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{{Short description|Using poison gas or other toxins in war}}
{{Other uses|Chemical warfare (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2017}}{{multiple image
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| image1 = Demonstration_cluster_bomb.jpg
| image2 = Chemical-warfare-demonstration-RG-208-AA-158-L-025.jpg
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| image4 = 131736 MEASURING TANK FOR MUSTARD GAS AT WHAT WAS FORMERLY THE TADANOUMI BRANCH OF THE TOKYO 2ND ARMY ARSENAL.jpg
| image5 = Flanders WWI gas attack.jpg
| image6 = City attacked with tear gas 1987-05-10.png
| footer_align = center
| footer = From top, left to right {{flatlist|
* [[M134 bomblet|Sarin bomblets]] for use on the [[MGR-1 Honest John|Honest John]] rocket
* [[White phosphorus]] explosion during training at [[Edgewood Arsenal]]
* Iranian soldier wearing [[gas mask]] during the [[Iran-Iraq War]]
* Postwar disposal of [[mustard gas]] produced by Japan on [[Ōkunoshima]] during World War II
* French gas attack in Flanders, World War I
* [[Tear gas]] used in [[Incheon]] during the [[June Democratic Struggle]]
}}
}}
{{Chemical agents sidebar}}
{{Weapons of mass destruction}}
'''Chemical warfare''' ('''CW''') involves using the [[toxic properties]] of [[chemical substance]]s as [[Chemical weapon|weapons]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=étrangères |first=Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires |title=Fighting Chemical Weapons |url=https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/security-disarmament-and-non-proliferation/disarmament-and-non-proliferation/fighting-chemical-weapons/article/chemical-disarmament |access-date=2025-02-13 |website=France Diplomacy - Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=P. Lee |first=Steven |title=Weapons of Mass Destruction: Are They Morally Special? |journal=Published Online by Cambridge University Press}}</ref> This type of warfare is distinct from [[nuclear warfare]], [[biological warfare]] and [[radiological warfare]], which together make up [[CBRN defense|CBRN]], the military acronym for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (warfare or weapons), all of which are considered "[[Weapon of mass destruction|weapons of mass destruction]]" (WMDs), a term that contrasts with [[conventional weapon]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-01-18 |title=Weapons of mass destruction |url=https://diplomatie.belgium.be/en/policy/policy-areas/peace-and-security/weapons-mass-destruction |access-date=2025-02-13 |website=FPS Foreign Affairs - Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation |language=en}}</ref>
The use of chemical weapons in international armed conflicts is prohibited under [[international humanitarian law]] by the 1925 [[Geneva Protocol]] and the [[Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Current State of Customary International Law with regard to the Use of Chemical Weapons in Non-International Armed Conflicts|url=http://www.ismllw.org/REVIEW/2017-2018%20ART%20Lorenzat.php#fn8|author=Anne Lorenzat|date=2017–2018|website=The Military Law and the Law of War Review}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=A Legal "Red Line"? Syria and the Use of Chemical Weapons in Civil Conflict|url=https://www.uclalawreview.org/a-legal-red-line-syria-and-the-use-of-chemical-weapons-in-civil-conflict/|author= Jillian Blake & Aqsa Mahmud|date=October 15, 2013|website=UCLA Law Review}}</ref> The 1993 [[Chemical Weapons Convention]] prohibits signatories from acquiring, stockpiling, developing, and using chemical weapons in all circumstances except for very limited purposes (research, medical, pharmaceutical or protective).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-3&chapter=26&clang=_en |title=Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction |publisher=United Nations Treaty Collection |date=2018-01-03 |accessdate=2018-01-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Chemical weapon - WMD, Toxins, Agents {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/chemical-weapon/Weapons-of-mass-destruction |access-date=2025-02-13 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
{{TOC limit|3}}
==Definition==
Chemical warfare is different from the use of [[conventional weapon]]s or [[nuclear weapon]]s because the destructive effects of [[chemical weapon]]s are not primarily due to any [[explosive force]]. The offensive use of living [[organism]]s (such as [[anthrax disease|anthrax]]) is considered [[biological warfare]] rather than chemical warfare;<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Greaves |first=Ian |title=Biological Agents |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-045043-8.00004-0 |journal=University of Teesside and Consultant in Emergency Medicine James Cook University Hospital|date=2010 |pages=133–231 |doi=10.1016/B978-0-08-045043-8.00004-0 |isbn=978-0-08-045043-8 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> however, the use of nonliving toxic products produced by living organisms (e.g. [[toxin]]s such as [[botulinum toxin]], [[ricin]], and [[saxitoxin]]) ''is'' considered chemical warfare under the provisions of the [[Chemical Weapons Convention]] (CWC). Under this convention, any toxic chemical, regardless of its origin, is considered a chemical weapon unless it is used for purposes that are not prohibited (an important legal definition known as the [[General Purpose Criterion]]).<ref>{{cite web|title=Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction (CWC): Annexes and Original Signatories|newspaper=U.S. Department of State |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/t/avc/trty/175492.htm|publisher=Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance|access-date=January 19, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=J. DaSilva |first=Edgar |title=Biological warfare, bioterrorism, biodefence and the biological and toxin weapons convention |journal=Division of Life Sciences UNESCO, France}}</ref>
About 70 different chemicals have been used or were [[Stockpile (military)|stockpiled]] as chemical warfare agents during the 20th century. The entire class, known as [[Lethal Unitary Chemical Agents and Munitions]], has been scheduled for elimination by the CWC.<ref>[http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/op-eds/disarmament-lessons-the-chemical-weapons-convention Disarmament lessons from the Chemical Weapons Convention] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606035236/http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/op-eds/disarmament-lessons-the-chemical-weapons-convention |date=June 6, 2013 }}</ref>
Under the convention, chemicals that are toxic enough to be used as chemical weapons, or that may be used to manufacture such chemicals, are divided into three groups according to their purpose and treatment:
* [[List of Schedule 1 substances (CWC)|Schedule 1]] – Have few, if any, legitimate uses. These may only be produced or used for research, medical, pharmaceutical or protective purposes (i.e. testing of chemical weapons sensors and protective clothing). Examples include [[nerve agents]], [[ricin]], [[lewisite]] and [[mustard gas]]. Any production over {{Convert|100|g}} must be reported to the [[OPCW|Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons]] (OPCW) and a country can have a stockpile of no more than one tonne of these chemicals.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}
* [[List of Schedule 2 substances (CWC)|Schedule 2]] – Have no large-scale industrial uses, but may have legitimate small-scale uses. Examples include [[dimethyl methylphosphonate]], a [[wikt:precursor|precursor]] to [[sarin]] also used as a [[flame retardant]], and [[thiodiglycol]], a precursor chemical used in the manufacture of mustard gas but also widely used as a solvent in [[ink]]s.
* [[List of Schedule 3 substances (CWC)|Schedule 3]] – Have legitimate large-scale industrial uses. Examples include [[phosgene]] and [[chloropicrin]]. Both have been used as chemical weapons but phosgene is an important precursor in the manufacture of plastics, and chloropicrin is used as a fumigant. The OPCW must be notified of, and may inspect, any plant producing more than 30 tons per year.
Chemical weapons are divided into three categories:<ref>[https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/cwcglance The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) at a Glance]</ref>
* Category 1 – based on Schedule 1 substances
* Category 2 – based on non-Schedule 1 substances
* Category 3 – devices and equipment designed to use chemical weapons, without the substances themselves
== History ==
{{Main|History of chemical warfare}}
Simple chemical weapons were used sporadically throughout antiquity and into the [[Industrial Age]].<ref>Samir S. Patel, "Early Chemical Warfare – Dura-Europos, Syria," Archaeology, Vol. 63, No. 1, January/February 2010, http://www.archaeology.org/1001/topten/syria.html (accessed October 3, 2014)</ref> It was not until the 19th century that the modern conception of chemical warfare emerged, as various scientists and nations proposed the use of asphyxiating or poisonous gasses.[[File:Sargent,_John_Singer_(RA)_-_Gassed_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg|alt=Men walk in a line with hands on each other's backs|left|thumb|[[John Singer Sargent]]'s iconic World War I painting: [[Gassed (painting)|''Gassed'']], showing blind casualties on a battlefield after a mustard gas attack]]
[[File:Fritz_Haber.png|alt=|thumb|upright|[[Fritz Haber]] is considered the "father of chemical warfare" for his years of pioneering work developing and weaponizing chlorine and other poisonous gases during World War I.]]
