethal dose of dioxin in rats is 1.0 The problem of dioxin was not restricted to Viet- g/kg by the oral route, meaning that dioxin is nam. In 1976, a chemical plant in Seveso, Italy, acci- 100,000 times more toxic than 2,4,5-T. Although dentally released dioxin in a densely populated area. dioxin is highly toxic in nature (especially in soil), it Because of the dioxin problem, the Environmental degrades into less toxic products, albeit very slowly. Protection Agency (EPA) has cancelled the use of About 369,000 Vietnam veterans received treat- 2,4,5-T on most food crops. In 1982, dioxin con- ment in Veteran’s Administration (VA) hospitals for tamination was found in Times Beach, Missouri, Agent Orange–related health problems. Among and the EPA offered to buy the whole town to solve them, 9,600 were admitted to hospitals for further the problem. However, to date there are no studies intensive care. About 17,000 veterans requested to show that the Seveso incident or the Missouri sickness compensation. The U.S. Department of case resulted in increased incidence of human dis- Defense, however, has claimed that Agent Orange ease linked to dioxin. had nothing to do with veterans becoming sick and —Anthony Tu that the U.S. government had no obligation to offer compensation. Many veterans and their families See also Agent Orange; Biological Warfare; Dioxin References were unsatisfied with this decision and filed suit Bovey, Rodney W., and Alvin L. Young, The Science of 2, against the U.S. government. To avoid costly and 4, 5-T and Associated Phenoxy Herbicides (New York: lengthy litigation, the U.S. government settled the John Wiley and Sons, 1980). veterans’ claims out of court for $180 million. Matolcsy, György, Miklós Nádasy, and Viktor Andriska, After the Vietnam War, about 20,000 gallons of Pesticide Chemistry (New York: Elsevier, 1988). Agent Orange remained in storage. The U.S. Army Tu, Anthony T., Principles of Toxicology: Science of destroyed this stockpile on an incineration ship in Poisons (Tokyo, Japan: Jihosha, 1999).
    189. INDIA: CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS PROGRAMS Chemical Weapons India’s first contact with chemical warfare (CW) equipment and organization in the modern era I probably began in 1920. When India was still a British colony, mustard was brought into India to outside actors—perhaps terrorists—might have deal with anticolonial rebels in the northwest. been responsible for the plague outbreak. However, Since World War II and the independence of India there is no evidence to support such a claim, and it (1947), little has been revealed concerning India’s of- appears most likely that the Surat plague outbreak fensive CW capability. In June 1997, India declared to was due to natural causes. the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical There were also unfounded rumors of bioterror- Weapons (OPCW) that it possessed chemical ism during the dengue outbreak in 1996 in Delhi. weapons. Precursors—chemicals that could be used Molecular studies of isolates from this epidemic to make CW agents such as sulfur mustard—were showed an especially virulent type of the disease, also declared by India, including chloroethanol. Ac- and the director of the Indian Veterinary Research cording to Chinese CW defense sources, India pos- Institute was not willing to rule out a foreign point sesses five chemical weapons production and storage of origin. This case, however, was also most likely a facilities with 1,000 tons of CW agents in its stock- natural outbreak of dengue. pile, “making India the third largest chemical Like many countries, India conducts research weapons possessor after the United States and Rus- into defenses against biological warfare (BW). Mili- sia” (Zhang, Yuan, and Xiong, p. 43). Most of India’s tary-related research into possible biological stocks were estimated by the Chinese military to have weapon threats is conducted at India’s Defense Re- been in the form of mustard agent. As a member of search and Development Establishment at Gwalior. the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), India is Having a significant capacity to produce pharma- obligated to destroy its entire stockpile by 2007. ceuticals, notably vaccines, India has the potential to produce large quantities of BW agents should it de- Biological Weapons sire to do so. There is no evidence from open India ratified the Biological and Toxin Weapons Con- sources, however, that India has ever pursued an of- vention in 1974. Despite some open source reports fensive BW program. that suggest that India possesses biological weapons, —Claudine McCarthy none of these allegations can be confirmed. During the Indo-Pakistan War in 1965, the In- See also: Typhus (Rickettsia Prowazekii) dian intelligence apparatus became suspicious References when they detected an outbreak of scrub typhus in Sharma, Rohit, “India Wakes Up to Threat of Bioterrorism,” British Medical Journal, vol. 323, no. northeast India. Caused by the organism Rickettsia 7315, 29 September 2001, p. 714. tsutsugamushi, the outbreak of scrub typhus during Zhang Naishu, Yuan Junfeng, and Xiong Yuxi, “View the Indo-Pakistan War was undoubtedly a natural from the Angle of Xinjiang’s Unique Environment, consequence of conflict—due, for example, to the Constructing a Suitable Training System for disruption of sanitary measures. Similarly, in 1994, Chemical Defense,” Fanghua Xuebao (Journal of an outbreak of plague in Surat was deemed suspi- Chemical Defence), vol. 9, no. 1, March 2000, pp. cious. Some Indian security specialists believed that 43–45. 161
    190. 162 INVERSION INVERSION and inversion/neutral/lapse conditions, the table Inversion is a meteorological phenomenon that oc- would tell the number of shells needed to conta- curs when the ground is cooler than the air above it, minate a certain number of hectares of ground. usually during early morning or dusk. Typically, During inversion, with moderate (20 degrees C) there is little air turbulence in an inversion, and temperature and slow wind velocity, for example, aerosols are not dissipated as rapidly as they would the number of 105-millimeter sarin nerve agent be under other conditions (i.e., air conditions howitzer shells needed might be as few as two or known as neutral and lapse; see below). Inversions three per hectare. In contrast, under lapse condi- are generally considered to be optimum for the de- tions with high wind and high ambient tempera- livery of chemical or biological warfare agents. Ac- tures, dozens of shells or more might be required cording to Chinese military experts in chemical per hectare. warfare,“The effect of temperature inversion makes Inversion also plays a key role in biological war- it difficult for contaminated air to disperse, making fare. As seen in Table I-1, the behavior of particles it stick close to the ground as it moves, and now a under inversion, or lapse conditions will in large high concentration of agent is maintained with part depend upon their diameter. Some early calcu- harmful effects lasting over a long period” (Cheng lations of particle behavior based on particle size and Shi, p. 45). showed that, with a wind velocity of about 5 miles Neutral conditions are less favorable for CBW per hour, most particles of 0.8 microns can remain agent delivery. In neutral conditions, the ground airborne for 10,000 yards. But another phenome- temperature is about the same as the layer of air non occurs during inversion. As particles increase in above it (up to about 12 feet). There is some turbu- size, at a lower wind speed (2 mph), they fall out of lence from convection currents due to fluctuations the air more rapidly. caused by warmer air, and winds are light to mod- Awareness of inversion or lapse conditions is erate. Such conditions are less ideal for CBW agent useful for offensive use of chemical and biological release. Finally, in the condition known as lapse, the weapons. Because inversion conditions are best temperature of the air is cooler than that of the suited for the delivery of CBW aerosols, however, ground. Cooler air moves toward the ground, creat- militaries and civil defense planners can also take ing air turbulence. This usually occurs during late into account meteorological data to mitigate the ef- morning and afternoon (usually with clear skies) fects of chemical or biological weapons. and is the least favorable environment for dissemi- —Eric A. Croddy nating aerosols. See also: Aerosol; Inversion; Line Source; Point Source During the Cold War when the United States References possessed an offensive chemical weapons pro- Cheng Shuiting and Shi Zhiyuan, Military Technology gram, tables were used to calculate the effective- Information Handbook: Chemical Weapons, second ness of nerve agents against enemy targets. De- edition (Beijing: People’s Liberation Army Press, pending upon wind speed, ambient temperature, 1999; second printing, January 2000). Table I-1: Airborne Fractions of Aerosol Clouds Remaining Aloft in Lapse and Inversion (V=velocity of wind) Lapse (V=5mph) Inversion (V=2mph) Drop Drop Drop Drop Drop Drop Drop Drop Distance Diameter Diameter Diameter Diameter Diameter Diameter Diameter Diameter Downwind (microns) (microns) (microns) (microns) (microns) (microns) (microns) (microns) Yards 0.8 8 12 24 0.8 8 12 24 100 0.99 0.98 0.96 0.85 0.99 0.89 0.76 0.32 500 0.99 0.96 0.94 0.78 0.99 0.83 0.64 0.16 1,000 0.99 0.96 0.93 0.74 0.99 0.78 0.58 0.11 5,000 0.99 0.95 0.90 0.65 0.99 0.69 0.42 0.03 10,000 0.99 0.95 0.88 0.59 0.99 0.63 0.37 0.02
    191. IRAN: CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS PROGRAMS 163 Departments of the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, 2000, U.S. intelligence analysts reported that Iran Technical Manual No. 3-200: Capabilities and possessed at least several hundred metric tons of Employment of Toxic Chemicals (Washington, DC: weaponized and bulk chemical agents, including Author, 1958). nerve, blood, blister, and choking agents, and that it Punte, Charles L., “Some Aspects of Particle Size in has attempted to obtain weapons-relevant technol- Aerosol Studies,” Armed Forces Chemical Journal, vol. ogy, training, and chemicals from China and Russia. 12, no. 2, March-April 1958, p. 31. Iranian opposition groups have also reported that Iran has produced VX nerve gas and aflatoxin. IRAN: CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL Iran signed the Chemical Weapons Convention WEAPONS PROGRAMS in 1997 and submitted a declaration of its holdings Although Iran has limited indigenous skills and re- as required by its membership. Iran disclosed that it sources to manufacture weapons of mass destruc- had a chemical weapons program in the final tion (WMD), it has consistently figured promi- months of the Iran-Iraq war, during which it was nently in evaluations of international WMD exposed to chemical weapons attacks by Iraq, but it proliferation threats. Unstable relations between has denied all accusations that it has an ongoing Iran and the United States following the Islamic rev- program. It has accepted visits from inspectors of olution of 1979 exacerbated concerns about Iranian the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical weapons aspirations. Iran’s efforts to acquire Weapons (OPCW), who have not found evidence of weapons capabilities have, as a result, been broadly treaty violations. curtailed by U.S. efforts to prevent arms and tech- nology transfers between U.S. allies and Iran. Biological Weapons Iran’s WMD aspirations gained additional ur- Iran initiated a biological weapons program in the gency following the Iran-Iraq war, in which Iraq 1980s during its war with Iraq. Little information, demonstrated superior WMD capabilities. Iran’s however, is publicly available about Iran’s efforts to conventional arsenal was also devastated in the war, acquire biological weapons. Some observers suspect and Iran turned to the Soviet Union for assistance in that Iran has a biological weapons laboratory at reconstituting its military. The Soviet Union viewed Damghan, has produced small quantities of biolog- its cooperation with Iran as a means of extending its ical weapons agents such as anthrax bacteria and own influence in the pivotal Persian Gulf region, botulinum toxin, and has weaponized several bio- and it formally agreed in 1989 to bolster Iran’s mili- logical agents. Some experts doubt that Iran pos- tary capacity. Iran has also received extensive mili- sesses stockpiles of biological agent but instead be- tary assistance from China and North Korea. lieve that it has created surge capabilities that would allow it to build a biological weapons stockpile on Chemical Weapons short notice. Iran has denied all allegations about Iran’s chemical weapons program is its most ad- developing or stockpiling biological weapons and vanced effort to create and deploy weapons of mass maintains that it adheres to the Biological and Toxin destruction. Iran initially received chemical agent Weapons Convention, which it ratified in 1973. precursors from the United States, Germany, and U.S. intelligence agencies have suggested that Japan, and it received production technology from biomedical research conducted at institutions in Germany and Hungary. After the revolution in 1979, Iran has been used in support of a biological China became Iran’s primary supplier of these mate- weapons program and that Iran has received rials. Iran is reportedly close to self-sufficiency in biotechnology from Russian research facilities. terms of possessing a chemical weapons industry and Some experts have also suggested that Iran likely ac- could possibly become a supplier to other countries. celerated its biological weapons program following Iran is believed to have initiated a chemical revelations about Iraq’s biological weapons program weapons program in the mid-1980s, in response to in 1995. Press reports have also indicated that Iran the use of chemical weapons against it during its has recruited Russian weapons scientists to work on war with Iraq. Reports indicate that it began to its biological weapons programs. stockpile cyanogen chloride, phosgene, and mustard —Jacqueline Simon after 1985 and to produce nerve gas in 1994. In See also: Halabja Incident; Iran-Iraq War
