Chemical warfare agents

Zdeněk Pokora

Chemical warfare

ancient times

Greek flame – Kallinikos

Chemical warfare

Birth of modern chemical warfare – WW1

„classic“ CWA

Common industrial chemicals

Aerial dissemination – chlorine

Artillery shells – phosgene

Vesicant agent – yperite

1925: Geneva convention

1930s

Nerve gases: tabun, sarin

German chemist Gerhard Schrader

After WWII

US, USSR: sarin filled munitions

1950s

V-agents

1960s

Nonlethal agents

Chemical warfare

Binary compounds

Biotoxins

1982-87: Iran-Iraq war

yperite

Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo

sarin

Chemical warfare

Delivery methods

Munition fills: bombs,projectiles, warheads, spray tanks

Dissemination: explosive, aerodynamic

Delivery methods are tailored to the type of agent

Chemical warfare agents

Chemical warfare agents

Vesicants (blistering agents)

„Classic“ agents

Causes painful injuries rather than fatalities

Yperite, S-Yperite, Lewisite

Stable and persistent

Attacks skin, eyes, respiratory tract

Latent period

Wounds extremely susceptible to infection

No optimal treatment method

Full protective gear

Yperite (HD)

Molecular weight 159.08Physical state (20°C) Oily, colorless (pure) to yellowish dark-brown (munitions-grade) liquidVapor density (compared to air) 5.4-5.5 (hovers near ground, settles in depressions)Liquid density (g/cm3) at 20°C 1.262-1.2741 Boiling point (°C, 760 mm Hg) 227.8 (decomposition calculated at 216°C)Freezing point (°C) 13-14.4Vapor pressure (mm Hg at 20°C) 0.06-0.11Volatility (mg/m3 at 20°C) 610

Nerve gases

Actually liquids @ room temerature

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors

Organo-phosphorous compounds

High lethality in low doses

Discovered and developed in 1930s

Sarin, Tabun, Soman, V-agents

Chemical warfare agents

Sarin (GB)

Nonpersistent

Significantly volatile

Very toxic

Fast effects

Molecular weight 140.10Physical state (20°C) Colorless liquid giving off a colorless vaporVapor density (compared to air) 1.4.1986Liquid density (g/cc) 1.102 at 20°CBoiling point (°C, 760 mm Hg) 147-158, with decompositionMelting point (°C) -56Vapor pressure (mm Hg) 2.9 at 25°C, 2.10 at 20°CVolatility (mg/m3) 4,100 at 0°

6,091 at 20°29,800 at 30°

Riot control agents

Mucous membranes irritants

high safety rations – nonlethal

during 1960s

Possible development of incapacitating agent for „safe and humane“ warfare

Chemical warfare agents