Multiple international treaties were passed banning chemical weapons based upon the alarm of nations and scientists. This however did not prevent the extensive [[Chemical weapons in World War I|use of chemical weapons in World War I]]. [[Chlorine|Chlorine gas]], among other chemicals, was used by both the [[Allies of World War I|Allied]] and [[Central Powers|Central]] powers to try to break the stalemate of [[trench warfare]]. In most cases the gasses used did not kill, but instead incapacitated or caused permanent or temporary injuries. Historians have reached a wide range of estimates on gas casualties, ranging from 500k to 1.3 million casualties directly caused by chemical warfare agents during the course of the war, of which 2-4% died. A minimum of around 1300 civilians were injured due to the use of the weapons, and at least around 4000 were injured during weapon production. Gas casualties were a small fraction of the overall human impact of the war, but the horrifying effects of such weapons gave them a strong psychological impact.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Poisonous Cloud: Chemical warfare in the First World War|pages = 239–253|last1 = Haber|first1 = L. F.|year = 2002| publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780191512315 }}</ref>
The [[interwar years]] saw the occasional use of chemical weapons during the [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War]] by the Italians,<ref name="EthiopiaHistorical">{{cite encyclopedia
|editor1-last = Shinn
|editor1-first = David H
|editor2-last = Ofcansky
|editor2-first = Thomas P
| title = Chemical Weapons
| encyclopedia = Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia
| pages = 94–95
| edition = 2nd
| publisher = Scarecrow Press
| ___location = Lanham, Maryland
| date = 2013
| isbn = 978-0-8108-7194-6
| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=WU92d6sB8JAC&pg=PA94
| access-date =}}</ref> while the Japanese made use of [[chloroacetophenone]] to suppress a native rebellion in [[Taiwan under Japanese rule|Formosa]] in 1930, and later made use of [[mustard gas]], [[lewisite]], and irritant agents during the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]]. The Chinese, often lacking protective gear such as gas masks, were usually forced to retreat against CW attacks.<ref name="Furmanski">{{cite encyclopedia
|last1 = Furmanski
|first1 = Martin
|editor1-last = Croddy
|editor1-first = Eric A
|editor2-last= Wirtz
|editor2-first=James J
|editor3-last=Larsen
|editor3-first=Jeffrey A
| title = Sino-Japanese War
| encyclopedia = Weapons of Mass Destruction: An Encyclopedia of Worldwide Policy, Technology, and History
| volume = 1
| pages = 259–260
| publisher = Bloomsbury Publishing USA
| date = 2004
| isbn = 978-1-85109-495-0
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=06fOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT265
| access-date =}}</ref>
=== World War II ===
Although significant effort went into the development and stockpiling of chemical weapons in [[World War II]], they saw no battlefield use in the [[European theatre of World War II|European Theatre]]. Nazi Germany dedicated much research to the development of [[nerve agent]]s,<ref>Corum, James S., ''The Roots of Blitzkrieg'', University Press of Kansas, 1992, pp. 106–107.</ref> but never used them even during the final defense of the fatherland. It has been suggested that [[Adolf Hitler]]'s own experience with poison gas during WWI and fears that the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] would retaliate with their own chemical weapons were the main reasons. According to military historian [[Ian V. Hogg]], the Germans were reluctant to use nerve agents since they couldn't find any defense or antidote for them. They also feared that the ban on scientific journals about [[organophosphates]] in Britain meant that the Allies also discovered nerve agents. In reality, they were unaware of the [[Nerve agent#G-series|G-series]] until an ammunition dump captured in April 1945 was examined, while the ban on scientific publications was meant to prevent Axis nations from learning about advances on the development of insecticides and herbicides to boost food production;<ref >{{cite book |last1=Hogg |first1=Ian V. |author1-link=Ian V. Hogg |title=German Secret Weapons of the Second World War: The Missiles, Rockets, Weapons & New Technology of the Third Reich |date=2015 |publisher=Frontline Books |___location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire |isbn=978-1-84832-781-8 |orig-year=1999 |pages=163−164 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TMqHDQAAQBAJ}}</ref> nonetheless, the Allies made comprehensive plans for defensive and retaliatory use of chemical weapons, and stockpiled large quantities.<ref name="PandH132135">[http://libcom.org/library/churchills-plans-drench-germany-poison-gas-anthrax-robert-harris-jeremy-paxman "Paxman and Harris"], Pakistan pp. 132–135.</ref><ref name="Borchers">Callum Borchers, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/04/11/sean-spicer-someone-as-despicable-as-hitler-didnt-even-sink-to-using-chemical-weapons/ Sean Spicer takes his questionable claims to a new level in Hitler-Assad comparison], ''The Washington Post'' (April 11, 2017).</ref>
[[File:Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces in Battle of Shanghai 1937.jpg|thumb|[[Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces]] with gas masks and rubber gloves during a chemical attack near [[Zhabei District|Zhabei]] in the [[Battle of Shanghai]]]]
The [[Imperial Japanese Army]], as part of the Axis, used chemical weapons in China and [[British Burma|Burma]] until 1943. After [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt|President Roosevelt]] threatened the Japanese with retaliation in kind in 1942, they were forced to limit their usage in the [[Pacific War|Pacific Theatre]].<ref name="Furmanski" /> Chemical weapons were frequently used against both the [[Kuomintang]] and [[People's Liberation Army]] troops in China, while [[Unit 731]] carried experiments with CW agents on prisoners of war in 1940 and 1943.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tanaka |first1=Yuki |editor1-last=Ackland |editor1-first=Len |editor2-last=Myers |editor2-first=Nancy J |editor3-last=Rothstein |editor3-first=Linda |editor4-last=Grodzins |editor4-first=Ruth M |title=Poison Gas: the story Japan would like to forget |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |date=October 1988 |volume=5 |issue=8 |pages=10–19 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tAYAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA10 |access-date=2 August 2025 |publisher=Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc. |___location=Chicago, Illinois |doi=10.1080/00963402.1988.11456210 |bibcode=1988BuAtS..44h..10T |language=en |issn=0096-3402}}</ref> By 1944, the Japanese gradually ceased production of chemical munitions in favor of conventional high-explosive and incendiary shells, while keeping a large enough stockpile for retaliatory use.<ref>{{cite conference |last1=Kurata |first1=H. |editor1-last=Goldblat |editor1-first=Jozef |editor2-last=Lohs |editor2-first=Karlheinz |editor3-last=Robinson |editor3-first=Julian Perry |editor4-last=Kjellstrand |editor4-first=Arne |editor5-last=Kumar |editor5-first=Rajesh |editor6-last=Lundin |editor6-first=Johan |editor7-last=Nemec |editor7-first=Theodor |title=Lessons learned from the destruction of the chemical weapons of the Japanese Imperial Forces |book-title=Chemical Weapons: Destruction and Conversion [SIPRI: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute]|date=2021 |orig-year=1980 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-85066-199-6 |pages=81–82 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jGQPEAAAQBAJ}}</ref>
However, Nazi Germany extensively used poison gas against civilians, particularly Jews, in [[the Holocaust]]. Vast quantities of [[Zyklon B]] and [[carbon monoxide]] gas were used in the [[Extermination camp#Gassings|systematic extermination]] of some three million victims. This remains the deadliest use of poison gas in history.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Holocaust Encyclopedia|url=http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005144|title=Nazi Camps|publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|access-date=19 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/NonJewishVictims.html|title=The Holocaust: Non-Jewish Victims|last=Schwartz|first=Terese Pencak|publisher=Jewish Virtual Library|access-date=19 April 2020}}</ref><ref name="Coffey">Patrick Coffey, ''American Arsenal: A Century of Weapon Technology and Strategy'' (Oxford University Press, 2014), pp. 152–154.</ref><ref name="Wirtz">James J. Wirtz, "Weapons of Mass Destruction" in ''Contemporary Security Studies'' (4th ed.), ed. Alan Collins, ''Contemporary Security Studies'' (Oxford University Press, 2016), p. 302.</ref>
=== Post-War ===
Small amounts of chemical agents were employed by Egyptian forces during the [[North Yemen civil war]] between 1963 and 1967, resulting hundreds of casualties. In one of the largest chemical attacks, the United States dropped over 90,000 tons of chemical agents, mostly [[Rainbow Herbicides]] but tear gas as well during the [[Vietnam War]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Miettinen |first1=J. K. |editor1-last=Rabinowitch |editor1-first=Eugene |editor2-last=Jr |editor2-first=Samuel H. Day |editor3-last=Cullen |editor3-first=Susan |title=The Chemical Arsenal |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |date=September 1974 |volume=30 |issue=7 |pages=37–43 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TAsAAAAAMBAJ&dq=german+chemical+weapons+ww2&pg=PA38 |access-date=3 August 2025 |publisher=Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc. |___location=Chicago, Illinois |doi=10.1080/00963402.1974.11458140 |bibcode=1974BuAtS..30g..37M |language=en |issn=0096-3402}}</ref>
During the [[Iran–Iraq War]], some 100,000 Iranian troops were casualties of Iraqi chemical weapons.<ref>{{citation|last=Fassihi|first=Farnaz|title=In Iran, grim reminders of Saddam's arsenal|date=October 27, 2002|url=http://www.nj.com/specialprojects/index.ssf?/specialprojects/mideaststories/me1209.html|journal=New Jersey Star Ledger|access-date=January 28, 2005|archive-date=December 13, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213061050/http://www.nj.com/specialprojects/index.ssf?%2Fspecialprojects%2Fmideaststories%2Fme1209.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{citation|author=Paul Hughes|title=It's like a knife stabbing into me|date=January 21, 2003|url=http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=39470|work=The Star (South Africa)}}</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Sciolino|first=Elaine|title=Iraq Chemical Arms Condemned, but West Once Looked the Other Way|date=February 13, 2003|url=http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0213-05.htm|journal=[[The New York Times]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527105217/http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0213-05.htm|archive-date=May 27, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Iraq also used mustard gas and nerve agents against the Kurdish population killing more than 5,000 people and injuring many in the 1988 [[Halabja chemical attack]].<ref name="BBCHalabja">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/16/newsid_4304000/4304853.stm On this day: 1988: Thousands die in Halabja gas attack], BBC News (March 16, 1988).</ref>
The [[Cuban intervention in Angola]] saw limited use of organophosphates.<ref name="Angola">{{cite book|title=Bush War: The Road to Cuito Cuanavale: Soviet Soldiers' Accounts of the Angolan War|publisher=Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd|year=2011|isbn=978-1-4314-0185-7|editor1=Tokarev, Andrei|___location=Auckland Park|pages=128–130|editor2=Shubin, Gennady}}</ref>
[[Chemical terrorism|Terrorist groups have also used chemical weapons]], notably in the [[Tokyo subway sarin attack]] and the [[Matsumoto incident]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/06/japan-executes-sarin-gas-attack-cult-leader-shoko-asahara-and-six-members-reports|title=Japan executes sarin gas attack cult leader Shoko Asahara and six members|work=The Guardian|access-date=18 July 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622032307/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/06/japan-executes-sarin-gas-attack-cult-leader-shoko-asahara-and-six-members-reports|archive-date=22 June 2019}}</ref><ref>Seto, Yasuo. "[https://www.opcw.org/news/article/the-sarin-gas-attack-in-japan-and-the-related-forensic-investigation/ The Sarin Gas Attack in Japan and the Related Forensic Investigation.]" The Sarin Gas Attack in Japan and the Related Forensic Investigation. Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, June 1, 2001. Web. February 24, 2017.</ref>