    192. 164 IRAN-IRAQ WAR References of the Ad Dawah and his sister, executing them both Cordesman, Anthony H., Weapons of Mass Destruction in the summer of 1980. in the Middle East (Washington DC: Center for Possession of the Shatt al Arab had been in dispute Strategic and International Studies, 2002). since the Peace Treaty of 1639 between the Persian Katzman, Kenneth, Iran: Arms and Technology and Ottoman Empires. Iraq claimed the 200-kilome- Acquisitions, CRS Report RL30551 (Washington DC: ter channel up to the Iranian shore as its territory, but Congressional Research Service, 2001). Iran insisted that the thalweg, a line running down Nelson, Richard, and David H. Saltiel, Managing Proliferation Issues with Iran (Washington DC: the middle of the waterway, was the official border. In Atlantic Council of the United States, 2002). the 1975 Algiers Agreement, a militarily weaker Iraq recognized the Iranian claim, but Saddam Hussein took advantage of perceived Iranian weakness after IRAN-IRAQ WAR the fall of the Shah to press for total control. He also The Iran-Iraq War was an armed conflict between hoped to take the western Iranian region of Khuzes- Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to tan, which had extensive oil fields. August 1988. It witnessed the first confirmed use of Border skirmishes erupted on September 4, chemical weapons in combat since World War I and 1980, near Qasr-e Shirin, and Iraq launched a full the first use of nerve agent in warfare. Although pre- invasion on September 23. The war continued to es- cise figures are unavailable, the conflict produced calate to the point that, by 1985, both sides were more than 1.5 million war-related casualties. launching air and missile strikes against their oppo- The war was launched by Iraqi president Saddam nent’s capitals. Hussein, ostensibly over a territorial dispute over the Saddam Hussein had grossly underestimated the Shatt al Arab, a waterway that empties into the Per- capability and resolve of the Iranians, who made sian Gulf and forms the southernmost boundary be- impressive early gains. By 1982, the situation on the tween Iran and Iraq. The true sources of the conflict, ground had grown desperate for Iraqi forces. Iraqi however, were multifaceted. Saddam Hussein’s main forces probably used the riot control agent CS, an goal was to assert dominance over the Persian Gulf extremely powerful tear gas, against Iranian troop region, taking advantage of the power vacuum concentrations that year. The first of ten docu- caused by the 1979 Iranian Revolution, in which Shah mented chemical attacks in the war involving true Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown by Shia casualty agents like mustard occurred during the Val forces loyal to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The Far II campaign near Haj Umran in August 1983. military, which had been intensely loyal to the Shah, The Iraqis used mustard against an Iranian force on was decimated by Khomeini, who had most senior a mountaintop location, which had minimal impact military officers executed. Additionally, Khomeini’s because of both the altitude and unfavorable wind strained relationship with the United States now and weather conditions. Nonetheless, this marked made it difficult for Iran to get spare parts for its the introduction of lethal CW agents into the war. equipment, most of which had been purchased by the By November 1983, Iraq had killed hundreds of Shah from the United States. This made Iran more Iranian forces with mustard. vulnerable to attack. Other factors that influenced the As the war progressed, Iraqi CW tactics im- onset and course of the war included the conflict be- proved markedly. In an operation known as Khay- tween Sunnis and Shias (two Muslim sects),Arab ver- bar I in February 1984, the Iraqis isolated the for- sus Persian religious and ethnic disputes, disputed ward elements of an Iranian attacking force with control of certain oil fields, and personal animosity mustard, cutting them off from food and ammuni- between Hussein and Khomeini. tion supplies for days. According to Iranian claims, In the spring of 1980, the Iran-backed radical Iraq had conducted more than forty chemical at- group Ad Dawah, which wanted to establish an tacks by this point. By mid-1984, there were credible Iranian-style Islamic government in Iraq, attempted reports of Iraqi use of a mustard variant known as to assassinate Iraqi foreign minister Tariq Aziz and dusty mustard, which impregnated solid particles minister of culture and information Latif Nayyif with mustard agent to create a more militarily use- Jasim. In response, the Iraqis deported thousands of ful weapon. Iraq was also expanding its production Shias to Iran. Saddam Hussein captured the leader of the nerve agents sarin and VX, with the former
    193. IRAN-IRAQ WAR 165 likely being used during the latter stages of the war. shifted the war in Iraq’s favor. Iraq launched four The largest documented attack was a February 1986 major counteroffensives between April and August strike against al-Faw, in which mustard and tabun and won all of them. In April, Iraq used a chemical caused as many as 10,000 Iranian casualties. artillery barrage during an assault on Iranian posi- The international response to these violations of tions on the Fao Peninsula. international law (both Iran and Iraq were signato- In addition to employing them against the Irani- ries to the Geneva Protocol of 1925, which prohibits ans, Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons on his the use of asphyxiating, poisonous, or other gases own citizens. One of the most notorious of these at- and of all analogous liquids, materials, or devices, as tacks was carried out in the north. Iraqi forces used well as the use of bacteriological methods of warfare) a combination of mustard and nerve gas to kill ap- was muted. In March 1984, United Nations secre- proximately 5,000 civilians in the town of Halabja in tary-general Javier Perez de Cuellar dispatched an in- March 1988. (See Halabja Incident.) ternational team to investigate the claims of CW by Iran finally agreed to a cease-fire pursuant to Iraq. They reported that chemical weapons were in United Nations Security Council Resolution 958 on fact being used, notably mustard and the nerve agent August 20, 1988. Ironically, in late 1990, Hussein tabun. Despite this and despite continued pleas from readily gave up the minor gains he had achieved Iran, little outrage ensued. The most dramatic step from these 8 years of fighting. In hopes of securing taken was the issuance of Security Council Resolu- Iranian cooperation during the impending Gulf tion 582 on February 24, 1986, which merely “de- War that followed his annexation of Kuwait, he plored” these violations of the Geneva Protocol. agreed to accept the terms of the 1975 treaty with In March 1986, de Cuellar, citing the report of Iran and to withdraw his troops from Iranian terri- four chemical warfare experts whom the UN had tory, as well as to exchange all prisoners of war. No sent to Iran in February and March 1986, called on formal agreement was signed, however, and both Baghdad to end its violation of the 1925 Geneva sides held thousands of POWs for many years. Sev- Protocol on the use of chemical weapons. The UN eral prisoner exchanges and releases occurred after report had concluded,“Iraqi forces have used chem- 1988; the final exchange took place in 2003. ical warfare against Iranian forces”; the weapons A complete tally of casualties suffered by both used included both mustard and nerve gas. The re- sides in the Iran-Iraq War will probably never be port further stated: “the use of chemical weapons known. Iran calls the survivors of the chemical at- appear[ed] to be more extensive [in 1981] than in tacks living martyrs and claims that more than 1984” (de Cuellar, quoted in http://www.globalsecu- 60,000 soldiers were exposed to mustard and to the rity.org). Iraq denied using chemical weapons, but nerve agents sarin and tabun. the evidence, in the form of many Iranian casualties During the war, Iraq developed the ability to pro- severely injured by mustard agent and flown to Eu- duce, store, and use chemical weapons, including H- ropean hospitals for treatment, was overwhelming. series blister and G-series nerve agents. These were According to a British representative at the Confer- weaponized into rockets, artillery and mortar shells, ence on Disarmament in Geneva in July 1986,“Iraqi aerial bombs, and warheads on the al-Hussein Scud chemical warfare was responsible for about 10,000 missile variant. Iraq used Mig-23 fighter-attack air- casualties” (http://www.countrystudies.us). craft to drop mustard- and tabun-filled 250-kilogram Khomeini had reportedly ordered that no chem- bombs and mustard-filled 500-kilogram bombs in ical weapons be used by Iranian forces because pol- random patterns from altitudes between 3,000 and luting the environment, even during a jihad (“holy 4,000 meters. They also deployed CW agents from war”), was a violation of the Koran. Nonetheless, in Mi-8 HIP helicopters by generating an aerosol from December 1986, Iran’s former prime minister, Hus- two 1,000-liter spray tanks or by dropping 55-gallon sein Musavi, announced that Iran had developed drums filled with unknown agents (probably mus- “sophisticated chemical weapons.” There are uncon- tard) from altitudes of 3,000 to 4,000 feet. firmed reports that Iranian forces used these Iran and Iraq also had nascent nuclear pro- weapons late in the war. grams, and each took steps to prevent the other side By 1988, the combination of CW deployment from gaining nuclear weapons. Iran launched an and imported military equipment from abroad had unsuccessful attack on the Osirak nuclear reactor
    194. 166 IRAQ: CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS PROGRAMS on September 30, 1980, in the first weeks of the war. cial Commission (UNSCOM) was set up to oversee (The facility was later destroyed by Israel in an air the destruction of these weapons and to report this attack using F-16s on June 7, 1981. Israel justified to the UN Security Council. They remained in the this attack based on the fear that Iraq could develop country until the end of 1998, when they were with- a nuclear weapon to be used against Tel Aviv. Be- drawn following lack of compliance by Iraq, and the tween 1984 and 1988, Iraq launched seven air at- United States and United Kingdom engaged in air tacks on the Iranian nuclear reactor at Bushehr dur- operations to try to force greater cooperation from ing the Iran-Iraq War, ultimately destroying the the Iraqi government. Under the terms of the UN facility. resolution, the Iraqi authorities were supposed to —James Joyner provide the full details of Iraq’s various programs See also: Halabja Incident; Iran: Chemical and and to fully support the UNSCOM inspections. Biological Weapons Program; Iraq: Chemical and Their actual help proved less than satisfactory. Biological Weapons Programs; United Nations The United Nations Monitoring, Verification, Monitoring, Verification, and Inspection and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) replaced Commission (UNMOVIC) UNSCOM in 1999. In 2002, the UN Security Coun- References cil passed Resolution 1441, giving Iraq a final chance 1986 Conference on Disarmament highlights, http:// to cooperate. The inspection mission returned to countrystudies.us/iraq/104.htm. Iraq under the leadership of Hans Blix in late 2002, Ali, Javed, “Chemical Weapons in the Iran-Iraq War: A but it was again withdrawn in March 2003 when a Case Study in Non-Compliance,” Nonproliferation Review, spring 2001, pp. 43–58. U.S.-led coalition decided to use force against Iraq, De Cuellar report synopsis, http://www.globalsecurity. arguing that Iraq had again failed to fully comply org/wmd/world/iraq/cw-program.htm. with the UN. A U.S.-led inspection mission looked Hiro, Dilip, The Longest War: The Iran-Iraq Military for evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction Conflict (New York: Routledge, 1991). for months after the quick victory in April 2003, but Karsh, Efraim, The Iran-Iraq War 1980–1988, Essential little evidence was found. Histories, no. 20 (Oxford, UK: Osprey, 2002). Iraq began work on developing a chemical war- Pelletiere, Stephen C., The Iran-Iraq War: Chaos in a fare capability during the early 1980s in response to Vacuum (New York: Praeger, 1992). the failure of its attacks on Iran. In the war that fol- lowed, the Iraqi regime gained a considerable IRAQ: CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL amount of combat experience in the use of chemi- WEAPONS PROGRAMS cal weapons through their use against Iranian forces Iraq’s chemical weapons capability has been known and in their use against Iraq’s own Kurdish minor- for some time, but information about its biological ity. Chemical weapons use became a regular part of weapons program only emerged after 4 years of in- Iraqi military operations, and these weapons were spections, to much consternation within the world used for both strategic and tactical effect to offset community. Iraq used chemical weapons during the Iraqi numerical inferiority. The Iraqi chemical arse- Iran-Iraq War as a means of offsetting its numerical nal fell into the three usual categories of CS gas, inferiority. It also used these weapons internally, mustard, and nerve agents. In the latter category, most notably against the Iraqi Kurds, but it chose tabun and sarin development has been verified, and not to use these weapons during the 1991 Gulf War. there is evidence to suggest that other agents were Removing Iraq’s alleged possession of weapons of also under development. During Operation Desert mass destruction was the principal reason given for Storm, extensive damage was done to known Iraqi a U.S.-led coalition’s invasion of Iraq in 2003. facilities from the air, and the extent of this was sub- sequently verified by UNSCOM. UNSCOM’s efforts History and Background to uncover the full extent of the chemical warfare Passed in April 1991, UN Security Council Resolu- program and the remaining constituent parts, how- tion 687 called for the complete destruction of Iraq’s ever, were hampered by Iraqi efforts at denial and weapons of mass destruction, including all of its deception. When UNSCOM withdrew in December chemical and biological weapons and the infra- 1998, it could not confirm that it had fulfilled its structure supporting them. A United Nations Spe- mandate of destroying the Iraqi program in full.
