Period 9/10 Kristen Sposetta, Aaron Mohr, Destanee Goosby, Taylor Host

 Chemical Weapons (also called “the poor man’s atomic bomb”) - chemical substances that can be delivered using munitions and dispersal devices to cause death or severe harm to people, animals, and plants  Biological Weapons (also called “germ weapon”) - a weapon of mass destruction that uses a biological agent or pathogen such as bacteria or a virus that is harmful to people and plants  The use of biological weapons against an enemy for hostile purposes or during armed conflict is called biological warfare

 Easy to produce and quantify  Cheaper than nuclear weapons and overall cheapest weapon  Easy to conceal  Conventional weapons (bombs, grenades, etc.) explode once, kill a few hundred people, mutilate thousands of others. Biological agents, on the other hand, can spread from person to person, killing more of the enemy  Chemical weapons can give an army a tactical, battlefield advantage

 Backfire, since containment is difficult once a contagious disease has begun spreading  Difficult to deliver to the enemy  Does not immediately incapacitate an enemy, other weaponry is more effective  Unpredictable, you may infect your own troops  Lasts for a long time, for example, anthrax can live in soil for up to 50 years

 Bacteria- such as anthrax, brucellosis, tularemia, and plague  Viruses- intracellular parasites, smallpox, and yellow fever  Fungi- pathogens that can be weaponized for use against crops to cause disease  Toxins- poisons that are weaponized after extraction from snakes, insects, spiders, marine organisms and other animals

 Mustard gas, Sarin, Chlorine, hydrogen cyanide, tear gas, poisoned arrows, boiling tar, and arsenic smoke  Substances such as inflammatory or combustible mixtures, smokes, or gases that can irritate, burn, incapacitate, and poison  The first chemical weapon used effectively in battle was chlorine gas, which burns and destroys lung tissue

Tear gas Mustard gas Chemical Weapon Examples

Syria attack, artillery rocket

 "Brief History of Chemical Weapons Use." Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct  "chemical weapon." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 27 Oct  "biological weapon." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 27 Oct  "Advantages of using biological weapons." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web. 27 Oct  "PressTV - KSA behind Syria chemical attack: Russian source." PressTV - KSA behind Syria chemical attack: Russian source. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct  "Syria chemical attack: What we know." BBC News. BBC, 24 Sept Web. 27 Oct  "Kirsch Foundation Nuclear Disarmament." Kirsch Foundation Nuclear Disarmament. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct  "Why are we so afraid of chemical weapons?." New Internationalist All posts RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct  “organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons.” OPCW. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct