Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering CHEMICAL WEAPONS

Overview Why would we want to use chemicals as weapons? What would you want out of a chemical weapon?

General Considerations Persistency (BP, volatility) Deadliness Simplicity Weather Handling Binary weapons?

History WWI 1914-1918 Trench warfare Chlorine Gas Mustard Gas Phosgene

Banned warfare involving poisonous gases or bacteriological weapons Geneva Protocol 1925 Banned warfare involving poisonous gases or bacteriological weapons Effective 1928

1930’s and 40’s Germany develops nerve agents Sarin Tabun Soman Not used in WWII because of Geneva Protocol

Vietnam War 1965-1973 Herbicides Agent Orange/Purple/Blue/White Green CHEMICAL AGENT TOTAL GALLONS PROCURED BY DOD TOTAL GALLONS USED PERCENT OF TOTAL GALLONS LEFT Green 8,208 0.04% Pink 122,792 0.6% Purple 145,000 0.7% Blue 2,166,656 11.2% White 5,600,000 5,239,853 27.0% 360,147 Orange 13,927,985 11,712,860 60.4% 2,215,125 TOTAL: 21,970,641 19,395,369   2,575,272

Last 20 years Terrorism 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention VX “THE ROCK” Sarin Nerve Gas 1995 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention

Blistering Agents Severe tissue damage Persistent Covalently bonds to nucleic acids, proteins, and nucleotides

Blistering Agents Mustard Gas Phosgene Oxime Nitrogen Mustards (immediate effects) Nitrogen Mustards (lower intestinal tract) Lewisite Phenyldichloroarsine

Choking Agents Attack lung tissue Inhibit enzymes Produce HCl in the lungs Increase permeability of alveoli

Choking Agents Phosgene Diphosgene Chlorine Chloropicrin (10x as deadly as Cl2) Diphosgene (higher BP by 120°C) Chlorine Chloropicrin

Psychotomimetric Agents Affect the brain Inability to make decisions Alter vision Hallucinations Disorientation Long-lasting effects

Psychotomimetric Agents Phencyclidine 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate

Blood Agents Absorbed into blood through breathing Colorless gases Bind with metal containing enzymes inhibiting oxidative processes in cells

Blood Agents Hydrogen Cyanide Arsine (bitter almonds) (garlic smell and explosive w/ air)

Nerve Agents Poison nervous system High toxicity levels Immediate effects Inhibits actions of acetylcholinesterase and muscular contractions

Nerve Agents Sarin Tabun Soman Soviet V-Gas VX

Nerve Agents Sarin Gas Over-stimulates muscles and vital organs Inhaled or absorbed 100mg can kill a person in a few minutes 500x toxic as cyanide Expensive, unstable, and very dangerous

Nerve Agents VX Nerve Gas Deadliest nerve agent in US arsenal Fraction of a drop absorbed through the skin is deadly Complicated and dangerous to produce 100x more deadly than sarin gas when absorbed, 2x if inhaled

“The Rock” (1996)

Nerve Agents Novichok (Soviet V-gas) Estimated to be 5x more powerful than VX “a new toxic agent ... an injury with it is practically incurable ... those who were once affected with this toxic agent have remained disabled for the rest of their lives." Lev Fedorov and Vil Mirzayanov in 1992 Hard to detect

References “Chemical Warefare,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_weapon “Chemical Weapons History,” www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Lab/4239/chemweapons/history.html “ChemFinder,” http://chemfinder.cambridgesoft.com “Statistical Summary of Herbicidal Warfare in Vietnam,” www.landscaper.net/agent2.htm Uhal, Howard T., “Soviet Chemical Warfare Agents Novichok and Substance 33: Were They Used During the Persian Gulf War?”, www.nbcdefence.net/nore/novi_1.htm “Weapons of Mass Destruction,” http://cfrterrorism.org/weapons/vx.html “WWII Gas Identification Posters,” http://nmhm.washingtondc.museum/collections/archives/agalleries/ww2/ww2.html