    195. IRAQ: CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS PROGRAMS 167 Kurds inspect an unexploded bomb—possibly filled with a CW agent—following a 1988 attack by Saddam Hussein’s military. (Ed Kashi/Corbis) Iraq’s biological weapons program dates back to acknowledging the actual scale of the program as the early 1980s and was also developed in the con- the inspectors discovered further details about the text of the Iran-Iraq War. At this time, the regime various operations. This proved to be a major shock considered using such weapons, fired from field ar- for the international community, which had been tillery, for both strategic and tactical purposes. This close to accepting the Iraqi denials about its chemi- effort did not succeed, however, until after the end cal and biological programs and to removing eco- of the Iran-Iraq War. Prior to Desert Storm, Iraq ac- nomic sanctions as a reward. celerated its production of anthrax and botulinum The Iraqis had developed a wide-ranging toxin. UNSCOM’s Executive Chairman, Rolf Ekeus, weapons program that was based on viruses, bacte- was subsequently informed that authority had been ria, and fungi in both their living form and their delegated to local Iraqi commanders to use these toxin derivatives. These weapons ranged from lethal agents in response to a massive attack on Baghdad. agents and incapacitants to crop-attack agents, and After Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, a their delivery means included field artillery, aircraft coalition-bombing raid destroyed Iraq’s prototype with tanks, and al-Hussein surface-to-surface mis- aerial spray tanks. siles (modified Scuds). Subsequent investigations by Initially, Iraq claimed that it had no biological UNSCOM confirmed that the Iraqis had produced program, and for the first 4 years of inspections, lit- at least 8,500 liters of anthrax and 19,000 liters of tle was discovered about the Iraqi BW program. The botulinum toxin, more than the Iraqis had ever ad- scope and extent of the various programs was only mitted. In addition to these lethal agents, the Iraqi finally revealed when General Hussein Kamel Hasan regime reported that it had made weapons out of defected from Iraq in August 1995. His debriefing 1,580 liters (of a total of 2,200 liters produced) of the revealed many details about various Iraqi programs incapacitant aflatoxin (derived from a fungus). In and led to the subsequent modification of Iraqi de- addition, the Iraqi regime admitted to having con- nials. It also led the Iraqis to move steadily toward ducted research and development tests on a range of
    196. 168 IRAQ: CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS PROGRAMS agents—Clostridium perfringens; ricin; and viruses See also: Halabja Incident; Iran: Chemical and including hemorrhagic conjunctivitis, rotavirus, and Biological Weapons Programs; Iran-Iraq War; United camel pox—for weapons purposes, plus field trials Nations Monitoring, Verification, and Inspection on an anticrop agent known as wheat cover smut. Commission (UNMOVIC) References Gander, Terry J., “Iraq: The Chemical Arsenal,” Jane’s Current Status Intelligence Review, September 1992, pp. 413–415. With the end of the war in Iraq, U.S.-led inspection “Iraq’s Biological Weapons Programme,” Strategic teams are looking to destroy Iraq’s chemical and Comments, vol. 2, no. 5, June 1996, pp. 1–2. weapons programs once and for all. Little has been UNSCOM,“Report on Status of Disarmament and found, but the inspections continue. Monitoring,” S/1999/94 of 29/10/1999, United Nations, —Andrew M. Dorman http://www.un.org/Depts/unscom/s99–94.htm.
    197. JAPAN AND WMD Twenty-first century Japan does not possess any weapons of mass destruction (WMD), including nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons. The Japanese military, however, employed chemical and J biological weapons against China during World War II. Substantial evidence suggests that Japan also Japan also has the unfortunate distinction of pursued a nuclear weapons research program until being the target for chemical terrorism involving 1945 but did not make very much progress. nerve agent (sarin). In 1994–1995, following the or- ders of their guru Shoko Asahara, operatives within Japan’s Nuclear Legacy the new age cult called Aum Shinrikyo used impro- Japan is unique in being the only country to be vised chemical weapons against the Japanese au- subjected to atomic bombing. As a means to help thorities, killing about 20 people and injuring more shorten the Pacific War, on August 6, 1945, the than 1,000. United States dropped a uranium-235 nuclear de- vice on Hiroshima; three days later, it dropped a Japan’s Historical Use of Chemical and Biological plutonium device on Nagasaki. Out of a popula- Weapons tion of 250,000 in Hiroshima, at least 45,000 peo- During Japan’s colonization of Taiwan, brutal paci- ple died on August 6, many from the thermal and fication campaigns were waged against local indige- blast effects produced by the weapon. Nearly nous groups, particularly during the years 20,000 died during the following 4 months due to 1910–1914. Local tribes revolted against the Japan- their injuries, which included radiation sickness. ese, including those in Wushe, a mountainous area In Nagasaki, some 22,000 people died from the in central Taiwan. Local historians agree that, dur- initial blast, and another 17,000 succumbed to ing the infamous Wushe incident of 1930, Japan their injuries over the subsequent 4 months. There used chemical warfare (CW) agents to crush the re- may have been many more who perished as a re- bellion led by tribal leader Mona Rudo. (Japan had sult of these bombings but who, for various rea- begun production of CW agents in 1928 on sons, were not recorded. Okunoshima Island.) During the 1930 uprising, The legacy of the atomic blasts included 63 extra 134 Japanese people were killed by resistance gueril- cases of leukemia among the 92,000 atomic bomb las. In addition to employing co-opted tribe mem- survivors (one would normally expect 21 cases in a bers as bounty hunters, Japan crushed the rebellion normal population). As for genetic abnormalities using “Green canister” shells (chloracetophenone, among those who survived and their progeny, stud- or CN). In the end, 644 of the indigenous people ies have shown that these are surprisingly rare. A re- were dead, representing about half of the indige- cent survey concluded: “the expected increase of ge- nous community in Wushe. This particular engage- netic damage in the atomic-bomb survivors is so ment may have been part of the experimental test- low that it would not be detectable within the larger ing with CW conducted by the Japanese on Taiwan spontaneous incidence. In screening . . .the blood between 1930 and 1941. of 27,000 children of atomic-bomb survivors, only Starting in 1937, the Japanese army employed a two children presented mutations that might be re- wide range of CW agents during its invasion of lated to the radiation exposure of the parents” China. Quoting an “authoritative Soviet source,” a (Walden, p. 202). book written by Chinese military specialists in CBW 169
    198. 170 JAPAN AND WMD Japanese technicians dispose of World War II–era abandoned chemical weapons on China’s soil. (China Photo/Reuters/Corbis) defense claims that “during its war in China, the the hospital. Among them they found several cases Japanese army had prepared 25 percent of their ar- showing generalized skin blisters and lesions resem- tillery shells to be chemical munitions, while 30 per- bling more or less those caused by smallpox . . . pho- cent of its aerial ordnance were chemical bombs” tographed evidence is available” (Hoo, p. 1). (Wang and Yang, p. 97). According to these same au- Although it is difficult to evaluate the extent of thors,“Fascist Japan used CW over 2,000 times, caus- Japanese use of chemical weapons in China, it ing 90,000 casualties” (Wang and Yang, p. 102). In would appear that mainland sources exaggerate the 1991, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (CPLA) overall importance of CW to explain Japan’s success claimed that more than 80,000 people were killed in against Nationalist (Kuomintang) armies. Japanese approximately 2,000 chemical attacks by the Japanese soldiers, especially those serving in China, were army during World War II. (It is possible that transla- highly disciplined and ruthless, operating under a tors have confused casualties with fatalities, which well organized command structure. The latter qual- might explain the discrepancies.) Yet another source ities were not to be found among the Chinese resis- tallies 10,000 deaths and 80,000 wounded from Japan- tance, already fractured by a rivalry between the ese chemical weapons. More precise (if not accurate) KMT and Chinese Communist Party forces led by statistics record that from July 18, 1937 to May 8, 1945, Chiang Kai-Shek and Mao Zedong. Although it cer- Japan carried out 1,059 chemical attacks in China, in- tainly assisted the Japanese forces in certain engage- cluding the use of CW agents diphenylchloroarsine, ments, it is difficult to conclude that CW played a diphenylcyanoarsine, chloroacetophenone, chloropi- decisive role in the Sino-Japanese war of 1937–1945. crin, hydrogen cyanide, phosgene, mustard, and lewisite. A 1938 report from the Red Cross, signed by Biological Warfare in China five physicians on the scene, reported that at Xuzhou During the years 1931–1945, Japan pursued a BW “a large number of wounded soldiers was rushed to program and conducted biological weapon field
    199. JOHNSTON ATOLL 171 tests against Chinese military and civilian targets. Plague, for example, has been endemic to China Much has been written about the gruesome experi- since 1894, and during wartime it is common for ments conducted by General Ishii Shiro and his public hygiene to collapse completely, leading to the Unit 731, and by other specialized detachments in rapid spread of infectious disease. China during World War II (see Unit 731). Sheldon —Claudine McCarthy Harris has compiled the following numbers of casu- See also: Aum Shinrikyo; Unit 731; World War II: alties that resulted from Japanese BW activity in Biological Weapons; World War II: Chemical China, although there are many instances in which Weapons; Wushe Incident casualties can only be estimated. References Communication from the Chinese Delegation [to the United Nations], signed by Hoo Chi-Tsai, no. Table J-1: Japanese BW Operations in China, 1937–1942 170/938, Geneva, 5 September 1938, p. 1. “Germ Warfare,” Newsweek, Vol. 106, No. 10, 9 March Ningbo, summer 1940, October– 99 deaths from 1942, pp. 315–316. November 1940 plague reported Gold, Hal, Unit 731 Testimony (Tokyo: Yenbooks, 1996). Changteh City, Hunan Province, 400–500 deaths; Harris, Sheldon. Factories of Death: Japanese Biological spring–summer, November 4, 1941 minor epidemic Warfare 1932–45 and the American Cover-Up (New resulted, +24 York: Routledge, 1994). fatalities Liu Huaqiu, ed., Arms Control and Disarmament Chekiang Campain, Yushan, Kinhwa, Chinese casualties Handbook (Beijing: National Defense Industry Press, Futsing, summer 1942 evaluated as high, 2000). but attack Powell, John W., “Japan’s Biological Weapons: boomeranged, 1930–1945,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Vol. 37, causing numerous No. 8, October 1981, pp. 43–51. Japanese casualties Shi Hua, “PRC: Scholar Reveals Germ War During (estimated to be as Japan’s ‘Aggression’ in 1930s, 1940s,” Beijing Daily, high as 10,000) Internet (English) version, February 24, 2001, transcribed in FBIS, Document ID: CPP20010224000024. Kojima Takeo, a captain in the Japanese Imperial Walden, Thomas L., Jr., “Long-Term and Low-Level Army, reported that “about twenty thousand Chi- Effects of Ionizing Radiation,” in Richard I. Walker nese died from cholera” as a result of Unit 731 field and T. Jan Cervany, eds., Medical Consequences of operations (Gold, p. 249). Total Chinese deaths due Nuclear Warfare (Falls Church, VA: TMM, Office of to Japanese BW—that is, actual weaponized use in the U.S. Surgeon General, 1989), pp. 171–226. the field (not including the 3,000-plus Chinese, Ko- Wang Qiang and Yang Qingzhen, eds., Chemical rean, and other prisoners of war who died from Weapons and Warfare [Wuqi yu zhanzheng jishi Japanese BW military experiments)—could start at congshu #14: Huaxue Wuqi yu Zhanzheng] (Guofang 21,000. Perhaps not unexpectedly, Chinese esti- Gongye Chubanshe, August 1997). mates of deaths caused by Japanese BW activities are Williams, Peter, and David Wallace, Unit 731: Japan’s Secret Biological Warfare in World War II (New York: much greater. According to one Chinese source, Free Press, 1989). “During Japan’s invasion of China, BW was carried out among twenty or more provinces and cities in China, causing more than 200,000 casualties among JOHNSTON ATOLL the Chinese people” (Liu, p. 368). Other Japanese Johnston Atoll, a group of four islands located 825 and Chinese scholars have since come to the con- miles southwest of Hawaii, played a key role in the clusion that “at least 270,000 Chinese soldiers and U.S. nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons pro- civilians were killed as a result of Japanese germ grams. An unincorporated U.S. territory, the islands warfare between 1933 and 1945” (Shi, 2001). How- were first used for atmospheric nuclear testing in ever, no information to date can support such a fig- the 1950s. Then, beginning in 1964, a series of bio- ure, nor is it likely that Japanese BW activities can be logical tests was conducted offshore of the islands to definitively linked to every occurrence of plague or measure the susceptibility of rhesus monkeys lo- other infectious diseases in China at that time. cated on barges to biological agents released by air-
    200. 172 JOHNSTON ATOLL craft overhead. Most significantly, the United States facility destroyed more than 400,000 projectiles, mor- moved chemical weapons that it had previously tars, bombs, rockets, and mines containing mustard, stored abroad to the atoll, where they were kept sarin, and VX (see Mustard, Sarin, and V-Agents). until their destruction was completed in November Eight months after the final destruction of the 2000. weapons and agent was completed, the U.S. Army In 1969, an accidental leak of VX nerve agent Chemical Activity, Pacific, the unit responsible for the stored by the United States on the island of Okinawa storage, security, and transport of chemical muni- injured twenty-three U.S. military personnel and tions and agent on Johnston Atoll—was deactivated. one civilian, leading the Japanese government to re- The army’s plan to dismantle JACADS was ap- quest the removal of the weapons (see V-Agents). proved by the Environmental Protection Agency in Plans were made to move the stockpile to Umatilla September 2002. The plan encompasses the disas- Army Depot in Oregon. Before the transfer was sembly of the JACADS facility, the treatment of completed, however, Congress passed Public Law waste generated by the weapons destruction, and 91-672, which prohibited the army from relocating cleanup of the island. Relying on human health and chemical weapons stored overseas to anywhere in ecological risk assessments, sampling and analysis, the continental United States. Instead, in a 1971 ef- and quality assurance methods, the U.S. Army is re- fort designated Operation Red Hat, the weapons quired to certify that the atoll is safe before they de- from Okinawa were transported to Johnston Island, part. Once that assurance has been provided, the one of the islands comprising the Johnston Atoll. Al- atoll will transfer into the custody of the U.S. Fish most 20 years later, following the conclusion of a bi- and Wildlife Service. Johnston Atoll, which was des- lateral chemical weapons destruction agreement ignated a National Wildlife Refuge in 1926, will then with the Soviet Union, the United States in 1990 re- become a bird sanctuary. located another cache of weapons from Germany to —Claudine McCarthy Johnston Island in Operation Steel Box. Before ac- tual destruction took place in the 1990s, 6.6 percent See also: Demilitarization of Chemical and Biological Agents; United States: Chemical and Biological of the original U.S. chemical weapons stockpile was Weapons Programs stored on the atoll. References Built in 1990, the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Casper, Monica J., “Chemical Weapons: Incineration Disposal System (JACADS) was the first U.S. chemi- Island,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Vol. 58, No. cal weapon destruction facility to become opera- 2, March-April 2002, pp. 17-19. tional (see Demilitarization of Chemical and Biologi- Mosier, Janice, “Middle of Nowhere,” Soldiers, vol. 44, cal Agents). Using incineration technology, the no. 5, May 1989, pp. 37–41.
