1. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
CHEMICAL WEAPONS

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

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

4. History
WWI
Trench warfare
Chlorine Gas
Mustard Gas
Phosgene

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

6. 1930’s and 40’s Germany develops nerve agents
Sarin
Tabun
Soman
Not used in WWII because of Geneva Protocol

7. 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

14. Psychotomimetric Agents
Phencyclidine
3-quinuclidinyl benzilate

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

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

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

18. Nerve Agents
Sarin
Tabun
Soman
Soviet V-Gas VX

19. 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

20. 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

21. “The Rock”
(1996)

22. 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

23. References
“Chemical Warefare,”
“Chemical Weapons History,”
“ChemFinder,”
“Statistical Summary of Herbicidal Warfare in Vietnam,”
Uhal, Howard T., “Soviet Chemical Warfare Agents Novichok and Substance 33: Were They Used During the Persian Gulf War?”,
“Weapons of Mass Destruction,”
“WWII Gas Identification Posters,”