=== 21st Century ===
The [[Ba'athist Syria|Ba'athist regime]] in Syria has used [[sarin]], chlorine, and mustard gas in numerous deadly chemical attacks against civilian populations in the [[Syrian civil war]].<ref>{{cite web |title=CDC {{!}} Facts About Sarin |url=http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/sarin/basics/facts.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030414181911/http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/sarin/basics/facts.asp |archive-date=April 14, 2003 |access-date=October 7, 2015 |website=www.bt.cdc.gov}}</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/25/world/middleeast/syria-used-chlorine-in-bombs-against-civilians-report-says.html Syria Used Chlorine in Bombs Against Civilians, Report Says], ''The New York Times'', Rick Gladstone, August 24, 2016 retrieved August 25, 2016.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Detels, Abdool Karim, Baum, Li, H. Leyland |first1=Roger, Quarraisha, Fran, Liming, Alastair |title=Oxford Textbook of Global Public Health, Volume 3 |last2=S. Levy |first2=Barry |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-0-19-887168-2 |editor-first= |edition=7th |___location=Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, United Kingdom |pages=396 |chapter=Collective violence: war}}</ref>
During the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]], Russia has been reported to deploy [[CS gas]] through K-51 grenades dropped by [[Unmanned aerial vehicle|unmanned drones]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-27 |title=Military: 465 documented cases of Russia using chemical weapons in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022 |url=https://kyivindependent.com/military-465-documented-cases-of-russia-using-chemical-weapons-in-ukraine-since-feb-24-2022/ |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=The Kyiv Independent |language=en}}</ref> On 13 December 2024, the [[Armed Forces of Ukraine|Ukrainian military]] stated that over 4,800 incidents involving chemical weapons against Ukrainian forces have been recorded since the war began, which resulted in over 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers having been hospitalized, and 3 deaths. The use of gas was often hidden by heavy Russian "intense artillery, rocket, and bomb attacks”, forcing Ukrainian soldiers out of their positions. They saw less use of chemical gas in cold weather, as it reduced the effectiveness of the K-51 gas grenades.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Martina Sapio |date=2024-12-14 |title=Over 2,000 Ukrainian military personnel hospitalized for chemical poisoning since start of full-scale war, Ukrainian colonel says |url=https://kyivindependent.com/2-000-servicemen-poisoned-3-dead-from-russian-chemical-weapons-since-start-of-war-ukrainian-colonel-says/ |access-date=2024-12-15 |website=The Kyiv Independent |language=en}}</ref> A recent [[United States and the Russian invasion of Ukraine|US aid package to Ukraine]] included "nuclear, chemical and radiological protective equipment".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-13|title= U.S. boosts Ukraine's defense needs with new arms package |url= https://english.nv.ua/nation/washington-s-72nd-aid-package-includes-critical-weapons-for-ukraine-s-defense-50473918.html |access-date=2024-12-15|website=The New Voice of Ukraine|language=en}}</ref>
==Technology==
{{See also|Chemical weapon}}
{| style="margin:0 0 1em 1em; border:1px solid #aaa; background:#edf3fe; text-align:center; font-size:90%; margin:auto;" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0"
|+'''Chemical warfare technology timeline'''
|- style="background:#ccf; border-top:1px solid #aaa;"
! style="border-right:1px solid #aaa; border-bottom:2px solid #aaa;" |Year
! style="border-right:1px solid #aaa; border-bottom:2px solid #aaa;" | '''''Agents'''''
! style="border-right:1px solid #aaa; border-bottom:2px solid #aaa;" | '''''Dissemination'''''
! style="border-right:1px solid #aaa; border-bottom:2px solid #aaa;" | '''''Protection'''''
! style="border-right:1px solid #aaaaa; border-bottom:2px solid #aaa;" | '''''Detection'''''
|-
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| '''1914'''
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| [[Chlorine]]<br />[[Chloropicrin]]<br />[[Phosgene]]<br />[[Sulfur mustard]]
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| Wind dispersal
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| Gas masks, urine-soaked gauze
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| Smell
|- style="background:#DCDFFE"
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| '''1918'''
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| [[Lewisite]]
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| Chemical shells
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| Gas mask<br />Rosin oil clothing
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| Smell of geraniums
|-
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| '''1920s'''
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"|
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| Projectiles with central bursters
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| CC-2 clothing
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"|
|- style="background:#DCDFFE"
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| '''1930s'''
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| [[Nerve agent#G-series|G-series nerve agents]]
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| Aircraft bombs
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"|
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| Blister agent detectors<br />Color change paper
|-
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| '''1940s'''
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"|
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| Missile warheads<br />Spray tanks
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| Protective ointment (mustard)<br />Collective protection<br />Gas mask w/ whetlerite
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"|
|- style="background:#DCDFFE"
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| '''1950s'''
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"|
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"|
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"|
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"|
|-
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| '''1960s'''
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| [[Tammelin's esters|V-series nerve agents]]
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| Aerodynamic
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| Gas mask w/ water supply
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| Nerve gas alarm
|- style="background:#DCDFFE"
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| '''1970s'''
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"|
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"|
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"|
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"|
|-
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| '''1980s'''
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"|
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| Binary munitions
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| Improved gas masks<br />(protection, fit, comfort)
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| Laser detection
|- style="background:#DCDFFE"
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| '''1990s'''
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"| [[Novichok agent|Novichok nerve agents]]
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"|
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"|
| style="border-right:1px solid #aaa;"|
|}
[[File:Chemical agent protection.jpg|thumb|A [[Swedish Army]] soldier wearing a chemical agent [[protective suit]] (''C-vätskeskydd'') and [[gas mask|protection mask]] (''skyddsmask 90'')]]
Although crude chemical warfare has been employed in many parts of the world for thousands of years,<ref>{{Citation|last=Syed|first=Tanya|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7837826.stm|title=Ancient Persians 'gassed Romans'|publisher=BBC|date=January 19, 2009|access-date=February 21, 2009}}</ref> "modern" chemical warfare began during World War I – see [[Chemical weapons in World War I]].
Initially, only well-known commercially available chemicals and their variants were used. These included chlorine and phosgene gas. The methods used to disperse these agents during battle were relatively unrefined and inefficient. Even so, casualties could be heavy, due to the mainly static troop positions which were characteristic features of [[trench warfare]].
Germany, the first side to employ chemical warfare on the battlefield,<ref>{{citation
|url=http://net.lib.byu.edu/~rdh7/wwi/1915/chlorgas.html
|title=The Use of Poison Gas
|date=April 22, 1915
|first=Will |last=Irwin
|journal=New York Tribune}}</ref> simply opened canisters of chlorine upwind of the opposing side and let the [[prevailing winds]] do the dissemination. Soon after, the French modified [[artillery]] [[munition]]s to contain phosgene – a much more effective method that became the principal means of delivery.<ref>{{citation
|first=Jeffrey Allan |last=Johnson
|title=The Kaiser's Chemists: Science and Modernization in Imperial Germany
|publisher=University of North Carolina Press
|year=1990}}</ref>
Since the development of modern chemical warfare in World War I, nations have pursued [[research and development]] on chemical weapons that falls into four major categories: new and more deadly agents; more efficient methods of delivering agents to the target (dissemination); more reliable means of defense against chemical weapons; and more sensitive and accurate means of detecting chemical agents.
===Chemical warfare agents===
{{See also|List of chemical warfare agents}}
The chemical used in warfare is called a ''chemical warfare agent'' (''CWA''). About 70 different chemicals have been used or stockpiled as chemical warfare agents during the 20th and 21st centuries. These agents may be in liquid, gas or solid form. Liquid agents that evaporate quickly are said to be ''volatile'' or have a ''high [[vapor pressure]]''. Many chemical agents are [[volatile organic compounds]] so they can be dispersed over a large region quickly.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}<ref>{{Cite book|title=Gas Info|chapter=9.4 Effusion and Diffusion of Gases|chapter-url=https://opentextbc.ca/chemistry/chapter/9-4-effusion-and-diffusion-of-gases/|url-status=dead|website=BCcampus|year=2016|publisher=OpenStax|access-date=March 12, 2021|archive-date=December 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204121104/https://opentextbc.ca/chemistry/chapter/9-4-effusion-and-diffusion-of-gases/}}</ref>
The earliest target of chemical warfare agent research was not toxicity, but development of agents that can affect a target through the skin and clothing, rendering protective [[WWI gas mask|gas mask]]s useless. In July 1917, the Germans employed [[sulfur mustard]]. Mustard agents easily penetrate leather and fabric to inflict painful burns on the skin.
Chemical warfare agents are divided into ''lethal'' and ''incapacitating'' categories. A substance is classified as incapacitating if less than 1/100 of the [[lethal dose]] causes incapacitation, e.g., through nausea or visual problems. The distinction between lethal and incapacitating substances is not fixed, but relies on a statistical average called the {{LD50}}.
====Persistency====
Chemical warfare agents can be classified according to their ''persistency'', a measure of the length of time that a chemical agent remains effective after dissemination. Chemical agents are classified as ''persistent'' or ''nonpersistent''.
Agents classified as ''nonpersistent'' lose effectiveness after only a few minutes or hours or even only a few seconds. Purely gaseous agents such as chlorine are nonpersistent, as are highly volatile agents such as sarin. Tactically, nonpersistent agents are very useful against targets that are to be taken over and controlled very quickly.