    201. KAFFA, SIEGE OF The Mongol siege of the Crimean city of Kaffa in 1346 is often cited as one of the first recorded inci- dents of biological warfare—and perhaps even the cause of the spread of bubonic plague to Europe. K The city of Kaffa (or Caffa, now Feodosija, Ukraine), established in 1266 by agreement be- town of Piacenza, north of Genoa. There is some tween the Mongols on the Black Sea and the Gen- debate as to whether de’ Mussi witnessed the events oese, was an important trading hub between Genoa at Kaffa. Written in 1348 or 1349, the account de- and the Far East. In 1289, the city fell under the scribes the “mysterious illness” that struck the Tar- suzerainty of the Khan (Toqtai) of the Golden tar army besieging Kaffa. De’ Mussi recounts how Horde. The relationship between the Genoese and the Tartars, desperate from the devastation of the the Khan, however, was an uneasy one. Kaffa was disease on their army, thought to kill the inhabitants first besieged in 1308 after the reported displeasure of Kaffa with the stench of their diseased dead. Ac- of Khan Toqtai over Genoese trading in Turkic cording to the de’ Mussi account, the people of slaves. (The sale of these slaves to the Marmelake Kaffa had no hope once the air and water had been Sultanate in Egypt reportedly upset the Khan by de- contaminated, and only one in 1,000 was able to flee priving him of an important source of foot soldiers the city. Those that did flee took the plague with for his own army.) The Genoese set fire to Kaffa and them as they left. fled. After Toqtai’s death, Khan Uzbeg allowed the De’ Mussi’s account suggests that not only did Genoese to rebuild their trading colony in 1312. the Tartars deliberately hurl their diseased dead over In 1343, after a brawl between Christian locals the city walls of Kaffa with the intent to kill their en- and Muslims in the Italian enclave of Tana inflamed emies, but those escaping Kaffa brought the disease the ire of Khan Janibeg, the Italians fled from Tana into the ports of Europe. The disease was most to Kaffa, bringing the Khan’s army to the gates of likely brought within the walls of Kaffa through Kaffa behind them to besiege the city. In February flea-infested rodents from the Tartar camps, or pos- 1344, the Italians managed to break the siege after sibly through the transmission of the disease from killing 15,000 of the Khan’s Tartars and destroying direct contact with infectious body fluids from the their siege machines. Janibeg renewed the siege the Tartar dead. following year, but the residents of Kaffa were able Most scholars believe that the Genoans brought to maintain their position because they retained ac- the plague with them to Naples, from where it then cess by sea to supplies. spread throughout Europe. Others have recently In 1346, the Khan’s army besieging Kaffa suf- suggested that although the use of plague corpses fered a natural outbreak of plague. The Tartars cat- against Kaffa was a true act of biological warfare, apulted the plague-infected corpses of their dead the siege had no significant impact on the spread comrades over the city walls. According to one his- of the Black Death through Europe. As Wheelis torical account, the Tartars’ tactic finally broke the suggests, Kaffa was certainly not the only Tartar 3-year stalemate; the Genoese were crippled by the port that could have transmitted plague into Euro- plague and fled Kaffa by sea—taking the disease to pean ports. Wheelis further argues that the rate Europe with them. and pattern of plague transmission suggests that it The most contemporaneous account of the siege took 1 year to spread the plague into different Eu- was written by Gabriele de’ Mussi, a notary of the ropean ports. 173
    202. 174 KOREAN WAR Though Kaffa may not have been the precise peaked in 1953 and were proven false, but the belief source of the Black Death that spread into Europe, persists, at least within mainland China, that chem- the use of infected cadavers against its besieged in- ical weapons were used by UN forces. For example, habitants remains one of the most important in- a Chinese book on chemical weapons published in stances of the intentional use of disease in warfare. 1997 states that during the Korean War, the U.S. —Jennifer Lasecki military used chemical weapons against the Sino- See also: Biological Warfare; Plague; Vector Korean forces on more than 200 occasions, and the References book lists the following CW agents by name: mus- McGovern, Thomas W., and Arthur M. Friedlander, tard, cyanide (presumably HCN), chloropicrin, and “Plague,” in Russ Zajtchuck and Ronald F. Bellamy, chloroacetophenone (CN). eds., Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological China first made formal chemical weapons Warfare (Washington, DC: Borden Institute, 1997), charges during the Korean War on March 5, 1951. pp. 479–502. The Report on U.S. Crimes in Korea, compiled by Watts, Sheldon, Epidemics and History: Disease, Power, the Communist front organization International and Imperialism (New Haven, CT: Yale University Association of Democratic Lawyers, claimed that Press, 1998). Wheelis, Mark, “Biological Warfare at the 1346 Siege of the United States used chemical weapons between Caffa,” Emerging Infectious Diseases, vol. 8, no. 9, May 6, 1951, and January 9, 1952. The UN ambas- September 2002, http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/ sador from the former Soviet Union, Jakob Malik, vol8no9/01–0536.htm. repeated similar charges in February 1952. How- ever, when the International Scientific Commis- sion (a group of Sinophilic scientists, leftists, KOREAN WAR Marxists, and otherwise Maoist fellow travelers The Korean conflict began as North Korean troops, [communist sympathizers]) reported on the BW aided by the former Soviet Union, launched an ar- allegations (see below) in 1952, no mention was tillery barrage against U.S.-backed South Korea on made of chemical weapons being used in Korea or June 25, 1950, in an attempt to unify the peninsula China. Furthermore, in a 1998 book alleging that under Communist rule. Under United Nations the United States conducted BW during the Ko- command, United States and Republic of (South) rean conflict, authors Stephen Endicott and Ed- Korea (ROK) forces managed to push the North ward Hagerman make no mention of chemical Korean army back, and UN forces were able to get weapons being used (aside from some peripheral across North Korea as far as the Chinese border that references to U.S. CW agents and chemical/biolog- winter. Faced with the prospect of losing Korea to ical warfare policy). the Western “Imperialists,” Mao Zedong ordered a Perhaps the most dramatic testimony that un- counterattack. Fortunes turned once again, as Chi- dermined the Chinese allegations of CW during the nese volunteer forces crossed the (now frozen) Yalu Korean War is found in the Soviet archives. Lt. Gen. River and nearly overwhelmed UN forces. Finally, V. N. Razuvaev, former Soviet ambassador to North the belligerents reached a stalemate near the thirty- Korea and military advisor for the Korean People’s eighth parallel, resulting in status quo antebellum. Army, wrote the following to Levrenti Beria (Stalin’s Some 130,000 U.S. military personnel were killed infamous henchman and chief of espionage) on or wounded by time of the Armistice in 1953. Per- April 18, 1953: haps as many as 2 to 3 million Koreans and 1 mil- lion (or more) Chinese people were killed during The Chinese . . .wrote that the Americans were the conflict. using poison gas in the course of the [Korean] war. However, my examinations into this question did not give positive results. For example, on April 10, Allegations of Chemical Warfare 1953, the general commanding the Eastern Front The Chinese government and military apparatus reported to Kim Il Sung that 10–12 persons were claim that the United States—presumably with UN poisoned in a tunnel by an American chemical connivance—used chemical weapons against North missile. Our investigation established that these Korean and Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces deaths were caused by poisoning from carbonic (CPVF) during the conflict. These allegations acid gas [i.e., CO2] [released into] the tunnel,
    203. KOREAN WAR 175 The United States used napalm with great effect against communist forces during the Korean War (1950–1953). (Corbis) which had no ventilation, after the explosion of an diers on phantom chemical weapons used by the ordinary large caliber shell. (Razuvaev, quoted in “imperialists.” Weathersby, http://wwics.si.edu) Allegations of Biological Warfare In retrospect, the Russian archives explain best In March 1951, Peking radio charged that the why Chinese military leaders could have believed United Nations Command was manufacturing bio- that the United Nations armies were using chemi- logical weapons for use against North Korea. In May cal warfare. The CPVF was torn apart by U.S. ar- of that same year, the North Korean Minister of For- tillery and air strikes. (Even Mao Zedong’s eldest eign Affairs protested to the United Nations that the son, Mao Anying, was killed during a U.S. napalm United States had attacked Pyongyang with small- strike.) In addition to the devastating effects of pox. Almost a year later, on February 22, 1952, these attacks, resultant off-gases from bombard- North Korea made more detailed charges, claiming: ments were no doubt responsible for respiratory distress and pulmonary edema among Chinese The American imperialist invaders, since January 23 this year [1952], have been systematically scat- soldiers, symptoms that are largely indistinguish- tering large quantities of bacteria-carrying insects able from those caused by lung irritants found in by aircraft in order to disseminate infectious dis- chemical weaponry. For the Chinese leadership eases over our front line positions and rear. Bac- (namely Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai), interested teriological tests show that these insects scattered in propaganda to give a sense of being the victim of by the aggressors on the positions of our troops an “imperialist aggressor,” it made practical sense and in our rear are infected with plague, cholera to blame the deaths of the ill-equipped CPVF sol- and the germs of other infectious diseases. This is
    204. 176 KOREAN WAR irrefutable proof that the enemy is employing See also: North Korea: Chemical and Biological bacteria on a large scale and in a well-planned Weapons Programs; South Korea: Chemical and manner to slaughter the men of the [Korean] Biological Weapons Programs; United States: People’s Army, the Chinese People’s Volunteers, Chemical and Biological Weapons Programs and peaceful Korean civilians. (van Courtland References Moon, p. 55) Auster, Bruce B., “Unmasking an Old Lie,” U.S. News and World Report, 16 November 1998, http://www. usnews.com/. In response to these charges, General Matthew B. Cheng Shuiting and Shi Zhiyuan, Military Technology Ridgeway addressed the United States Congress, say- Information Handbook: Chemical Weapons, second ing “no element of the United Nations Command edition (Beijing: People’s Liberation Army Press, has employed either germ or gas warfare in any form 1999; second printing, January 2000). at any time” (Leitenberg, http://wwics.si.edu). Cowdry, Albert E., “‘Germ Warfare’ and Public Health in Nevertheless, by dint of their own writings and the Korean Conflict,” Journal of the History of Medicine public pronouncements, the Chinese government and Allied Sciences, vol. 39, April 1984, pp. 153–172. still appears to believe that the United States em- Endicott, Stephen, and Edward Hagerman, The United ployed biological weapons during the Korean War. States and Biological Warfare (Indianapolis: Indiana Real Japanese BW atrocities that occurred in China University Press, 1998). during the 1930s and 1940s make these dubious Ko- Leitenberg, Milton, New Russian Evidence on the Korean War Biological Warfare Allegations: Background and rean War allegations appear reasonable. During the Analysis, Wisconsin Cold War International History first half of 1951, when the allegations first emerged, Project, March 1999, http://wwics.si.edu. the Chinese media often referred to Japanese bio- Leitenberg, Milton, “Resolution of the Korean War logical weaponeers, and on April 30, 1951, they even Biological Warfare Allegations,” Critical Reviews in claimed, “the American forces are using Chinese Microbiology, vol. 24, no. 3, 1998, pp. 169–194. People’s Volunteers as guinea pigs for their bacterio- Naito, Yasuro, “Documents Reveal PRC, DPRK logical experiments” (Leitenberg, p. 174). Fabrications,” Sankei Shimbun, 8 January 1998, The United States has refuted the allegations morning edition, p. 1. concerning its use of chemical and biological Regis, Ed, The Biology of Doom (New York: Henry Holt, weapons during the Korean War. Despite the 1999). paucity of real evidence to support such a claim, Van Courtland Moon, John Ellis, “Biological Warfare however, it would appear that these charges are Allegations: The Korean War Case,” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol. 666, 1992, pp. 53–83. etched upon the collective consciousness of the Chi- Weathersby, Kathryn, Deceiving the Deceivers: Moscow, nese leadership. Unfortunately, Western collabora- Beijing, Pyongyang, and the Allegations of Bacterial tors with the myth of BW in the Korean War are Weapons Use in Korea, Wisconsin Cold War often cited by the Chinese as further proof that the International History Project, March 1999, http:// United States engaged in chemical and biological wwics.si.edu. warfare against the Chinese. Yan, Zhang, “Farewell Salute to Jim Endicott,” China —Eric A. Croddy Today, vol. 43, no. 4, 1 April 1994, p. 56.
