Modern Chemical Weapons

Modern Chemical Weapons causes serious diseases like cancer and serious birth defects in newly born Large scale chemical weapons were children. first used in World War One and have been used ever since. About 100 years ago Modern warfare has developed significantly since the early 20th century Early chemical weapons being used but the use of toxic chemicals to kill around a hundred years ago included: and badly injure is still very much in use tear gas, chlorine gas, mustard gas today. There have been reports of and phosgene gas. Since then, some chemical weapon attacks in Syria of the same chemicals have been during 2016. Chemical weapons have used in more modern warfare, but also been the choice of terrorists other new chemical weapons have because they are not very expensive also been developed. and need very little specialist knowledge to use them. These Chlorine gas (Cl2) weapons can cause a lot of causalities as well as fatalities, but also There have been reports of many spread panic and fear. chlorine gas attacks in Syria since 2013. It is a yellow-green gas which has a

very distinctive smell like bleach.

However, it does not last very long and therefore it is sometimes very difficult to prove it has been used during an attack. Victims would feel irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs when they inhale it in large enough quantities. In even larger quantities it can cause the death of a person by suffocation.

Mustard gas (C4H8Cl2S)

There are reports by the United Nations (UN) of terrorist groups using Mustard Agent Orange (mixture of gas during chemical attacks in Syria. When mixed with other chemicals it is different chemicals) no longer in its pure form and usually appears as a brownish colour. It is a A gas used during the Vietnam War by blistering agent and can cause the the Americans was called ‘Agent skin to develop blisters and become Orange’. Although it was designed to infected. It is usually associated with kill food crops and reduce the forest causing injuries to people rather than cover which was protecting causing large numbers of fatalities. The Vietnamese troops, it had serious gas has been recently used in rockets health effects. The mixture of designed to cause severe damage to chemicals was found to be toxic and eyes, skin, lungs and other internal very harmful to human health both for organs. It can also cause death the Vietnamese people and American through suffocation. troops. Later it was found to have

©Out of The Box 2016 Modern Chemical Weapons asphyxiation and heart failure. This gas has reportedly been used during the Sarin gas (C4H10FO2P) recent conflict in Syria causing

causalities. Sarin gas is a toxic nerve agent and was reported by the United Nations as being used in rocket attacks in Syria Sulfur dioxide (SO2) during August 2013, with over a thousand people being killed in one An attack in Iraq in 2003 and then such attack. In the same attack many again in 2016 on sulfur plants released thousands of people were injured by a large quantity of toxic sulfur dioxide the gas. The attack was described as into the atmosphere. The gas causes the most significant use of chemical irritation to eyes, nose and throat as weapons since 1988 in Iraq. A little well as corrosive damage to the lungs. drop of Sarin is enough to kill a human The use of a toxic chemical weapon being. Symptoms of Sarin gas like this can be very damaging to the poisoning include headaches and local population, in this case causing tears followed by paralysis and many hundreds of injuries and some possibly death. Sarin had been used in fatalities. Terrorists are using the tactic liquid form in an attack on the Tokyo of releasing toxic chemicals to destroy subway in Japan, which killed some areas from which they are retreating, people injured others. If the attack making them uninhabitable and had involved using a gas form of Sarin causing widespread panic. the consequences would have been even more devastating. Sarin gas has Facts accounted for the largest number of fatalities and affected many more  Almost 1500 civilians were killed people in Syria than any other in chemical weapon attacks in chemical weapon. Syria in the 3 years since the end of 2012, according to the Syrian American Medical Society.  Chorine gas is very difficult to trace and prove which side has used the chemical weapon in a particular attack.  VX nerve gas, sarin gas, mustard gas and chlorine gas have reportedly been used as chemical weapons in attacks involving different sides of the conflict in Syria.  Some of the gases are hard to VX gas (C11H26NO2PS) use effectively in weapons and

this limits the scale of their A nerve agent called VX gas, which devastation. was developed in Britain in the early

1950s, has also been used in modern day conflict as a chemical weapon. It effects nerve impulses and in its pure form is odourless and tasteless. The gas causes a person to die through

1) Look at the picture of the world map above.

Find out where the following countries are located around the world: a) Syria and label it with an ‘S’. b) Iraq and label it with an ‘I’. c) Vietnam and label it with a ‘V’. d) Japan and label it with a ‘J’.

2) a) Describe the symptoms of ‘sarin gas’ poisoning and explain what can happen to the people attacked with this chemical weapon.

b) Find out and explain why sarin gas is usually much more lethal and causes more fatalities than a Mustard gas attack.

3) Why does the United Nations condemn the use of chemical weapons during war?