Apart from the agent used, the delivery mode is very important. To achieve a nonpersistent deployment, the agent is dispersed into very small droplets comparable with the mist produced by an aerosol can. In this form not only the gaseous part of the agent (around 50%) but also the fine aerosol can be inhaled or absorbed through pores in the skin.
Modern doctrine requires very high concentrations almost instantly in order to be effective (one breath should contain a lethal dose of the agent). To achieve this, the primary weapons used would be rocket artillery or bombs and large ballistic missiles with cluster warheads. The contamination in the target area is only low or not existent and after four hours sarin or similar agents are not detectable anymore.
By contrast, ''persistent'' agents tend to remain in the environment for as long as several weeks, complicating decontamination. Defense against persistent agents requires shielding for extended periods of time. Nonvolatile liquid agents, such as [[blister agent]]s and the oily [[VX (nerve agent)|VX]] nerve agent, do not easily evaporate into a gas, and therefore present primarily a contact hazard.
The droplet size used for persistent delivery goes up to 1 mm increasing the falling speed and therefore about 80% of the deployed agent reaches the ground, resulting in heavy contamination. Deployment of persistent agents is intended to constrain enemy operations by denying access to contaminated areas.
Possible targets include enemy flank positions (averting possible counterattacks), artillery regiments, command posts or supply lines. Because it is not necessary to deliver large quantities of the agent in a short period of time, a wide variety of weapons systems can be used.
A special form of persistent agents are thickened agents. These comprise a common agent mixed with thickeners to provide gelatinous, sticky agents. Primary targets for this kind of use include airfields, due to the increased persistency and difficulty of decontaminating affected areas.
====Classes====
Chemical weapons are agents that come in four categories: [[Pulmonary agent|choking]], [[Vesicant|blister]], [[Blood agent|blood]] and [[Nerve agent|nerve]].<ref>Gray, Colin. (2007). ''Another Bloody Century: Future Warfare''. p. 269. Phoenix. {{ISBN|0-304-36734-6}}.</ref> The agents are organized into several categories according to the manner in which they affect the human body. The names and number of categories varies slightly from source to source, but in general, types of chemical warfare agents are as follows:
{{Chemical warfare/CW table}}
There are other chemicals used militarily that are not scheduled by the CWC, and thus are not controlled under the CWC treaties. These include:
* [[Defoliant]]s and [[herbicide]]s that destroy vegetation, but are not immediately toxic or poisonous to human beings. Their use is classified as [[herbicidal warfare]]. Some batches of [[Agent Orange]], for instance, used by the British during the [[Malayan Emergency]] and the United States during the [[Vietnam War]], contained [[Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins|dioxins]] as manufacturing impurities. [[Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds|Dioxins]], rather than Agent Orange itself, have long-term cancer effects and for causing genetic damage leading to serious [[birth defects]].
* [[Incendiary device|Incendiary]] or [[Explosive material|explosive]] chemicals (such as [[napalm]], extensively used by the United States during the [[Korean War]] and the Vietnam War, or [[dynamite]]) because their destructive effects are primarily due to fire or explosive force, and not direct chemical action. Their use is classified as [[conventional warfare]].
* [[Virus]]es, [[bacteria]], or other organisms. Their use is classified as [[biological warfare]]. [[Toxin]]s produced by living organisms are considered chemical weapons, although the boundary is blurry. Toxins are covered by the [[Biological Weapons Convention]].
====Designations====
{{Further |chemical weapon designation}}
Most chemical weapons are assigned a one- to three-letter "[[NATO]] weapon designation" in addition to, or in place of, a common name. [[Binary chemical weapon|Binary munitions]], in which precursors for chemical warfare agents are automatically mixed in shell to produce the agent just prior to its use, are indicated by a "-2" following the agent's designation (for example, GB-2 and VX-2).
Some examples are given below:
{| style="margin:0 0 1em 1em; border:1px solid #aaa; background:#edf3fe;" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="
|-
! style="background:#ccf; border:1px solid #aaa; padding:0 5px;"| '''''Blood agents:'''''
! style="background:#ccf; border:1px solid #aaa; padding:0 5px;"| '''''Vesicants:'''''
|-
| style="border:1px solid #aaa;"|
* [[Cyanogen chloride]]: CK
* [[Hydrogen cyanide]]: AC
| style="border:1px solid #aaa;"|
* [[Lewisite]]: L
* [[
|-
! style="background:#ccf; border:1px solid #aaa; padding:0 5px;"| '''''Pulmonary agents:'''''
! style="background:#ccf; border:1px solid #aaa; padding:0 5px;"| '''''Incapacitating agents:'''''
|-
| style="border:1px solid #aaa;"|
* [[Phosgene]]: CG
| style="border:1px solid #aaa;"|
* [[
|-
! style="background:#ccf; border:1px solid #aaa; padding:0 5px;"| '''''Lachrymatory agents:'''''
! style="background:#ccf; border:1px solid #aaa; padding:0 5px;"| '''''Nerve agents:'''''
|-
| style="border:1px solid #aaa;"|
* [[Pepper spray]]: OC
* [[Tear gas]]: CN, CS, CR
| style="border:1px solid #aaa;"|
* [[Sarin]]: GB
* [[VE (nerve agent)|VE]], [[VG (nerve agent)|VG]], [[VM (nerve agent)|VM]], [[VX (nerve agent)|VX]]
|}
===Delivery===
The most important factor in the effectiveness of chemical weapons is the efficiency of its delivery, or dissemination, to a target. The most common techniques include munitions (such as bombs, projectiles, warheads) that allow dissemination at a distance and spray tanks which disseminate from low-flying aircraft. Developments in the techniques of filling and storage of munitions have also been important.
Although there have been many advances in chemical weapon delivery since World War I, it is still difficult to achieve effective dispersion. The dissemination is highly dependent on atmospheric conditions because many chemical agents act in gaseous form. Thus, weather observations and forecasting are essential to optimize weapon delivery and reduce the risk of injuring friendly forces.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chemical Attack Fact Sheet {{!}} Homeland Security |url=https://www.dhs.gov/publication/chemical-attack-fact-sheet |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=www.dhs.gov |language=en}}</ref>
====Dispersion====
[[File:Poison gas attack.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Dispersion of [[chlorine]] in [[World War I]]]]
Dispersion is placing the chemical agent upon or adjacent to a target immediately before dissemination, so that the material is most efficiently used. Dispersion is the simplest technique of delivering an agent to its target. The most common techniques are munitions, bombs, projectiles, spray tanks and warheads.
World War I saw the earliest implementation of this technique. The actual first chemical ammunition was the French 26 mm cartouche suffocante [[rifle grenade]], fired from a [[flare gun|flare carbine]]. It contained {{cvt|35|g|oz}} of the [[lachrymatory agent|tear-producer]] [[ethyl bromoacetate]], and was used in autumn 1914 – with little effect on the Germans.
The [[Military history of Germany|German military]] contrarily tried to increase the effect of {{cvt|10.5|cm|in}} [[shrapnel shell]]s by adding an irritant – [[dianisidine chlorosulfonate]]. Its use against the British at [[Battle of Neuve Chapelle|Neuve Chapelle]] in October 1914 went unnoticed by them. Hans Tappen, a chemist in the Heavy Artillery Department of the War Ministry, suggested to his brother, the Chief of the Operations Branch at German General Headquarters, the use of the tear-gases [[benzyl bromide]] or [[xylyl bromide]].
Shells were tested successfully at the Wahn artillery range near Cologne on January 9, 1915, and an order was placed for {{cvt|15|cm|in}} [[howitzer]] shells, designated 'T-shells' after Tappen. A shortage of shells limited the first use against the Russians at the [[Battle of Bolimów]] on January 31, 1915; the liquid failed to vaporize in the cold weather, and again the experiment went unnoticed by the Allies.
The first effective use were when the German forces at the [[Second Battle of Ypres]] simply opened cylinders of chlorine and allowed the wind to carry the gas across enemy lines. While simple, this technique had numerous disadvantages. Moving large numbers of heavy gas cylinders to the front-line positions from where the gas would be released was a lengthy and difficult logistical task.
[[File:Poison Gas Attack Germany and Russia 1916.JPG|thumb|Aerial photograph of a German gas attack on [[Russia]]n forces {{Circa|1916}}]]
Stockpiles of cylinders had to be stored at the front line, posing a great risk if hit by artillery shells. Gas delivery depended greatly on wind speed and direction. If the wind was fickle, as at the [[Battle of Loos]], the gas could blow back, causing [[friendly fire|friendly casualties]].
Gas clouds gave plenty of warning, allowing the enemy time to protect themselves, though many soldiers found the sight of a creeping gas cloud unnerving. This made the gas doubly effective, as, in addition to damaging the enemy physically, it also had a psychological effect on the intended victims.
Another disadvantage was that gas clouds had limited penetration, capable only of affecting the front-line trenches before dissipating. Although it produced limited results in World War I, this technique shows how simple chemical weapon dissemination ''can'' be.
Shortly after this "open canister" dissemination, French forces developed a technique for delivery of phosgene in a non-explosive artillery shell. This technique overcame many of the risks of dealing with gas in cylinders. First, gas shells were independent of the wind and increased the effective range of gas, making any target within reach of guns vulnerable. Second, gas shells could be delivered without warning, especially the clear, nearly odorless phosgene{{em dash}}there are numerous accounts of gas shells, landing with a "plop" rather than exploding, being initially dismissed as dud high explosive or shrapnel shells, giving the gas time to work before the soldiers were alerted and took precautions.