    205. LATE BLIGHT OF POTATO FUNGUS (PHYTOPHTHORA INFESTANS) Late blight of potato is caused by the fungus Phy- tophthora infestans, which was most likely responsi- ble for the Irish potato famine of 1845–1847. Iso- L lated cases of potato crops with this fungus are still common around the world, and, once started, the the fact, and was not necessarily the original cause plant disease is very expensive to treat. Lesions that of death of the plant. In 1861, the German re- form on infected plants can produce some 300,000 searcher Anton De Bary conducted his own experi- fungal spores each day, and when conditions are ments with potatoes and was able to conclude that, right, spores of this fungus (sporangia) can be indeed, a parasitic fungus was responsible. He spread for miles by flowing water or by the wind. named it Phytophthora infestans—“the terrible Because of the importance of potatoes as a food sta- plant destroyer.” De Bary’s work established an im- ple and agricultural commodity, the potential con- portant foundation for the study of plant diseases as sequences of an attack using this fungus in agroter- a discipline. rorism could be enormous. At the same time, Later, in the 1900s, potato blight would haunt experimental data show that it would be difficult to Germany during World War I. On the heels of spec- replicate natural disasters such as the Irish potato tacular potato harvests early in the Great War, in famine using deliberate introduction of the fungus 1916, potatoes were soon rotting in the fields and to potato crops. Still, this fungus is among several creating a fulsome stench in German supply houses. agents of concern when considering food safety and Phytophthora infestans struck at a most inoppor- potential vulnerabilities to bioterrorism or state- tune moment for Germany. The subsequent loss of sponsored biological warfare (BW). potatoes could have been averted were it not for the Many Americans and Canadians of Irish ances- fact that copper, needed during the war for shell try can trace their family histories back to the casings, electrical wire, and other war-related ma- 1845–1847 Irish potato famine (also known as the teriel, was therefore made unavailable for produc- Black ’47). When, in 1845, Irish potatoes became in- tion of copper sulfate, a well-known antifungal used fected with the Phytophthora infestans fungus, an at that time. Seven hundred thousand Germans entire crop of tubers was destroyed—as was a great starved to death in this famine, and this may have source of nourishment. The unfortunate conflu- contributed to Germany’s defeat. ence of bad weather and colonial oppression exac- During World War II, French and U.S. officials erbated the crisis as the disease continued to affect noted how economically dependent the Axis powers potato crops throughout Ireland. Some 1.5 million were on potatoes as a staple food crop, particularly people died of starvation, and a like number left the the German and Japanese reliance on sweet pota- country, many choosing to emigrate to the United toes. During researches into potential BW agents in States. World War II, Phytophthora infestans was seen as a During the mid-1800s, the great tragedy in Ire- potentially effective weapon. Code named OL, late land piqued the interest of Dr. Miles J. Berkeley, blight of potato was researched at the Main Agricul- who believed that a fungus was responsible for the tural Experiment Station in Orono, Maine. One potato blight. However, he could not find sufficient method of delivery devised for potato blight in- proof to support his notion, because it was still pos- volved the use of navy beans and specially made pel- sible that the fungus only grew on the potato after lets to use as carriers to deliver the fungus to the tar- 177
    206. 178 LIBYA AND WMD get. Producing and storing this fungus in large quan- nightclub in 1986, intended to target U.S. military tities proved extremely difficult. Eventually, though, personnel. This attack killed two U.S. soldiers and the United States developed a standardized arsenal of one civilian, while injuring more than 250 people. anticrop agents and continued its research in late Having determined that Libya was directly con- blight of potato as part of its now-defunct biological nected with the bombing, the United States re- weapons program (formally ended in 1972). sponded in retaliation with an air raid against Today, unlike in nineteenth-century Ireland, in- Tripoli. The Libyan government has also admitted dustrialized countries do not depend upon a single that it was responsible for the downing of Pan Am source of calories. Because modern agriculture can flight 103, a civilian jetliner, over Lockerbie, Scot- produce an abundant and diversified food supply, it land, in 1988, and it has since paid billions of dollars is unlikely that late blight of potato would cause se- to the victims’ families in compensation. vere hardship for most countries, and it would cer- During most of Qaddafi’s rule, Libya has been tainly not lead to starvation. Furthermore, geneti- considered a “rogue nation,” developing chemical cally modified potatoes are being researched to weapons as well as acquiring delivery systems such develop a resistance to this fungus. This research as the Scud B and C missiles. Although a member of holds the promise of helping to avoid both natural the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and and deliberate outbreaks of late blight in the future. subject to International Atomic Energy Agency in- The economies of underdeveloped countries, how- spections, Libya may have as many as eleven nu- ever, may be more vulnerable to natural or possibly clear-related facilities rather than the four that have deliberate attacks on their food supplies. been officially declared. An unconfirmed report —Eric A. Croddy from the 1970s alleged that Libya attempted—but See also: Agroterrorism (Agricultural Biological ultimately failed—to purchase a nuclear device Warfare); Mycotoxins from China. Thirty years later, the scope of Libya’s References nuclear program is still unknown. Carefoot, G. L., and E. R. Sprott, Famine on the Wind: Some reports suggest that Libya may have pur- Plant Diseases and Human History (London: Angus sued biological weapons development. There also and Robertson, 1969). are rumors that the former director of South Cochrane, Rexmond C., History of the Chemical Warfare African biological weapon activities, Dr. Wouter Service in World War II, vol. 2, Biological Warfare Basson, covertly assisted Libya in this pursuit during Research in the United States (Fort Detrick, MD: the mid-1990s. Historical Section, Plans, Training, and Intelligence Division, Office of Chief, Chemical Corps, 1947). Libyan Chemical Weapons Countries such as Egypt and the former East Ger- LIBYA AND WMD many may have shipped chemical munitions to Since his successful coup against King Idris in Sep- Libya during the 1970s. In its war with neighboring tember 1969, Colonel Mohamar Qaddafi has been Chad, Libyan troops reportedly used chemical war- the unchallenged leader of Libya. During Qaddafi’s fare (CW) agents in the late 1980s. As a response, the fulsome regime, the North African nation has United States shipped some 2,000 protective masks gained pariah status among the nations of the to Chad. During this same time frame, Libya estab- world. Events in late 2003, however, may have lished a suspected CW agent production facility at changed this trend. In a startling announcement Rabta (Pharma 150) using technology acquired made on December 19, 2003, Qaddafi announced from West Germany. However, the estimated quan- that his government will forgo its weapons of mass tity of CW agent produced at this facility was not a destruction (WMD) programs, presumably mean- large figure, perhaps 100 tons. ing activities related to the production of chemical, In the early 1990s, after the United States hinted biological, or nuclear weapons. that a preemptive strike against Pharma 150 was During the 1970s and 1980s, Libya supported possible, Libyan officials decided to build an under- terrorist organizations such as the Irish Republican ground chemical facility. Built inside of a granite Army and the Palestinian Liberation Organization. mountain, the Tarhunah facility was described by Libya also was implicated in the bombing of a Berlin the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency as the “world’s
    207. LINE SOURCE 179 References Bhattacharjee, Anjali, and Sammy Salama, Libya and Nonproliferation (Monterey, CA: Center for Nonproliferation Studies, 2003), http://www.cns. miis.edu/pubs/week/031223.htm. Jahn, George, “U.N. Nuclear Agency Says No U.S. Help Needed in Libya,” Associated Press, 31 December 2003. Rosenthal, A.M., “On My Mind: Shall We Wait and See?” New York Times, 27 February 1996, p. A23. Waller, Robert, “Case Study 2: Libya,” in The Deterrence Series: Chemical and Biological Weapons and Deterrence (Alexandria, VA: Chemical and Biological Arms Control Institute, 1998). Wiegele, Thomas C., The Clandestine Building of Libya’s Artist’s conception of the suspected Libyan chemical facility in Tarhunah. (Corbis/Sygma) Chemical Weapons Factory: A Study in International Collusion (Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1992). largest underground chemical weapons plant” (Rosenthal, p. A23). Qaddafi later announced that LINE SOURCE he would stop construction at Tarhunah after a A moving device or a linear series of stationary de- diplomatic consultation with Egyptian president vices that disperse chemical, biological, or radiolog- Hosni Mubarak. In the summer of 1996, U.S. De- ical (CBR) agents is known as a line source. (Two partment of Defense (DoD) sources confirmed that other common classifications of sources are point the site appeared dormant. In March 1997, however, and area sources.) Typically, a line source constitutes Israeli sources reported that construction at Tarhu- a moving platform such as an aircraft, boat, or nah had resumed. ground vehicle, which discharges a CBR agent as it In 2003, Libya reportedly engaged in low-level moves. For example, between 1935 and 1936, Italian negotiations with the United States and Great forces used aircraft to spray chemical agents, mainly Britain over its WMD programs. According to pub- mustard, on enemy forces in Ethiopia. lished accounts, U.S. and British intelligence di- A moving platform, however, is not required for verted a ship purported to have been carrying gas a line source. On April 22, 1915, outside the city of centrifuges to Libya in September 2003. On Decem- Ypres, Belgium, the Germans released chlorine gas ber 19, Libya announced that it would end its WMD from more than 5,000 cylinders, forming a 5-mile- programs and would subject itself to international wide toxic cloud. This cloud would best be classified inspections, which would include the full disclosure as a line source despite the fact that it was produced of its nuclear fuel cycle. Libya’s decision was proba- from more than 5,000 point sources (see Point bly influenced by the interdiction of the dual-use Source). As another example, artillery guns can de- gas centrifuges, as well as the success of the U.S. liver shells containing CBR materials along a wide coalition’s invasion of Iraq, which was ostensibly front perpendicular to the wind direction. The undertaken to rid Iraq of its WMD programs and of cloud released from such an artillery barrage would its dictator. be best modeled as a line source, although the It is uncertain whether Qaddafi’s recent turn- source of the contamination is stationary. The clas- around with regard to WMD will result in a better sification of a source (as point, line, or area) de- understanding of Libya’s chemical, biological, and pends on the spatial and directional characteristics nuclear weapons activities, or whether Qaddafi is of CBR contamination. This information is also fundamentally changing the course of his national used to develop vulnerability assessments and pre- policies. Qaddafi’s constructive reengagement with pare emergency response plans. the West may be signaling an end to Libya’s margin- An agent released into the atmosphere is af- alization in the global polity. fected by meteorological conditions: temperature, —Eric A. Croddy pressure, wind direction, and wind velocity. It is
    208. 180 LIVENS PROJECTOR most effective to employ chemical weapons during cluding the gas or explosive inside) of 60 pounds. an inversion, when the air temperature increases The mortar was set into the ground at a 45 degree with altitude and the contaminant is therefore held angle so as to maximize the range. close to the ground. Inversions normally occur at The device was named after the colorful and dawn, dusk, or night. Atmospheric releases of brilliant inventor Major William Howard Livens of agents occur as either a continuous plume or an in- the British army, whose wartime forays into the in- stantaneous discharge (puff). If the total duration vention of early flamethrowers and other devices of the release is much less than the transport time are the subject of legend. (Livens’s superior officer, between the source and the downwind receptor, Foulkes, once wrote that, although he was duly im- then the cloud is best described as an instantaneous pressed with the young man’s ingenuity and en- release. Because the total amount of agent to be de- thusiasm for his work, Livens had “little use for livered is of limited quantity, the time of actual re- factors of safety or correct official procedure” lease will necessarily be of short duration. Line [quoted in Richter, p. 150].) A fellow officer, Harry sources are most effective when the line along Strange, collaborated with Livens on the overall which they are employed is perpendicular to the design. The inspiration for the Livens Projector wind. When employed in this way, a line source can came from the use of oil cans to make Molotov contaminate a relatively large area, compared to a cocktails. At first, the incendiary form of the early point source release of the same quantity and con- Livens Projector fired canisters filled with oil and centration of CBR agent. were launched using modular sack charges. By Recent trends in research and development have adding additional explosives in measured focused on improving wide-area, long-range, stand- amounts, as in traditional artillery, one could con- off (that is, at considerable distance up to 50 km), trol the overall distance. But it soon became appar- and remote agent detection systems