Chemical weapon, any of several chemical compounds, usually
toxic agents, that are intended to kill, injure, or incapacitate enemy
personnel. In modern warfare, chemical weapons were first used in World
War I (1914–18), during which gas warfare inflicted more than one
million of the casualties suffered by combatants in that conflict and
killed an estimated 90,000. In the years since then, chemical arms have
been employed numerous times, most notably in the Iran-Iraq War
(1980–88) and the Syrian Civil War.
The
United States and the Soviet Union, during their decades of
confrontation in the Cold War (1945–91), built up enormous stockpiles of
chemical weapons. The end of the Cold War enabled those former
adversaries to agree to ban all chemical weapons of the types that had
been developed during World War I (first generation), World War II
(second generation), and the Cold War (third generation).
Like
nuclear weapons and biological weapons, chemical weapons are often
classified as weapons of mass destruction. Under the Chemical Weapons
Convention (CWC) of 1993, the use of chemical weapons in war is
prohibited, as is all development, production, acquisition, stockpiling,
and transfer of such weapons. Nevertheless, while the aim of the CWC is
complete elimination of most types of chemical weapons, not all
countries have abandoned their chemical warfare capabilities. In
particular, some weaker states have pursued chemical weapons programs as
deterrents to being attacked by enemies that have either stronger
conventional forces or their own weapons of mass destruction, and some
regimes have used chemical weapons to threaten especially vulnerable
foes outside and even within their own borders.
Furthermore,
some individuals and militant organizations have acquired or have
sought to acquire chemical weapons in order to attack their enemies or
to secure their own ends through terror. The continued threat from
chemical weapons has led many states to prepare defenses against them
and to exert diplomatic pressure on dissenting or noncompliant states to
abide by the CWC.
Types of chemical weapons
Chemical
weapons are chemical agents, whether gaseous, liquid, or solid, that
are employed because of their direct toxic effects on humans, animals,
and plants. They inflict damage when inhaled, absorbed through the skin,
or ingested in food or drink. Chemical agents become weapons when they
are placed into artillery shells, land mines, aerial bombs, missile
warheads, mortar shells, grenades, spray tanks, or any other means of
delivering the agents to designated targets.
Not
all poisonous substances are considered suitable for weaponization, or
use as chemical weapons. Thousands of such chemical compounds exist, but
only a few dozen have been used as chemical warfare agents since 1900.
The compounds of most utility must be highly toxic but not too difficult
to handle. Furthermore, the chemical must be able to withstand the heat
developed when delivered in a bursting shell, bomb, mine, or warhead.
Finally, it must be resistant to water and oxygen in the atmosphere in
order to be effective when dispersed.
Chemical agents
Since
World War I, several types of chemical agents have been developed into
weapons. These include choking agents, blister agents, blood agents,
nerve agents, incapacitants, riot-control agents, and herbicides.
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