The major drawback of artillery delivery was the difficulty of achieving a killing concentration. Each shell had a small gas payload and an area would have to be subjected to [[saturation bombardment]] to produce a cloud to match cylinder delivery. A British solution to the problem was the [[Livens Projector]]. This was effectively a large-bore mortar, dug into the ground that used the gas cylinders themselves as projectiles – firing a {{cvt|14|kg|lb}} cylinder up to {{cvt|1500|m|ft|sigfig=1}}. This combined the gas volume of cylinders with the range of artillery.
Over the years, there were some refinements in this technique. In the 1950s and early 1960s, chemical artillery rockets and cluster bombs contained a multitude of submunitions, so that a large number of small clouds of the chemical agent would form directly on the target.
====Thermal dissemination====
[[File:Mc-1 gas bomb.png|thumb|An American-made [[MC-1]] gas bomb]]
Thermal dissemination is the use of explosives or [[pyrotechnic]]s to deliver chemical agents. This technique, developed in the 1920s, was a major improvement over earlier dispersal techniques, in that it allowed significant quantities of an agent to be disseminated over a considerable distance. Thermal dissemination remains the principal method of disseminating chemical agents today.
Most thermal dissemination devices consist of a bomb or projectile shell that contains a chemical agent and a central "burster" charge; when the burster detonates, the agent is expelled laterally.
Thermal dissemination devices, though common, are not particularly efficient. First, a percentage of the agent is lost by incineration in the initial blast and by being forced onto the ground. Second, the sizes of the particles vary greatly because explosive dissemination produces a mixture of liquid droplets of variable and difficult to control sizes.
The efficacy of thermal detonation is greatly limited by the flammability of some agents. For flammable aerosols, the cloud is sometimes totally or partially ignited by the disseminating explosion in a phenomenon called ''flashing''. Explosively disseminated VX will ignite roughly one third of the time. Despite a great deal of study, flashing is still not fully understood, and a solution to the problem would be a major technological advance.
Despite the limitations of central bursters, most nations use this method in the early stages of chemical weapon development, in part because standard munitions can be adapted to carry the agents.
[[File:Soviet chemical weapons canisters from a stockpile in Albania.jpg|thumb|left|Soviet chemical weapons canisters from a stockpile in Albania]]
====Aerodynamic dissemination====
Aerodynamic dissemination is the non-explosive delivery of a chemical agent from an aircraft, allowing aerodynamic stress to disseminate the agent. This technique is the most recent major development in chemical agent dissemination, originating in the mid-1960s.
This technique eliminates many of the limitations of thermal dissemination by eliminating the flashing effect and theoretically allowing precise control of particle size. In actuality, the altitude of dissemination, wind direction and velocity, and the direction and velocity of the aircraft greatly influence particle size. There are other drawbacks as well; ideal deployment requires precise knowledge of [[aerodynamics]] and [[fluid dynamics]], and because the agent must usually be dispersed within the [[boundary layer]] (less than {{cvt|200|-|300|ft|disp=or|m|order=flip|sigfig=1}} above the ground), it puts pilots at risk.
Significant research is still being applied toward this technique. For example, by modifying the properties of the liquid, its breakup when subjected to aerodynamic stress can be controlled and an idealized particle distribution achieved, even at [[supersonic speed]]. Additionally, advances in [[fluid dynamics]], [[computer model]]ing, and [[weather forecasting]] allow an ideal direction, speed, and altitude to be calculated, such that warfare agent of a predetermined particle size can predictably and reliably hit a target.
===Protection against chemical warfare===
[[File:Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - "Yanshuf" Battalion Soldiers at ABC Warfare Exercise, Nov 2010.jpg|thumb|Israel Defense Forces "Yanshuf" battalion soldiers at chemical warfare defense exercise]]
Ideal protection begins with nonproliferation treaties such as the CWC, and detecting, very early, the ''signatures'' of someone building a chemical weapons capability. These include a wide range of intelligence disciplines, such as economic analysis of exports of [[dual-use]] chemicals and equipment, human intelligence ([[HUMINT]]) such as diplomatic, refugee, and agent reports; photography from satellites, aircraft and drones ([[IMINT]]); examination of captured equipment ([[TECHINT]]); communications intercepts ([[COMINT]]); and detection of chemical manufacturing and chemical agents themselves ([[Materials MASINT#Chemical Warfare and Improvised Chemical Devices|MASINT]]).
If all the preventive measures fail and there is a clear and present danger, then there is a need for detection of chemical attacks,<ref name=Davis2006>{{citation
|author=Griffin Davis
|title=CBRNE – Chemical Detection Equipment
|journal=[[EMedicine]]
|date=May 24, 2006
|url=http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/TOPIC924.HTM
|access-date=October 22, 2007}}</ref>
collective protection,<ref name=FM3-11-4>{{citation
|author=US Department of Defense
|title=Multiservice Tactics, Techniques, and Procedure for NBC Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) Protection (FM 3-11.4 / MCWP 3-37.2 / NTTP 3-11.27 / AFTTP(I) 3-2.46)
|date=June 2, 2003
|url=https://irp.fas.org/doddir/army/fm3-11-4.pdf
|id=FM 3-11.4
|access-date=October 22, 2007
|publisher=Federation of American Scientists|author-link=US Department of Defense
}}</ref><ref name=CDC-MMWR-2002-09-12>{{citation
|author=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
|title=Protecting Building Environments from Airborne Chemical, Biologic, or Radiologic Attacks
|date=September 12, 2002
|url=http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/441190
|access-date=October 22, 2007|author-link=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
}}</ref><ref name=FM3-11-34>{{citation
|author=US Department of Defense
|title=Multiservice Tactics, Techniques, and Procedure for NBC Defense of Theater Fixed Sites, Ports, and Airfields (FM 3-11.34/MCRP 3-37.5/NWP 3-11.23/AFTTP(I) 3-2.33)
|date=September 29, 2000
|url=https://www.bits.de/NRANEU/others/amd-us-archive/fm3-11.34%2800%29.pdf
|access-date=October 22, 2007
|publisher=Berlin Information-center for Transatlantic Security}}</ref> and decontamination. Since industrial accidents can cause dangerous chemical releases (e.g., the [[Bhopal disaster]]), these activities are things that civilian, as well as military, organizations must be prepared to carry out. In civilian situations in [[Developed country|developed countries]], these are duties of [[HAZMAT]] organizations, which most commonly are part of fire departments.
Detection has been referred to above, as a technical MASINT discipline; specific military procedures, which are usually the model for civilian procedures, depend on the equipment, expertise, and personnel available. When chemical agents are detected, an alarm needs to sound, with specific warnings over emergency broadcasts and the like. There may be a warning to expect an attack.
If, for example, the captain of a [[United States Navy|US Navy]] ship believes there is a serious threat of chemical, biological, or radiological attack, the crew may be ordered to set Circle William, which means closing all openings to outside air, running breathing air through filters, and possibly starting a system that continually washes down the exterior surfaces. Civilian authorities dealing with an attack or a toxic chemical accident will invoke the [[Incident Command System]], or local equivalent, to coordinate defensive measures.<ref name=FM3-11-34 />
Individual protection starts with a [[conflict gas mask|gas mask]] and, depending on the nature of the threat, through various levels of protective clothing up to a complete chemical-resistant suit with a self-contained air supply. The US military defines various levels of [[MOPP (protective gear)|MOPP]] (mission-oriented protective posture) from mask to full chemical resistant suits; [[Hazmat suit]]s are the civilian equivalent, but go farther to include a fully independent air supply, rather than the filters of a gas mask.
Collective protection allows continued functioning of groups of people in buildings or shelters, the latter which may be fixed, mobile, or improvised. With ordinary buildings, this may be as basic as plastic sheeting and tape, although if the protection needs to be continued for any appreciable length of time, there will need to be an air supply, typically an enhanced gas mask.<ref name=CDC-MMWR-2002-09-12 /><ref name=FM3-11-34 />
[[File:Members of the Ukrainian Army’s 19th CBRN-Battalion maintaining decontamination skills in Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom at Camp Arifjan, in KUWAIT on August 3rd 2003.jpg|thumb|Members of the Ukrainian Army's 19th Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Battalion practice decontamination drill, at [[Camp Arifjan]], [[Kuwait]]|left]]
====Decontamination====
{{Pollution sidebar|War}}
Decontamination varies with the particular chemical agent used. Some ''nonpersistent'' agents, including most pulmonary agents (chlorine, phosgene, and so on), [[blood gases]], and nonpersistent nerve gases (e.g., [[sarin|GB]]), will dissipate from open areas, although powerful exhaust fans may be needed to clear out buildings where they have accumulated.
In some cases, it might be necessary to neutralize them chemically, as with [[ammonia]] as a neutralizer for hydrogen cyanide or chlorine. Riot control agents such as [[CS gas|CS]] will dissipate in an open area, but things contaminated with CS powder need to be aired out, washed by people wearing protective gear, or safely discarded.
[[Mass decontamination]] is a less common requirement for people than equipment, since people may be immediately affected and treatment is the action required. It is a requirement when people have been contaminated with persistent agents. Treatment and decontamination may need to be simultaneous, with the medical personnel protecting themselves so they can function.<ref name=Ciottone2007>{{citation
|first1 = Gregory R | last1 = Ciottone | first2 = Jeffrey L | last2 = Arnold
|title=CBRNE – Chemical Warfare Agents
|journal=EMedicine
|url=http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/TOPIC852.HTM
|date=January 4, 2007
|access-date=October 22, 2007}}</ref>
There may need to be immediate intervention to prevent death, such as injection of [[atropine]] for nerve agents. Decontamination is especially important for people contaminated with persistent agents; many of the fatalities after the [[Air Raid on Bari|explosion of a WWII US ammunition ship carrying sulfur mustard]], in the harbor of Bari, Italy, after a German bombing on December 2, 1943, came when rescue workers, not knowing of the contamination, bundled cold, wet seamen in tight-fitting blankets.