that can in- ent that the Livens Projector had the potential for crease early warning time and assist in consequence offensive CW applications. management in the event of CBW. In the event of a Following the chlorine gas attack at Ypres in line or point source delivery, it is possible that ade- 1915, the Livens Projector was rigged to launch quate standoff detection systems will provide ade- chemical agents. Its design could launch large vol- quate intelligence for authorities to take appropriate leys of chemical shells in rapid succession, making it defensive measures—before the public is exposed to the most efficient means of deploying gas during the toxic or infectious aerosolized agents. war. The Livens Projector was particularly useful in —Robert Sobeski launching phosgene canisters at distances of 1,700 See also: Aerosol; Biological Warfare; Chemical Warfare; meters, and German troops reported that it had sig- Inversion; Point Source nificant impact on the battlefield: “The enemy has References combined in this new process the advantages of gas Headquarters, Department of the Army, Field Manual 3- clouds and gas shells. The density is equal to that of 3: Chemical and Biological Contamination Avoidance, gas clouds, and the surprise effect of shell fire is also Change 1 (Washington, DC: Government Printing obtained. . . . Our losses have been serious up to Office, 1994). now, as he has succeeded, in the majority of cases, in Pasquill, Frank, Atmospheric Diffusion, second edition surprising us, and masks have often been put on too (New York: Halsted, 1974). late” (Spiers, p. 25). The Livens Projector also had its disadvantages. LIVENS PROJECTOR Although the main part of the firing base mortar Also referred to as an “8-inch chemical drum,” the was hidden by earth and relatively easy to conceal, Livens Projector was one of the more effective the system could only be fired once. means of delivering chemical warfare (CW) agents Occasionally, Livens Projectors turn up in old during World War I. Essentially, the Livens fired a sites among abandoned and obsolete munitions. In large chemical artillery shell, the Livens projectile 1993, a construction worker discovered a Livens being launched from mortars set in the ground. projectile at a site near American University, Wash- Standing about 2 feet in height and about 7.5 inches ington, D.C., prompting a full-scale evacuation in in diameter, the Livens shell had a total weight (in- Spring Valley, Washington, D.C. Some of the 200-
    209. LYOPHILIZATION 181 millimeter Livens projectiles found in 1993–1994 marcescens could be produced in dense liquid sus- still contained some chemical agent. In April 1999, pensions and then lyophilized to survive up to sev- some children found a Livens projectile at Fort Ord, eral weeks without losing very much in the way of Monterey, California. Fortunately, this Projector the viability. Similar techniques were utilized by both children found was originally used only for training the United States and the former Soviet Union dur- and contained no explosives or toxic chemicals. ing the heyday of the Cold War in their respective —Eric A. Croddy biological weapons programs. See also: Chemical and Biological Munitions and A lyophilizer is a dual-use item that has both Military Operations; Choking Agents (Asphyxiants); civilian use and potential military use in developing World War I biological weapons. As this technology is used References widely for civilian pharmaceutical and other re- Richter, Donald, Chemical Soldiers: British Gas Warfare search, using this technology would not necessarily in World War I (Lawrence, KS: University Press of raise particular suspicions concerning possible of- Kansas, 1992). fensive BW activities. Other information would be Spiers, Edward, Chemical Warfare (Hong Kong: necessary to indicate that possession or use of a Macmillan, 1986). lyophilizer meant there was illicit biological weapons research at work. One significant factor to LYOPHILIZATION consider would be the overall production capacity Having been used for many years in biotechnology re- of the equipment, as full-fledged BW programs search and related applications, lyophilization—es- would require more than the small quantities of sentially, freeze-drying—can be utilized for research material produced in single batches in laboratory and development of biological warfare (BW) agents. settings. (During World War II, for example, the Because one of the major obstacles to keeping biolog- United States used lyophilizing equipment in its ical agents in storage over long periods of time is the nascent BW program that could handle up to 2.5 issue of water content, a way is needed to keep these liters or about 2.5 kilograms of material in a single agents stable by removing water without destroying batch.) Another consideration in determining the the organism, destroying its enzymes, or denaturing possibility of BW use would be the type of organism proteins. By reducing the amount of water contained or biological material being processed, as well as the in biological materials through freeze-drying, the re- general scope of the activity. sultant product can remain in storage for long periods —Eric A. Croddy of time without losing biological activity. When it comes to dealing with BW applications, See also: Dual-Use essentially the problem is how to produce a storable References agent that also remains viable—thus, the relevance Cochrane, Rexmond C., History of the Chemical Warfare of lyophilization in biological weapons develop- Service in World War II, vol. 2, Biological Warfare ment and production. Furthermore, once the given Research in the United States (Fort Detrick, MD: Historical Section, Plans, Training, and Intelligence agent has been freeze-dried, further processing Division, Office of Chief, Chemical Corps, 1947). (such as milling) can be performed to create BW Tucker, Jonathan B., The Proliferation of Chemical and agents that can be aerosolized. Work conducted for Biological Weapons Materials and Technologies to the U.S. biological weapons program in the 1940s State and Sub-State Actors, testimony before the found that freeze-dried organisms could remain vi- Congressional Subcommittee on International able for extended periods of time. In this case, sim- Security, Proliferation, and Federal Services of the ulants—inocuous agents used to simulate the be- U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, 7 havior of BW agents in this case—such as Serratia November 2001, Washington, DC.
    210. MARBURG VIRUS Marburg virus is named after the German city in which a laboratory outbreak of hemorrhagic fever occurred among the staff of a hospital in 1967, dur- ing which 31 people became infected and nine died. M Marburg virus is a member of the Filoviridae fam- ily, the other known member being Ebola virus. Ac- phagocytic cells of the host. Melioidosis, also known cording to Ken Alibek, former deputy of the Soviet as glanders-like disease, is of current interest be- Biopreparat biological weapons program, the Soviet cause B. pseudomallei has been studied in the past Union had planned to weaponize Marburg just be- by bioweapons developers in the United States and fore Boris Yeltsin rose to power in 1991. It is un- other countries. B. pseudomallei could still poten- known whether Russian scientists continued re- tially be developed as a weapon because it is rela- search with Marburg with the aim of using it as a tively easy to grow, has prolonged survival in the en- biological weapon during the 1990s. vironment, is infectious by aerosol, and has a high —Eric A. Croddy capacity to cause severe illness and death. See also: Biopreparat; Hemorrhagic Fevers Melioidosis is endemic (occurring naturally and consistently) in tropical and subtropical regions of the world and is a common infectious hazard for MELIOIDOSIS rice farmers, travelers, and military troops. During Melioidosis is an infectious disease of humans and the rainy season, the bacteria, normally associated animals caused by the free-living (survives on its with plant roots, rise from the clay layers of the own) bacterium—once thought to be parasitic— Earth into the surface waters and multiply. Humans Burkholderia pseudomallei, a natural inhabitant of and animals are most vulnerable to acquiring infec- soil and water in rice-growing regions of the world. tion in endemic areas during the monsoonal wet The disease is concentrated in parts of northern season. A few isolated cases diagnosed in the West- Australia and southeast Asia, especially Thailand, ern Hemisphere have been imported from the trop- Malaysia, and Singapore. Humans are usually in- ics by immigrants, travelers, and Vietnam veterans. fected by direct inoculation of the organism Although a wide variety of mammals, birds, tropi- through breaks in the skin, less often by inhalation cal fish, and snakes can be infected with B. pseudo- or ingestion of dust or aerosolized polluted water, mallei, animals differ widely in their susceptibility and rarely by contact with infected animals or other to melioidosis. For example, although high mortal- humans. ities are reported in sheep, water buffalo are re- The bacterium causing melioidosis was first iso- markably resistant to the disease. Infected animals lated in 1912 from a morphine addict in Rangoon, pass the organism in their feces and are a significant Myanmar. Burkholderia (formerly Pseudomonas) reservoir of infection in the environment. pseudomallei is an aerobic (thrives in oxygenated environments) gram-negative (does not absorb Medical Aspects gram’s stain) rod-shaped bacterium. The disease- Melioidosis has myriad clinical forms, depending causing propensity, or virulence, of the organism is on the site of original infection, the virulence of the largely due to its ability to evade host defense mech- infecting organism, and the host’s immune status, anisms and to survive inside macrophages, the cells making diagnosis difficult. Most infections with B. that defend the body from invaders, and other pseudomallei in endemic areas are asymptomatic or 183
    211. 184 MICROENCAPSULATION subclinical (does not rise to the level of noticeable Various serological tests have been developed to disease symptoms), with the only sign of exposure aid in disease diagnosis, but they are of limited use in being an antibody response detectable by serology. endemic areas because of high background positives Melioidosis may be acute, with rapid progression due to previous exposure,thus have limited specificity. and death, or it may run a chronic and relapsing The promise of rapid molecular testing has not yet course. Illness may develop after a latent period been fulfilled for diagnosing melioidosis. Currently, ranging from 2 days to 30 years and usually presents there is no immunization for melioidosis prevention, clinically with a fever and signs of sepsis. Upon in- but many antigens found on the organism are possi- fection, the bacteria can grow in number and release ble candidates for a subunit vaccine that uses parts of toxins, usually at a level too low to cause noticeable the organism to develop an immune response. Early symptoms. Given enough bacterial growth in the intensive intravenous antibiotic therapy with ceftazi- body, however, more serious disease will result. dine or imipenem is highly effective against acute The most common form of the illness is acute bloodstream melioidosis, followed by several months pulmonary infection, which can vary from mild of maintenance therapy for prevention of relapses. bronchitis to overwhelming necrotizing pneumo- —Amy E. Krafft nia. In the acute localized form, a nodule is found at See also: Agroterrorism (Agricultural Biological Warfare) the site of skin inoculation, and infection may References progress rapidly to the bloodstream. Acute blood- Currie, B. J., et al., “Endemic Melioidosis in Tropical stream infection is uncommon in an otherwise nor- Northern Australia: A 10-Year Prospective Study and mal, healthy host, but it often develops in immuno- Review of the Literature,” Clinical Infectious Diseases, compromised patients with chronic diseases such as vol. 31, no. 4, October 2000, pp. 981–986. HIV or diabetes, and it can progress rapidly to pro- Leelarasmee, A., and S. Bovornkitti, “Melioidosis: duce abscesses throughout the body, septic shock, Review and Update,” Review of Infectious Disease, vol. 11, no. 3, May–June 1989, pp. 413–425. and high fatality rates. Chronic suppurative forms Short, B. H., “Melioidosis: An Important Emerging with abscesses in deep organs of the body may also Infectious Disease—A Military Problem?” ADF occur. [Australian Defence Forces] Health, vol. 3, no. 1, 2002, Melioidosis, like tuberculosis, can be reactivated pp. 13–21. years after the initial infection or can recur months Simpson, A. J., et al., “Comparison of Imipenem and or years after apparent cure. An estimated 225,000 Ceftazidime as Therapy for Severe Melioidosis,” Vietnam veterans in the United States are serologi- Clinical Infectious Diseases, vol. 29, no. 2, August cally positive for melioidosis, but disease reactiva- 1999, pp. 381–387. tion is rare. Thummakul, T., H. Wilde, and T. Tantawichien, To diagnose suspected melioidosis, various lab- “Melioidosis: An Environmental and Occupational oratory tests are used. For rapid, presumptive di- Hazard in Thailand,” Military Medicine, vol. 164, no. agnosis, gram stain and methylene blue (methods 9, 1999, pp. 658–662. of staining cells and tissue for identification) can be used to visualize the distinctive safety pin stain- MICROENCAPSULATION ing pattern of the small gram-negative rod in pa- Microencapsulation means producing extremely tient specimens, particularly blood, sputum, ab- small droplets or tiny solid particles of a material, scess contents, and skin lesions. Diagnosis is and covering these particles with a fixed protective confirmed by B. pseudomallei isolation on con- membrane. Commercial examples of microencap- ventional laboratory culture media, which takes sulation include dry toner for photocopiers and car- 48 to 72 hours to grow. bonless copy paper. The microencapsulation of very Not all strains of B. pseudomallei cause disease in small particles is a technology that could maximize humans and animals. B. pseudomallei is a frequent the effectiveness of chemical or biological warfare laboratory contaminant in endemic areas, and viru- agents: Chemical warfare (CW) agents or biological lent biotypes found in clinical specimens can be dif- pathogens or toxins could be encapsulated to en- ferentiated from avirulent environmental biotypes hance their survival in a weapon. based on the ability to metabolize arabinose (a type Chinese military experts in CW categorize po- of sugar). tential applications of microencapsulation for
