Chemical weapons

1. Chemical
Weapons

2. Definition…
• Chemical weapons are weapons that use the toxic properties of
chemical substances to kill, injure or incapacitate the enemy.
• They are considered to be massive destruction weapons by the UN.
• Don’t confuse with bacteriological weapons: bacteria, viruses,
protozoa, parasites or fungi.

3. Vesicant Agents
• They attack the skin  irritation and appearance of very painful and long-
lasting blisters.
• Chocking.
• Chronic effects: they damage sight and have genetic consequences in the
long term.
• They normally don’t produce death.
• After the exposure: take all the clothes out and clean the body with hot
water. It’s also recommendable to detoxify the skin with some detergents
or hydroxide compounds.
• Example of this type of agents: SULFUR MUSTARD, NITROGEN MUSTARD,
PHOSGENE OXIME, LEWISITE.
Chemical Weapon Agents

5. Sulfur Mustard
• Commonly known as Mustard Gas
• The first time that it was used was in the 1st World War, where 90000 people
died intoxicated.
• Rif War (1921-1927): the Spanish army of Africa launched it against the
Berbers (indigenous people of the North of Africa).
• Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945): Japan used it against the Chinese.
• Iraq-Iran War (1980-1988): Both countries used it

7. Nerve Agents
• Nerve agents are a class of phosphorus-containing organic chemicals (organophosphates)
that disrupt the mechanism by which nerves transfer messages to organs. The disruption is
caused by blocking acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme that normally destroys acetylcholine, a
neurotransmitter.
• Nerve agents will cause:
-runny nose -watery eyes
-small pupils -eye pain and blurred vision
-drooling -excessive sweating
-chest tightness -difficulty breathing
-diarrhea -frequent urination
-confusion -drowsiness
-weakness -headache
-slow or fast heart rate -high or low blood pressure
• After the expositions: it’s necessary to inject anticonvulsants to the affected people to
reduce the effects, in order to reactivate the enzyme functioning.
• They usually provoke death.
• Examples: Tabun, Sarin, VX, Cyclosarin, Soman

9. Sarin gas
• It has been used in:
Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)
Tokyo (1995)
Syria (2013)

12. Blood Agents
• These substances are metabolic
poisons that interfere with the
life-sustaining processes of the
blood.
• Cyanogen chloride
• Hydrogen cyanide
• Arsine
Chocking Agents
• These substances are sometime
referred to as pulmonary agent
or lung irritants and cause injury
to the lung-blood barrier
resulting in Asphyxia.
• Chlorine (CL)
• Chloropicrin (PS)
• Diphosgene (DP)
• Phosgene (CG)

13. Agent Orange
• It was used in the Vietnam War (1955-1975) by the USA as a herbicide
and defoliant.
• The chemical was contaminated with a dioxin, which can cause cancer
and birth defects.
• Consequences:
-1 million people affected.
-150,000 children with malformations.
-Deforestation
Other Examples…

15. White phosphorus
• It provokes serious burns.
• Other initial symptoms: breathing
-It provokes abdominal burning heat,
vomits, sweating, and muscular cramps.
• Some days after the exposition: more hemorrhages, icterus, it affects
the heart (arrhythmia) and it usually provokes death.
• It has been used in: -Gaza (Palestine) in 2009
-Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)

17. Tear gas
• Formally known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (from
lacrima meaning "tear" in Latin).
• Stimulates the corneal nerves in the eyes to cause tears, pain,
vomiting, and even blindness.
• Common lachrymators include pepper spray.

19. Chemical Weapons Used By The Nazis
• Used in gas chambers.
• Most commont agents: -Carbon monoxide
-Hydrogen cyanide
• Symptoms: First, they suffered choking, then they defecated and
urinated involuntarily, after that they lost their consciousness, they
went into a coma and finally they died.
• So, they didn’t die immediately: it took them around 20-25 minutes
to die.

20. International Treaties Against Chemical Weapons
• 1907: Second Hague Gas Declaration banned poisoned weapons.
• 1925: Geneva Protocol banned the use of chemical and
bacteriological weapons.
• 1993: Chemical Weapons Convention banned the development,
production, storage, trade and use of chemical weapons.
• The international implementation of the Chemical Weapons
Convention is overseen by the Organization for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons(OPCW).
-Nobel Peace Prize in 2013

21. • Since the creation of the OPCW, more than 80% of the declared
chemical weapons have been destroyed.
• In August 2013, Sarin gas has been used in Syria. In one of the attacks,
more than 1400 people died. Some months ago the OPCW confirmed
the presence of chemical agents, so it obliged the Syrian government
to give their chemical weapons to the International Community. The
government gave up and since some weeks after that, the UN are
taking those weapons out from Syria.

22. History of Chemical Weapon
• Chemical had been used as tools of war
for thousands of years for example
poisoned arrows, boiling tar, arsenic
smoke and noxious fumes.
• During World War I, chlorine and
phosgene gases were released from
canisters on the battlefield and dispersed
by the wind.
• The first large-scale attack with chlorine
gas occurred 22 April 1915 at leper in
Belgium.

23. History of chemical weapon
• Several types of chemical weapon been used including mustard
gas (yperite) resulted in 90,000 deaths and over one million
casualties during the war.
• By the end of World War I, 124,000 tonnes of chemical agent
had been expended.

24. Example of chemical weapon ww1 &
ww2
 Sarin is a colourless, odourless nerve gas
which produced as modern pesticide by
United States.
 Soman with sarin and another chemical
weapon known as Lewisite a blistering
agent.
 VX or O-ethyl S-diisopropylaminomethyl
methylphosphonothiolate is brownish in
liquid form and its vapours are odourless.
 Tabun is colourless or brownish as a liquid
and odourless as a vapour.

25. Characteristics of chemical
weapon
• Chemicals include nerve agents, blister
agents and choking agents.
• They are generally dispensed as liquids,
vapours, gases and aerosols.
• The effectiveness controlled by a number of
factor including age, purify, weather
conditions and wind direction.

26. Characteristics of chemical
weapon
• Volatile and corrosive.
• Organophosphate (toxicity)

27. Effect of using chemical weapon
• It can be taken through the eyes, lungs or skin and
blood agents which were inhaled.
• Failure of the respiratory or nervous system.
• Swelling and damage the lung
• Lead to skin irritation, headache and heart
palpitations.

28. Effect of using chemical weapon
• Loss of muscle control.
• Coma or maybe lead to fatal.
• Symptoms are vomiting, dizziness and
convulsions.

29. Advantage of using chemical
weapon
• Easy to make, easy to make, easy to
solve.
• Hard to be defeat in war.
• Reduce spending a lot of money on
bullets.

30. Advantage of using chemical
weapon
• Give an army tactical, battlefield
advantage.

31. Disadvantage of using chemical
weapon
• The possibility of superheated vapour
explosions.
• Air leakage could lead to fires.
• Requires significant costly energy
usage.
• Corrosion to infrastructure or facility.

32. Disadvantage of using chemical
weapon
• Effects the human health.
• Percentage of mortality higher.