Chemical Weapons §

• Is a type of Weapon of Mass Destruction WMD
• Chemicals created with peaceful uses can easily be made as weapons (Pesticides → Nerve Agents)
• Characterizations
  • Time
    • Evaporative Chemicals: to be able to safely move through the area soon after its deployed
    • Area Denial Agents: persists a long time and prevent access to key facilities
  • Types
    1. Blood agents: impairs oxygen transport in the blood
    2. Choking agents: make blood and fluids go into lungs
    3. Blister agents: to injure and stress supporting medical service (Mustard Gas: long to show symptoms)
    4. Nerve agents: mess with body’s neurological system, most lethal, immediate collapse and death

       Example Germany, V-Series UK, A-Series Soviet Union

       💡 Ex: 3 Generations of Nerve Weapons: G-Series

    5. Incapacitants: use for personal protection, riot controls (Tear gas), banned for combat use, but can be used for control domestic disturbance
• Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC): bans development, production, stockpiling, retention, and use of chemical weapons (1993): basically adopted universally
  • 2009: 189 states signed
  • Frequent monitoring & challenge inspections for those suspected of violating
  • Call to involve civil society in process for more transparency between states
• Challenges posed by Chemical Weapons
  • Non-State terrorists still use it: insurgents in Iraq (Chlorine bombs)
  • Local peaceful chemical plant could be attacked and turned into a weapon and kill the locals very easily
    • Ex: India 1984 (not intentional tho)
    • Peaceful use can easily be turned into weapons
  • Destroying could damage environment: ocean, land
• Most widely used and stored is Never Agents
  • Used in World War 2

References §

1. C12-RHOSS-Routledge handbook of security studies-Routledge (2017): Weapons of mass destruction and the proliferation challenge