    212. MUSTARD 185 chemical delivery as persistency encapsulation, ogy, state-level CBW programs could certainly em- seepage encapsulation, hydrophobic encapsulation, ploy microencapsulation to produce highly effective and time capsules. Persistency encapsulation in- weapons of mass destruction. creases the concentration of CW agents that would —Eric A. Croddy otherwise evaporate too quickly for effective use on See also: Aerosol; Biological Warfare; Chemical Warfare; the battlefield. For seepage encapsulation, the Dual-Use membranes around the particles would slowly re- References lease agent for use in contaminating areas or equip- Cheng Shuiting and Shi Zhiyuan, Military Technology ment. In the case of hydrophobic encapsulation, a Information Handbook: Chemical Weapons, second membrane would help to protect the agent from printing (Beijing: People’s Liberation Army Press, hydrolysis (chemically broken down by water mol- 2000). ecules) upon contact with water, enabling CW Spertzel, Richard O., Robert Wannemacher, and Carol D. Linden, Global Proliferation: Dynamics, Strategies agents to remain potent for a longer period of time. and Responses, Vol. 4, in Biological Weapons Time capsules would delay release of the agent until Proliferation, DNA Technical Report 93-129-V4 after the membrane deteriorates. It is not known at (Alexandria, VA: Defense Nuclear Agency, September this time whether any military CW programs have 1994). ever taken microencapsulation beyond the stage of basic research. Microencapsulation also has many applications MUSTARD (SULFUR AND NITROGEN) for biological weapons production. Most biological Mustard (United States and NATO code HD for dis- warfare (BW) agents are composed of microbes or tilled mustard) usually refers to sulfur mustard, a protein-based toxins that are fragile and quickly classical vesicant (or blister) agent. It was first used decay in the open environment. By using special by Germany in World War I, later by Italy during polymers or other biodegradable substances, BW Mussolini’s war against Ethiopia, and later by Iraq microencapsulation would involve coating liquid or against Iran in the 1980s. Although not as toxic as dry BW agents and toxins with materials designed to the nerve agents developed in the 1930s, mustard is protect them during aerosolization. Also, when the still regarded as a significant chemical threat due to particles reached the target (most likely lung tissues), its ability to cause mass casualties. As a consequence, the coating could protect the infectious agent from especially during the World War I era, mustard was the body’s defenses long enough for the agent to once known as the king of chemical warfare agents. cause disease. Microencapsulation can also produce In Germany, mustard was referred to as Lost (from agent particles within a 1–10 micron diameter range, the names of researchers Lommel and Steinkopf, the size that is optimal for infection via aerosol. who developed processes for its mass production), For both chemical and biological agents, mi- and France and Russia named mustard agent after croencapsulation technology could also help defeat its use at Ypres, Belgium (Yperite). some detection schemes, particularly those that rely Other forms of mustard besides sulfur mustard on direct contact with the agent in order to send include the nitrogen varieties, coded HN-1, HN-2, warning signals. Chemical point detection is some- and HN-3 in the West. Although the nitrogen mus- times dependent on the presence of volatile com- tards differ in some respects from sulfur mustard, pounds and their vapors; encapsulating the agent the basic mechanism and injuries that result from would limit the amount of agent in the immediate their exposure are largely the same. Whereas sulfur area for detection. Properly coated BW agent parti- mustard played relatively important roles in World cles also may confound sampling detection devices War I and the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988), there is that rely on immunodiagnostics, relying upon di- little information to suggest that nitrogen mustards rect contact with specific biochemical constituents have ever been used in battle. Mustard has been of the organism. But the use of microencapsulation shown to be a highly effective casualty-causing is still a relatively new technique, and it requires an agent, especially in military settings. advanced research and development infrastructure. The effects of mustard agent reverberate in his- Although most of the publicly known terrorist torical and modern contexts. In October 1918, Ger- organizations are unlikely to utilize such technol- man corporal Adolf Hitler was injured by Allied use
    213. 186 MUSTARD Iraqi 500kg mustard bombs were destroyed by international inspectors following the Gulf War (1991). (UN/Corbis/Sygma) of mustard agent. Even after its use in World War I, mustard molecule forms a highly reactive ion called injuries still occur from old munitions left in battle- a free radical. This free radical combines with nu- fields from China to Europe. In 1990, for example, a cleic acids, cross-linking constituents of DNA by a Frenchman suffered serious mustard burns on his chemical bond. Mustard then destroys cells from the hands and arms after he picked up a mustard shell inside by interfering with DNA synthesis, and it in the old battlegrounds of Verdun. probably affects other important chemicals in the Sulfur and nitrogen mustards are toxic via a body as well. When these cells die, they release en- number of routes, including the skin, eyes, and zymes called proteases, breaking down tissues into upper respiratory tract. Mustard, an oily liquid, is liquid exudates (pus). This is the basic process also more persistent than other true “gases” that through which blisters are formed. Being oil soluble, were used in the beginning of World War I. (Be- mustard readily penetrates the skin, and as it can cause the first chemicals used in World War II were dissolve through fatty layers, mustard attacks vital in gaseous form, such as chlorine and phosgene, organs of the body. subsequent uses of CW agents were often—and sometimes still are—referred to by the misnomer Brief History of Sulfur Mustard “gas.”) Because of its persistency, opposing forces The Belgian Cesar-Mansuete Despretz first synthe- must wear not only protective masks but also com- sized sulfur mustard in 1822, but he did not describe plete protective clothing. Mustard’s effects are like- its qualities. The British scientist F. Guthrie repeated wise insidious. Itchy and painful irritation of the Despretz’s experiments in 1860 and described mus- skin, leading to sometimes very large blisters (vesi- tard as “smelling like mustard, tasting like garlic, and cles), occurs after a considerable delay (up to 24 causing blisters after contact with the skin” (quoted hours). in Siddel, Urbanetti, Smith and Hurst, p. 198). Ap- The mode of mustard’s action in the body ap- parently, however, the new compound and its irri- pears to be cytotoxic—that is, it kills living cells. tating effects did not receive much attention. In After coming into contact with living tissue, the 1886, the German chemist Victor Meyer indepen-
    214. MUSTARD 187 dently synthesized mustard, first by making seven o’clock my eyes were scorching as I staggered thiodiglycol and then reacting this nontoxic chemi- back and delivered the last dispatch I was destined cal with chlorine. Surprisingly, this small change to carry in this war. A few hours later my eyes were produced an extremely toxic chemical, later identi- like glowing coals, and all was darkness around me” fied as sulfur mustard. According to Meyer: “The in- (Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, 1924, quoted in Marrs, tended work with this chloride was not contin- et al., pp. 161–162). ued—on account of the extremely poisonous Although it did not have the lethal effect of phos- qualities of the compound. It is very striking that gene and other gases, mustard agent caused the this apparently harmless substance which is only greatest numbers of wounded throughout World slightly volatile, is almost insoluble in water, and has War I. Statistics from the Great War showed that a very slight odor as well as a perfectly neutral reac- British casualties from CW increased dramatically tion, should exert a specific toxic effect. Its chemical following the use of mustard agent. With advances constitution would never lead one to expect its ag- in protective gear, however, mortality rates due to gressive properties” (quoted in Senior, p. 17). mustard agent fell from 6 percent to 2 percent by By 1916, after using gaseous chemicals such as war’s end. chlorine and phosgene, Germany found that both In World War II, CW was limited to the Chinese sides in World War I had discovered fairly effective theater of operations during Japan’s invasion of east defenses against chemical warfare (CW), primarily Asia. Although Winston Churchill had been referred through the use of protective masks. After trying— to as a mustard gas fiend, the European militaries with little success—to use irritating compounds and the United States refrained from using chemical such as diphenylcyanoarsine (DC) in fine dusts to weapons during the war. Japan, however, employed force the enemy to remove their masks, German sci- a large number and variety of CW agents in China entists then looked to mustard. Its attractiveness lay from about 1930–1945. In 1940, Japanese troops in not only being toxic, but also in its persistence in used about 600 pounds of mustard against Mao Ze- the field. Decisive animal experiments on mustard dong’s communist forces in Shanxi province. were conducted in September and October 1916. During the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988), Iraq The military effectiveness of this agent was already became desperate to stave off massive attacks of known when the German High Command re- Iranian foot soldiers. Iran had early on adopted a quested a new CW agent that could be used for the “revolutionary” battle strategy reminiscent of Mao defense of the western front in the summer of 1917. Zedong’s People’s War—basically throwing bodies Sulfur mustard was first tested during the sum- at the enemy with little equipment or preparation mer of 1916, and it was used at Ypres in July. Be- for battle—resulting in thousands of poorly cause of its persistency and its latency period, sol- trained and poorly equipped Iranian troops ex- diers exposed to this chemical often did not know tremely vulnerable to chemical agents, especially they had been contaminated until injuries mani- mustard. Like the Germans during World War I, fested themselves later. Iraq found value in the use of mustard in roles that Although Germany had confidence that mustard could be described as defensive rather than offen- could help turn the tide in World War I, Fritz sive, especially in the later stages of the conflict, Haber—chief of the German chemical weapons when Iraq feared that it could be overrun by Iran’s program—warned that the Western militaries superior numbers. In March 1984, the United Na- would be able to respond using mustard as well. tions confirmed the use of chemical weapons, in- Haber was right. Corporal Hitler accurately de- cluding mustard, by Iraq. scribed the effects of mustard: “During the night of It is unknown how many Iranian casualties October 13–14 [1918] the British opened an attack were caused by CW during the war. Figures of with gas on the front south of Ypres. They used the 50,000 or more casualties, mostly inflicted by yellow gas whose effect was unknown to us, at least mustard, are certainly possible. At first, Iraq was from personal experience.... About midnight a able to obtain chemical precursors from Western number of us were put out of action, some for ever. countries, including Europe and the United States. Toward morning I also began to feel pain. It in- When cut off from these supplies during the war, creased with every quarter of an hour, and about however, Iraq turned to its domestic petroleum
    215. 188 MUSTARD industry for alternative sources. By using oil and Because the mustard agents produce blisters on breaking it down into ethylene, Iraq found a rela- the skin, casualties are at risk for secondary infec- tively efficient means to produce mustard agent tions and systemic poisoning. By and large, how- from indigenous materials. (See Iran-Iraq War.) ever, injuries to the skin will heal, although there may be significant scarring due to changes in pig- Nitrogen Mustards mentation. Exposure to mustard agent is particu- Nitrogen mustards were first developed out of re- larly dangerous through the respiratory route. In search into nitrogen-carbon compounds during the these cases, dead tissue in the upper airways can 1920s and 1930s. In 1931, a chemist by the name of form “false membranes” that may block the respira- Kyle Ward found that using nitrogen to link chlori- tory system, causing death by asphyxia. At present, nated carbon chains produced a highly potent vesi- the primary defenses against mustard are skin pro- cant. Although the United States Chemical Warfare tection, taking casualties away from contaminated Service was interested, code-naming the first of areas when exposed, and the rapid removal of agent these nitrogen mustards as HN-1, it was not consid- from the skin. Medical treatment options are still ered to be more effective than sulfur mustard. How- limited to supportive therapy. ever, the German military found it to be of great in- Although mustard has properties that could lead terest. Variations on the nitrogen-carbon molecule to the development of cancerous cells, for those who generated different analogues, some of which were survive single exposures, the risks of cancer are not later coded by the U.S military as HN-2 and HN-3. significantly elevated. Repeated contact with the Germany considered the nitrogen mustards to be agent has been shown to be carcinogenic, however, highly effective for contaminating the ground for particularly for those employees who worked in area denial and harassing the enemy, and produced mustard manufacturing plants during the world some 2,000 tons of HN-1 during World War II. Al- wars. Mustard has a severe injurious