For decontaminating equipment and buildings exposed to persistent agents, such as blister agents, VX or other agents made persistent by mixing with a thickener, special equipment and materials might be needed. Some type of neutralizing agent will be needed; e.g. in the form of a spraying device with neutralizing agents such as Chlorine, Fichlor, strong alkaline solutions or enzymes. In other cases, a specific chemical decontaminant will be required.<ref name=FM3-11-34 />
==Sociopolitical climate==
There are many instances of the use of chemical weapons in battles documented in Greek and Roman historical texts; the earliest example was the deliberate poisoning of Kirrha's water supply with [[hellebore]] in the [[First Sacred War]], Greece, about 590 BC.<ref>Adrienne Mayor, "Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs: Biological and Chemical Warfare in the Ancient World" Overlook-Duckworth, 2003, rev ed with new Introduction 2008</ref>
One of the earliest reactions to the use of chemical agents was from [[Military history of the Roman Empire|Rome]]. Struggling to defend themselves from the [[Roman legion]]s, [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] tribes poisoned the wells of their enemies, with Roman jurists having been recorded as declaring "armis bella non venenis geri", meaning "war is fought with [[weapon]]s, not with [[poison]]s." Yet the Romans themselves resorted to poisoning wells of besieged cities in Anatolia in the 2nd century BC.<ref name="Mayor 2003">Mayor 2003</ref>
Before 1915 the use of poisonous chemicals in battle was typically the result of local initiative, and not the result of an active government chemical weapons program. There are many reports of the isolated use of chemical agents in individual battles or [[siege]]s, but there was no true tradition of their use outside of [[incendiary device|incendiaries]] and smoke. Despite this tendency, there have been several attempts to initiate large-scale implementation of poison gas in several wars, but with the notable exception of World War I, the responsible authorities generally rejected the proposals for ethical reasons or fears of retaliation.
For example, in 1854 [[Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair|Lyon Playfair]] (later 1st Baron Playfair, GCB, PC, FRS (1818–1898), a [[United Kingdom|British]] chemist, proposed using a [[cacodyl cyanide]]-filled [[artillery]] shell against enemy ships during the [[Crimean War]]. The British Ordnance Department rejected the proposal as "as bad a mode of warfare as poisoning the wells of the enemy."
===Efforts to eradicate chemical weapons===
{{See also|List of chemical arms control agreements}}
{{CW Proliferation}}
* August 27, 1874: The [[Brussels Declaration]] Concerning the Laws and Customs of War is signed, specifically forbidding the "employment of poison or poisoned weapons", although the treaty was not adopted by any nation whatsoever and it never went into effect.
* September 4, 1900: The [[Hague Convention of 1899|First Hague Convention]], which includes a declaration banning the "use of projectiles the object of which is the diffusion of asphyxiating or deleterious gases," enters into force.
* January 26, 1910: The [[Hague Convention of 1907|Second Hague Convention]] enters into force, prohibiting the use of "poison or poisoned weapons" in warfare.
* February 6, 1922: After World War I, the [[Washington Arms Conference Treaty]] prohibited the use of asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases. It was signed by the United States, Britain, Japan, France, and Italy, but France objected to other provisions in the treaty and it never went into effect.
* February 8, 1928: The [[Geneva Protocol]] enters into force, prohibiting the use of "asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and of all analogous liquids, materials or devices" and "bacteriological methods of warfare".
===Chemical weapon proliferation===
{{Main|Chemical weapon proliferation}}
Despite numerous efforts to reduce or eliminate them, some nations continue to research and/or stockpile chemical warfare agents.
In 1997, future [[Vice President of the United States|US Vice President]] [[Dick Cheney]] opposed the signing ratification of a treaty banning the use of chemical weapons, a recently unearthed letter shows. In a letter dated April 8, 1997, then [[Halliburton]]-CEO Cheney told Sen. [[Jesse Helms]], the chairman of the [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]], that it would be a mistake for America to join the convention. "Those nations most likely to comply with the [[Chemical Weapons Convention]] are not likely to ever constitute a military threat to the United States. The governments we should be concerned about are likely to cheat on the CWC, even if they do participate," reads the letter,<ref>{{Citation|url=https://fas.org/cw/cwc_archive/cheneyletter_4-8-97.pdf |title=In Surprise Testimony Cheney Renews Opposition to CWC |publisher=United States Senate |date=April 8, 1997 |access-date=January 4, 2009 |postscript=. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217171905/https://fas.org/cw/cwc_archive/cheneyletter_4-8-97.pdf |archive-date=December 17, 2008 }}</ref> published by the [[Federation of American Scientists]].
The CWC was ratified by the Senate that same month. In the following years, Albania, Libya, Russia, the United States, and India declared over 71,000 metric tons of chemical weapon stockpiles, and destroyed a third of them. Under the terms of the agreement, the United States and Russia agreed to eliminate the rest of their supplies of chemical weapons by 2012, but ended up taking far longer to do so as shown in the previous and following section of this article.
===India===
In June 1997, India declared that it had a stockpile of 1044 tons of sulphur mustard in its possession. India's declaration of its stockpile came after its entry into the [[Chemical Weapons Convention]], that created the [[Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons]], and on January 14, 1993, India became one of the original signatories to the [[Chemical Weapons Convention]]. By 2005, from among six nations that had declared their possession of chemical weapons, India was the only country to meet its deadline for chemical weapons destruction and for inspection of its facilities by the [[Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-3987660.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106050759/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-3987660.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 6, 2012|title=India declares its stock of chemical weapons|access-date=February 26, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/world/2007/12/30/26543/India-to-destroy-chemical-weapons-stockpile-by-2009 |title=India to destroy chemical weapons stockpile by 2009 |publisher=DominicanToday.com |access-date=September 16, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130907155755/http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/world/2007/12/30/26543/India-to-destroy-chemical-weapons-stockpile-by-2009 |archive-date=September 7, 2013 }}</ref> By 2006, India had destroyed more than 75 percent of its chemical weapons and material stockpile and was granted an extension to complete a 100 percent destruction of its stocks by April 2009. On May 14, 2009, India informed the [[United Nations]] that it has completely destroyed its stockpile of chemical weapons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/india-destroys-its-chemical-weapons-stockpile_531700.html |title=India destroys its chemical weapons stockpile |publisher=[[Indo-Asian News Service]]|date=May 14, 2009}}</ref>
===Iraq===
{{See also|Iraqi chemical warfare}}
The Director-General of the [[Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons]], Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, welcomed Iraq's decision to join the OPCW as a significant step to strengthening global and regional efforts to prevent the spread and use of chemical weapons. The OPCW announced "The government of Iraq has deposited its instrument of accession to the Chemical Weapons Convention with the Secretary General of the United Nations and within 30 days, on 12 February 2009, will become the 186th State Party to the Convention". Iraq has also declared stockpiles of chemical weapons, and because of their recent accession is the only State Party exempted from the destruction time-line.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opcw.org/news/article/iraq-joins-the-chemical-weapons-convention |title=Iraq Joins the Chemical Weapons Convention |publisher=Opcw.org |access-date=September 16, 2011}}</ref>
===Japan===
During the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] (1937–1945) Japan stored chemical weapons on the territory of [[mainland China]]. The weapon stock mostly containing sulfur mustard-lewisite mixture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nti.org/db/china/acwpos.htm |title=Abandoned Chemical Weapons (ACW) in China |publisher=Nti.org |access-date=September 16, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110829051632/http://www.nti.org/db/china/acwpos.htm |archive-date=August 29, 2011 }}</ref> The weapons are classified as abandoned chemical weapons under the [[Chemical Weapons Convention]], and from September 2010 Japan has started their destruction in Nanjing using mobile destruction facilities in order to do so.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opcw.org/news/article/ceremony-marks-start-of-destruction-of-chemical-weapons-abandoned-by-japan-in-china/ |title=Ceremony Marks Start of Destruction of Chemical Weapons Abandoned by Japan in China |publisher=Opcw.org |access-date=September 16, 2011}}</ref>
===Russia===
Russia signed into the [[Chemical Weapons Convention]] on January 13, 1993, and ratified it on November 5, 1995. Declaring an arsenal of 39,967 tons of chemical weapons in 1997, by far the largest arsenal, consisting of blister agents: [[Lewisite]], [[Sulfur mustard]], Lewisite-mustard mix, and nerve agents: [[Sarin]], [[Soman]], and [[VX (nerve agent)|VX]]. Russia met its treaty obligations by destroying 1 percent of its chemical agents by the 2002 deadline set out by the Chemical Weapons Convention, but requested an extension on the deadlines of 2004 and 2007 due to technical, financial, and environmental challenges of chemical disposal. Since, Russia has received help from other countries such as Canada which donated C$100,000, plus a further C$100,000 already donated, to the Russian Chemical Weapons Destruction Program. This money will be used to complete work at Shchuch'ye and support the construction of a chemical weapons destruction facility at Kizner (Russia), where the destruction of nearly 5,700 tons of nerve agent, stored in approximately 2 million artillery shells and munitions, will be undertaken. Canadian funds are also being used for the operation of a Green Cross Public Outreach Office, to keep the civilian population informed on the progress made in chemical weapons destruction activities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.opcw.org/news/article/canada-contributes-to-russiarsquos-chemical-weapons-destruction-programme/ |title=Canada Contributes to Russia's Chemical Weapons Destruction Programme |publisher=Opcw.org |access-date=September 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426233831/http://www.opcw.org/news/article/canada-contributes-to-russiarsquos-chemical-weapons-destruction-programme/ |archive-date=April 26, 2012 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
As of July 2011, Russia has destroyed 48 percent (18,241 tons) of its stockpile at destruction facilities located in Gorny (Saratov Oblast) and Kambarka (Udmurt Republic) – where operations have finished – and Schuch'ye (Kurgan Oblast), Maradykovsky (Kirov Oblast), Leonidovka (Penza Oblast) whilst installations are under construction in Pochep (Bryansk Oblast) and Kizner (Udmurt Republic).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/russia/chemical/index.html/ |title=Research Library: Country Profiles: China Chemical |publisher=NTI |access-date=September 16, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605083958/http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Russia/Chemical/index.html |archive-date=June 5, 2011 }}</ref> As August 2013, 76 percent (30,500 tons) were destroyed,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rbth.ru/news/2013/08/22/russia_destroys_over_76_percent_of_its_chemical_weapons_stockpile_29136.html|title=Russia destroys over 76 percent of its chemical weapons stockpile|date=August 23, 2013|access-date=August 29, 2013|archive-date=August 25, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825081556/https://rbth.ru/news/2013/08/22/russia_destroys_over_76_percent_of_its_chemical_weapons_stockpile_29136.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Russia leaves the [[Cooperative Threat Reduction]] (CTR) Program, which partially funded chemical weapons destruction.<ref>{{cite web|last=Guarino |first=Douglas P. |url=https://www.nti.org/gsn/article/new-us-russian-security-deal-greatly-scales-back-scope-experts-say/|title=New U.S.-Russian Security Deal Greatly Scales Back Scope, Experts Say|work=Global Security Newswire|publisher=Nuclear Threat Initiative|date=June 18, 2013}}</ref>
In September 2017, OPCW announced that Russia had destroyed its entire chemical weapons stockpile.<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.opcw.org/media-centre/news/2017/09/opcw-director-general-commends-major-milestone-russia-completes|title=OPCW Director-General Commends Major Milestone as Russia Completes Destruction of Chemical Weapons Stockpile under OPCW Verification|publisher=Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons}}</ref>
===United States===
{{See also|United States and weapons of mass destruction#Chemical weapons}}
On November 25, 1969, President [[Richard Nixon]] [[Statement on Chemical and Biological Defense Policies and Programs|unilaterally renounced the offensive use of biological and toxic weapons]], but the U.S. continued to maintain an offensive chemical weapons program.<ref name=CaseStudy1>Jonathan B. Tucker & Erin R. Mahan, [https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Portals/68/Documents/casestudies/CSWMD_CaseStudy-1.pdf Case Study 1: President Nixon's Decision to Renounce the U.S. Offensive Biological Weapons Program], Case Studies Series, Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction, National Defense University (October 2009).</ref>
From May 1964 to the early 1970s the U.S. participated in [[Operation CHASE]], a [[United States Department of Defense]] program that aimed to dispose of chemical weapons by sinking ships laden with the weapons in the deep Atlantic. After the [[Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972]], Operation Chase was scrapped and safer disposal methods for chemical weapons were researched, with the U.S. destroying several thousand tons of sulfur mustard by incineration at the [[Rocky Mountain Arsenal]], and nearly 4,200 tons of nerve agent by chemical neutralisation at [[Tooele Army Depot]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/co/rkymtnarsenal/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120731143602/http://www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/co/rkymtnarsenal/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 31, 2012 |title=Rocky Mountain Arsenal | Region 8 | US EPA |publisher=Epa.gov |access-date=September 16, 2011}}</ref>
The U.S. began stockpile reductions in the 1980s with the removal of outdated munitions and destroying its entire stock of [[3-Quinuclidinyl benzilate]] (BZ or Agent 15) at the beginning of 1988. In June 1990 the [[Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System]] began destruction of chemical agents stored on the [[Johnston Atoll]] in the Pacific, seven years before the Chemical Weapons Treaty came into effect. In 1986 President Ronald Reagan made an agreement with [[Chancellor of Germany|German Chancellor]] [[Helmut Kohl]] to remove the U.S. stockpile of chemical weapons from Germany. In 1990, as part of [[Operation Steel Box]], two ships were loaded with over 100,000 shells containing [[Sarin]] and [[VX (nerve agent)|VX]] were taken from the U.S. Army weapons storage depots such as Miesau and then-classified FSTS (Forward Storage / Transportation Sites) and transported from Bremerhaven, Germany to Johnston Atoll in the Pacific, a 46-day nonstop journey.<ref>The Oceans and Environmental Security: Shared U.S. and Russian Perspectives.</ref>
In the 1980s, Congress, at the urging of the [[Reagan administration]], provided funding for the manufacture of [[binary chemical weapon]]s (sarin artillery shells) from 1987 until 1990, but this was halted after the U.S. and the [[Soviet Union]] entered into a [[1990 Chemical Weapons Accord|bilateral agreement in June 1990]].<ref name=CaseStudy1/> In the 1990 agreement, the U.S. and Soviet Union agreed to begin destroying their chemical weapons stockpiles before 1993 and to reduce them to no more than 5,000 agent tons each by the end of 2002. The agreement also provided for exchanges of data and inspections of sites to verify destruction.<ref name=Glass>Andrew Glass, [https://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/01/deal-reached-curbing-chemical-weapons-june-1-1990-238946 Deal reached curbing chemical weapons, June 1, 1990], ''Politico'' (June 1, 2017).</ref> Following the [[collapse of the Soviet Union]], the U.S.'s [[Nunn–Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction]] program helped eliminate some of the chemical, biological and nuclear stockpiles of the [[former Soviet Union]].<ref name=Glass/>
The [[United Nations]] [[Conference on Disarmament]] in [[Geneva]] in 1980 led to the development of the [[Chemical Weapons Convention]] (CWC), a [[multilateral treaty]] that prohibited the development, production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons, and required the elimination of existing stockpiles.<ref name=Tucker>Jonathan B. Tucker, [https://wmdcenter.ndu.edu/Portals/97/Documents/Publications/Case%20Studies/CSWMD-Case-Study-4.pdf Case Study 4, U.S. Ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention], ''Case Studies Series'', Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction, [[National Defense University (Washington, D.C.)|National Defense University]] (December 2011).</ref> The treaty expressly prohibited state parties from making [[Reservation (law)|reservations]] (unilateral caveats).<ref name=Tucker/> During the Reagan administration and the George H. W. Bush administration, the U.S. participated in the negotiations toward the CWC.<ref name=Tucker/> The CWC was concluded on September 3, 1992, and opened for signature on January 13, 1993. The U.S. became one of 87 original state parties to the CWC.<ref name=Tucker/> President [[Bill Clinton]] submitted it to the [[U.S. Senate]] for ratification on November 23, 1993. Ratification was blocked in the Senate for years, largely as a result of opposition from Senator [[Jesse Helms]], the chairman of the [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]].<ref name=Tucker/> On April 24, 1997, the Senate gave its consent to ratification of the CWC by a 74–26 vote (satisfying the required two-thirds majority). The U.S. deposited its instrument of ratification at the United Nations on April 25, 1997, a few days before the CWC entered into force. The U.S. ratification allowed the U.S. to participate in the [[Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons]], the organization based in [[The Hague]] that oversees implementation of the CWC.<ref name=Tucker/>
Upon U.S. ratification of the CWC, the U.S. declared a total of 29,918 tons of chemical weapons, and committed to destroying all of the U.S.'s chemical weapons and bulk agent.<ref name=LeGrone>Owen LeGrone, [https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2019-07/news/us-begins-final-cw-destruction U.S. Begins Final CW Destruction], ''Arms Controls Today'', Arms Control Association (July/August 2019).</ref> The U.S. was one of eight states to declare a stockpile of chemical weapons and to commit to their safe elimination.<ref name=ProgressUpdate>[https://www.armscontrol.org/events/2021-09/us-chemical-weapons-stockpile-elimination-progress-update US Chemical Weapons Stockpile Elimination: Progress Update], Arms Control Association (September 23, 2021).</ref> The U.S. committed in the CWC to destroy its entire chemical arsenal within 10 years of the entry into force (''i.e.'', by April 29, 2007),<ref name=LeGrone/> However, at a 2012 conference,<ref name=CDCCWElimination>[https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/demil/history.htm History of U.S. Chemical Weapons Elimination], Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (January 6, 2014).</ref> the parties to the CWC parties agreed to extend the U.S. deadline to 2023.<ref name=LeGrone/><ref name=CDCCWElimination/> By 2012, stockpiles had been eliminated at seven of the U.S.'s nine chemical weapons depots and 89.75% of the 1997 stockpile was destroyed.<ref name="Complete">[http://www.cma.army.mil/fndocumentviewer.aspx?DocID=003683880 Army Agency Completes Mission to Destroy Chemical Weapons] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915082045/http://www.cma.army.mil/fndocumentviewer.aspx?DocID=003683880 |date=September 15, 2012 }}, USCMA, January 21, 2012</ref> The depots were the [[Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility]], [[Anniston Chemical Activity|Anniston Chemical Disposal Facility]], [[Johnston Atoll]], [[Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility]], [[Pine Bluff Chemical Activity|Pine Bluff Chemical Disposal Facility]], [[Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility|Tooele Chemical Disposal Facility]], [[Umatilla Chemical Depot|Umatilla Chemical Disposal Facility]],<ref name=CDCCWElimination/> and [[Deseret Chemical Depot]].<ref name="Complete"/> The U.S. closed each site after the completion of stockpile destruction.<ref name=CDCCWElimination/> In 2019, the U.S. began to eliminate its chemical-weapon stockpile at the last of the nine U.S. chemical weapons storage facilities: the [[Blue Grass Army Depot]] in Kentucky.<ref name=LeGrone/> By May 2021, the U.S. destroyed all of its Category 2 and Category 3 chemical weapons and 96.52% of its Category 1 chemical weapons.<ref name=ProgressUpdate/> The U.S. is scheduled to complete the elimination of all its chemical weapons by the September 2023 deadline.<ref name=LeGrone/> In July 2023 OPCW confirmed the last chemical munition of the U.S., and that the last chemical weapon from the stockpiles declared by all States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention was verified as destroyed.<ref>{{cite web |title=OPCW confirms: All declared chemical weapons stockpiles verified as irreversibly destroyed |url=https://www.opcw.org/media-centre/news/2023/07/opcw-confirms-all-declared-chemical-weapons-stockpiles-verified |publisher=OPCW |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref>
The U.S. has maintained a "[[Strategic ambiguity|calculated ambiguity]]" policy that warns potential adversaries that a chemical or biological attack against the U.S. or its allies will prompt a "overwhelming and devastating" response. The policy deliberately leaves open the question of whether the U.S. would respond to a chemical attempt with [[nuclear weapon|nuclear]] [[Massive retaliation|retaliation]].<ref name=Conley>{{cite journal |author=Harry W. Conley |url=http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/apj/apj03/spr03/conley.html |title=Not with Impunity: Assessing US Policy for Retaliating to a Chemical or Biological Attack |journal=Air & Space Power Journal |date=Spring 2003 |volume=17 |issue=1 |publisher=Air University Press |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203201729/http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/apj/apj03/spr03/conley.html |archive-date=3 December 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Commentators have noted that this policy gives policymakers more flexibility, at the possible cost of decreased strategic unpreparedness.<ref name=Conley/>
==Anti-agriculture==
===Herbicidal warfare===
{{See also|Herbicidal warfare}}
[[File:A vietnamese Professor is pictured with a group of handicapped children.jpg|thumb|Disabled children in [[Vietnam]], most of them impacted by [[Agent Orange]], 2004]]
Although herbicidal warfare use [[chemical substance]]s, its main purpose is to disrupt agricultural food production and/or to destroy plants which provide cover or concealment to the enemy.