effect on the lied forces destroyed these stockpiles at the end of eyes, causing at the very least temporary blindness World War II. Few nations appeared to have pro- in low concentrations. However, most victims re- duced nitrogen mustard since World War II in large cover from mustard’s effects on the eyes, although quantity, probably because sulfur mustard produc- some may require corrective lenses or other inter- tion was already in place, and offered many of the ventions. In severe cases of exposure, however, per- same advantages as nitrogen mustard. manent blindness is very possible. Nitrogen mustards are generally more toxic than —Eric A. Croddy the sulfur variety and like sulfur mustard are easily See also: Iran-Iraq War; Vesicants; World War I manufactured. Both types of mustard cause injury References with similar mechanisms. Because of mustard’s Franke, Siegfried, Manual of Military Chemistry, vol. 1. well-known ability to kill cells, physicians theorized Chemistry of Chemical Warfare [Lehrbuch der that it could help treat cancer. Experiments found Militärchemie der Kampfstoffe] (East Berlin: that tumors shrank following treatment with a type Deutscher Militärverlag, 1967). of nitrogen mustard called HN-2, also known as Marrs, Timothy C., Robert L. Maynard, and Frederick R. mustine (Mustargenor mechloroethamine). Its high Sidell, Chemical Warfare Agents: Toxicology and toxicity and the introduction of many other Treatment (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1996). chemotherapy options make nitrogen mustard less National Research Council, Cholinesterase Reactivators, attractive in medicine. Psychochemicals, and Irritants and Vesicants, vol. 2 (Washington, DC: Author, 1984). Senior, James K., “The Manufacture of Mustard Gas in Mustards Today World War I (Part I),” Armed Forces Chemical Although terrorists might utilize mustard as a Journal, vol. 12, no. 5, September–October 1958, p. weapon of mass destruction, it is not as toxic as 17. other compounds that are available. From a prolif- Sidell, Frederick R., John S. Urbanetti, William J. Smith, eration standpoint, mustard offers a “quick and and Charles G. Hurst, “Vesicants,” in Frederick R. dirty” option for less developed countries to obtain Sidell, Ernest T. Takafuji, and David R. Franz, eds., relatively inexpensive and highly effective chemical Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, weapons. Weaponry, and the Casualty: Medical Aspects of
    216. MYCOTOXINS 189 Chemical and Biological Warfare (Washington, DC: gested grain that was infected with Fusarium, a fun- Borden Institute, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, gus that also produces T-2 toxin. Individuals suffer- 1997), pp. 197–228. ing from ATA developed severe and painful irritation U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, of the digestive tract, skin, bleeding, and suppressed Technologies Underlying Weapons of Mass immune systems leading to other disease processes. Destruction, OTA-BP-ISC (Washington, DC: U.S. Similar conditions that gave rise to ATA from tri- Government Printing Office, December 1993). chothecene have occurred in Japan (akakabi-byo, or Wachtel, Curt, Chemical Warfare (Brooklyn, NY: Chemical, 1941). red mold disease), the United States, and Canada. Another illness called cotton lung disease, caused by a fungus that infects cotton (Dendrochium toxicum), MYCOTOXINS was described in Russia. More recently, Fusarium is Mycotoxins are poisonous chemical compounds reported to be a serious fungal infection and compli- that are produced as a by-product in fungal organ- cation occurring in patients who are severely im- isms. Mycotoxins are often produced by molds as munocompromised, including individuals undergo- well. Select toxins produced by fungi, that is, myco- ing aggressive chemotherapy. toxins, are considered potential candidates for weaponization as biological toxins. The tri- Trichothecene Mycotoxins chothecene mycotoxins, including T-2 toxin, are pu- Tricothecene (T-2) mycotoxin (i.e., toxin derived tative agents in the weapon known as yellow rain. from fungi) is unique among the BW agents in that U.S. allegations that the Soviet Union and its allies it is immediately active upon contact with the skin. used T-2 and other trichothecene mycotoxins in There are a number of fungal genera that produce southwest and southeast Asia during the 1970s and T-2 or similar toxins, such as Myrotecium, Tricho- 1980s have not been confirmed. derma, and Stachybotrys, with the Fusarium species Among all biological toxins that have been devel- of mold being among the better-known sources. oped or proposed as candidate BW agents, the tri- The T-2 toxin stops protein synthesis in cells. Al- chothecene mycotoxins (particularly T-2) stand out though not nearly as toxic for the nervous system or because of their intensely irritating effect upon the muscles, T-2 targets those cells that are replaced skin. During the 1980s and possibly the 1990s, Iraq rapidly, such as the skin, mucous membranes, and researched and developed another mycotoxin for bone marrow. Because the Fusarium toxin’s effects use in warfare: aflatoxin, a highly toxic compound in animals and humans are quite similar to those of in its own right and one of the most potent carcino- ionizing radiation (fever, nausea, vomiting, etc.), gens known (see below). these compounds have been termed radiomimetic. Mycotoxins were first recognized as being associ- The toxicity of T-2 is estimated to be ten to fifty ated with food-borne poisoning caused by moldy times greater when inhaled as an aerosol than when grains. In the early eighteenth century, for example, introduced via injection. T-2 and related substances starving soldiers in the army of Peter the Great were have been investigated for possible medical uses, in- forced to eat moldy cereals infected with ergot rust cluding the treatment of some cancerous tumors. A fungus (Claviceps purpurea), the same mold that mycotoxin from Fusarium equiseti (diacetoxyscir- causes a painful condition named St. Andrews Fire. penol, or DAS) was examined for one such antitu- The army was greatly debilitated by eating this mor drug formulation called anguidine. It was moldy grain. In addition to a generalized illness, er- found to be far too toxic, however, for routine ther- gotism can lead to blood vessel constriction and apeutic use. gangrenous tissue. Interestingly, the chemical pro- Effects on the human system by trichothecene duced by the fungus, ergotamine, was utilized as a mycotoxins depend upon the route of exposure. therapeutic agent in old pharmacopeia, especially as Generally, contact with T-2 aerosols cause severe a means to control postpartum hemorrhage. nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, skin irritation, rash (in- Natural outbreaks of alimentary toxic aleukia cluding blisters), and breathing difficulty. Toxins (ATA) in the former Soviet Union (especially in like T-2 are unique among BW agents in that these Siberia in 1942–1947) affected thousands of people toxins have high dermal activity. Severe cutaneous (at least 10 percent of the population) after they in- irritation occurs in those who are exposed to dusts
    217. 190 MYCOTOXINS generated from hay infected with trichothecene- rogates used trichothecene mycotoxins on the bat- generating molds. Inflammation of the skin in ex- tlefield. Some experts in the U.S. defense establish- perimental animals was seen with as little as 25 ment still desire more evidence before making a nanograms of T-2 toxin dissolved in solvent. (A final determination of what occurred. Others state nanogram is one thousandth of a microgram, the case for yellow rain rather matter-of-factly and which is one thousandth of a milligram.) These with remarkable detail. For example, in 1997, toxins can also cause acute eye injury, as well as Robert Wannemacher (a researcher at the U.S. marked effects in the respiratory system. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Dis- Because there are no means of detecting the use eases) and Stanley L. Wiener wrote that tri- of trichothecene mycotoxins outside a well- chothecene mycotoxins were involved in some of equipped laboratory, in warfare or terrorism, the the following chemical attacks. symptoms of those exposed to the poison would be “From 1974 to 1981, toxic agents were used by the primary means of determining that the weapons the Soviet Union and its client states in such Cold had been employed. James M. Madsen (2001) notes War sites as Afghanistan, Laos, and Kampuchea that clinical diagnosis “of T-2 use as a [weapon of (Cambodia). Aerosol-and-droplet clouds were pro- mass destruction] rests on the basis of typical signs duced by such delivery systems from the Soviet ar- and symptoms in the setting of colored smoke, high senal as aircraft spray tanks, aircraft-launched rock- attack and fatality rates, and dead animals of various ets, bombs (exploding cylinders), canisters, a Soviet species” (Madsen, p. 600). Casualty management is hand-held weapon (DH-10), and booby traps (i.e., largely limited to decontamination, mostly soap and hidden improvised devices designed to injure or kill water, followed by supportive medical care. military personnel). Aircraft used for delivery in- T-2 would be a particularly effective casualty cluded L-19s, An-2s, T-28s, T-41s, MiG-21s (in agent among unprotected civilians or military per- Laos), and Soviet MI-24 helicopters in Afghanistan sonnel, causing enormous pain, general discomfort, and Laos. Attacks in Laos (1975–1981) were di- and, in large enough concentrations, agonizing rected against Hmong villagers and resistance forces death. Trichothecene mycotoxin would also present who opposed the Lao People’s Liberation Army and a contaminating hazard for clothing and equip- the North Vietnamese. In Kampuchea, North Viet- ment. Production of toxin is not considered very namese troops used 60-millimeter mortar shells; difficult, and the toxin could be produced under the 120-millimeter shells; 107-millimeter rockets; M-79 guise of “single cell protein” (SCP) manufacture, an grenade launchers containing chemicals; and chem- activity that under most circumstances would not ical rockets, bombs, and sprays delivered by T-28 draw much suspicion. Indeed, it is possible that aircraft (1979–1981) against Khmer Rouge [Cam- Iraqi methods of fermenting biological products bodian rebel] troops. The chemical munitions were under the cover of SCP were designed for manufac- supplied by the Soviets and delivered by North Viet- ture of mycotoxins as well as other BW agents. namese or Laotian pilots” (Wannemacher and The exact nature of yellow rain and its relation- Wiener, p. 654). ship to alleged biotoxin warfare by the Soviet Probably because Vietnam was supported by the Union and client states in southeast Asia remains a Soviet Union and elements of the Khmer Rouge mystery. In September 1981, the United States were supported by the Chinese government, ex- charged that the Soviet Union and clients were perts in CW in the Chinese People’s Liberation using a form of biotoxin against anticommunist Army also seem to support the charges that yellow guerrillas in Laos, Cambodia, and Afghanistan. The rain was used. However, they claim that it was, in trichothecene mycotoxins were the main compo- fact, a noxious brew of old and new CW agents. nent of what the U.S. government alleged was a Chinese authors Cheng Shuiting and Shi Zhiyuan toxin weapon referred to as “yellow rain.” Although suggest that “yellow rain claimed about 20,000 vic- there is persuasive evidence to show that mycotox- tims. Foreign observers believe that ‘yellow rain’ is a ins were used in southeast Asia in the late 1970s and combination of World War I–era mustard gas, early 1980s—including pathological samples con- combined with a later-developed nerve-type poi- taining the purported trichothecene mycotoxins— son that resulted in a third generation CW agent” conclusive evidence has yet to prove that Soviet sur- (Cheng and Shi, p. 9).
    218. MYCOTOXINS 191 Aflatoxin pension. Iraq also declared that Al-Hussein (modi- In 1995, Iraq admitted to having produced myco- fied Scud) missiles were armed with aflatoxin-filled toxins, including aflatoxin, for use in biological war- warheads. Although Iraq declared that four of these fare. Aflatoxin B1, the most toxic of the aflatoxin “special warheads” were filled with aflatoxin, there is analogues, is produced by various molds, most no- some question about whether these actually were tably Aspergillus flavus. Although known for its po- filled with another toxin, such as botulinum. Iraqi tential to cause liver cancer in animals, aflatoxin it- BW scientists also tested aflatoxin and wheat cover self has been recognized as a toxic poison. For smut (Tilletia sp.) spores with silica as a dry prepa- example, in 1960 in Great Britain, some 100,000 ration. turkeys were poisoned by aflatoxin from moldy Beyond the purpose of destroying crops, it is un- grain meal. Although the toxicity of aflatoxin may clear why Baghdad developed these toxins. Iraq have been the original reason for Iraq’s selecting this might have considered the use of aflatoxin for its BW agent, it is also possible that more mundane and long-term carcinogenic properties, especially as a bureaucratic pressures were at work. To demon- means to attack Kurdish populations opposed to strate to their superiors in Baghdad that they were Saddam Hussein’s regime, but this seems somewhat making progress in weapons development, Iraqi far-fetched. No further details of Iraq’s work with BW scientists may have attempted to weaponize these or other toxins emerged following Operation aflatoxin because it is relatively easy to manufacture. Iraqi Freedom (2003). Iraq stated to UN inspectors in 1995 that its re- Aflatoxin can produce long-term effects (e.g., search on aflatoxin and other toxins began in 1988. cancer) from repeated exposure, or in large enough Using the fungus A. flavus grown in 5-liter flasks, quantities, it can cause acute toxicity. In the latter aflatoxin was produced originally at Al Salman. To case, aflatoxin interferes with the cytochrome oxi- step up biological weapons production, aflatoxin dase electron transport system—the essential part production was later moved to Al-Safah, otherwise of energy utilization in the body—and in this sense known as Fudhaliyah, in 1989. According to Iraqi it resembles the toxic mechanism of cyanide: The officials, approximately 1,850 liters of aflatoxin solu- mitochondria (energy-producing orga