The use of [[herbicide]]s by the [[United States Armed Forces|U.S. military]] during the [[Vietnam War]] has left tangible, long-term [[Effects of Agent Orange on the Vietnamese people|impacts upon the Vietnamese people]] and U.S. veterans of the war.<ref>{{cite news |title=The legacy of Agent Orange |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4494347.stm |work=BBC News |date=29 April 2005}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/12/us/agent-oranges-long-legacy-for-vietnam-and-veterans.html|title=Agent Orange's Long Legacy, for Vietnam and Veterans|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 11, 2014|last1=Haberman|first1=Clyde}}</ref> The government of Vietnam says that around 24% of the forests of Southern Vietnam were defoliated and up to four million people in Vietnam were exposed to Agent Orange. They state that as many as three million people have developed illness because of Agent Orange while the Red Cross of Vietnam estimates that up to one million people were disabled or have health problems associated with Agent Orange. The United States government has described these figures as unreliable.<ref name="The Washington Post">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/14/AR2007061401077_4.html |last=Stocking |first=Ben |title=Agent Orange Still Haunts Vietnam, US|date=2007-06-14 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=2017-03-29 |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170330083914/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/14/AR2007061401077_4.html |archive-date=2017-03-30|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Jessica King">{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/10/world/asia/vietnam-us-agent-orange/ |title=U.S. in first effort to clean up Agent Orange in Vietnam |first=Jessica |last=King |date=2012-08-10 |access-date=2012-08-11 |work=[[CNN]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303060725/http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/10/world/asia/vietnam-us-agent-orange |archive-date=2013-03-03 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=War and Shadows: The Haunting of Vietnam|last=Gustafson|first=Mai L.|publisher=Cornell University Press|year=1978|___location=Ithaca and London|pages=125}}</ref>
During the war, the U.S. fought the North Vietnamese and their allies in [[Laotian Civil War|Laos]] and [[Cambodian Civil War|Cambodia]], dropping large quantities of Agent Orange in each of those countries. According on one estimate, the U.S. dropped {{convert|475,500|USgal|L}} of Agent Orange in Laos and {{convert|40,900|USgal|L}} in Cambodia.<ref>Nature, 17 Apr. 2003, [http://stellman.com/jms/Stellman1537.pdf "The extent and patterns of usage of Agent Orange and other herbicides in Vietnam"], Vol. 422, p. 681</ref><ref name="theatlantic.com">The Atlantic, 20 Jul. 2019, [https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/07/agent-orange-cambodia-laos-vietnam/591412/ "The U.S.'s Toxic Agent Orange Legacy: Washington Has Admitted to the Long-Lasting Effects of Dioxin Use in Vietnam, But Has Largely Sidestepped the Issue in Neighboring Cambodia and Laos"]</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Agent Orange's Legacy |date=March 20, 2004 |publisher=The Cambodia Daily |url=http://www.cambodiadaily.com/archives/agent-oranges-legacy-884/ |access-date=May 5, 2014 |archive-date=May 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505104932/http://www.cambodiadaily.com/archives/agent-oranges-legacy-884/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Because Laos and Cambodia were officially neutral during the Vietnam War, the U.S. attempted to keep secret its military involvement in these countries. The U.S. has stated that Agent Orange was not widely used and therefore hasn't offered assistance to affected Cambodians or Laotians, and limits benefits American veterans and CIA personnel who were stationed there.<ref name="theatlantic.com"/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/10/world/asia/us-moves-to-address-agent-orange-contamination-in-vietnam.html |title=4 Decades on, U.S. Starts Cleanup of Agent Orange in Vietnam|access-date=May 5, 2014 | ___location=New York |work=The New York Times |date=August 9, 2012}}</ref>
===Anti-livestock===
During the [[Mau Mau Uprising]] in 1952, the poisonous [[latex]] of the [[Euphorbia grantii|African milk bush]] was used to kill cattle.<ref name="Biological warfare">{{cite book | last1=Verdcourt | first1=B. | last2=Trump | first2=E.C. | title=Common Poisonous Plants of East Africa | publisher=Collins | year=1969 | isbn=978-0-00-211120-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SWY_AAAAYAAJ | access-date=2024-07-03 | page=254 }}</ref>
==See also==
<!-- Please list in alphabetical order -->
* [[1990 Chemical Weapons
* [[
* [[
* [[Chemical weapon designation]]
* [[Chemical weapons and the United Kingdom]]
* [[Gas chamber]]
* [[List of CBRN warfare forces]]
* [[List of chemical warfare agents]]
* [[List of highly toxic gases]]
* [[List of psychoactive drugs used by militaries]]
* [[Ronald Maddison]]
* [[Psychochemical weapon]]
* [[Saint Julien Memorial]]
* [[Sardasht, West Azerbaijan#1987 attacks on Sardasht with chemical weapons|Sardasht, West Azerbaijan]], a town attacked with chemical weapons during the Iran–Iraq War
* [[Stink bomb]]
* [[United States Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense]]
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
==References==
<!-- Reference style as per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Cite_sources -->
* CBWInfo.com (2001).
* Chomsky, Noam (March 4, 2001). ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20050103232821/http://www.countercurrents.org/chomsky1.htm Prospects for Peace in the Middle East]'', page 2. Lecture.
* Cordette, Jessica, MPH(c) (2003). [https://web.archive.org/web/20050416035052/http://www.want2race.net/hper/Chemical_Weapons_of_Mass_Destruction.ppt Chemical Weapons of Mass Destruction]. Retrieved November 29, 2004.
* {{Citation |author=Croddy, Eric |title=Chemical and Biological Warfare |publisher=Copernicus |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-387-95076-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/chemicalbiologic00crod }}
* Smart, Jeffery K., M.A. (1997). [https://web.archive.org/web/20041015013158/http://usuhs.mil/cbw/history.htm History of Biological and Chemical Warfare]. Retrieved November 24, 2004.
* United States Senate, [[103rd United States Congress|103d Congress]], 2d Session. (May 25, 1994). [https://web.archive.org/web/20120706121855/http://www.gulfweb.org/bigdoc/report/riegle1.html The Riegle Report]. Retrieved November 6, 2004.
* Gerard J Fitzgerald. American Journal of Public Health. Washington: Apr 2008. Vol. 98, Iss. 4; p. 611
* {{cite book|title=Годы Войны|year=1976|author=Гречко, А.А.|publisher=Военное Издательство Министерства Оборонны СССР.Москва}}
==Further reading==
* Leo P. Brophy and George J. B. Fisher; ''The Chemical Warfare Service: Organizing for War'' [[Office of the Chief of Military History]], 1959; L. P. Brophy, W. D. Miles and C. C. Cochrane, ''The Chemical Warfare Service: From Laboratory to Field'' (1959); and B. E. Kleber and D. Birdsell, ''The Chemical Warfare Service in Combat'' (1966). official US history;
* Glenn Cross, ''Dirty War: Rhodesia and Chemical Biological Warfare, 1975–1980'', Helion & Company, 2017
* Gordon M. Burck and Charles C. Flowerree; ''International Handbook on Chemical Weapons Proliferation'' 1991
* L. F. Haber. ''The Poisonous Cloud: Chemical Warfare in the First World War'' Oxford University Press: 1986
* James W. Hammond Jr; ''Poison Gas: The Myths Versus Reality'' Greenwood Press, 1999
* Jiri Janata, [http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-anchem-060908-155242 Role of Analytical Chemistry in Defense Strategies Against Chemical and Biological Attack], ''Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry,'' 2009
* Ishmael Jones, ''The Human Factor: Inside the CIA's Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture'', Encounter Books, New York 2008, revised 2010, {{ISBN|978-1-59403-382-7}}. WMD espionage.
* Benoit Morel and Kyle Olson; ''Shadows and Substance: The Chemical Weapons Convention'' Westview Press, 1993
* Adrienne Mayor, "Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs: Biological and Chemical Warfare in the Ancient World" Overlook-Duckworth, 2003, rev ed with new Introduction 2008
* Geoff Plunkett, ''[http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Chemical-Warfare-Australia-Geoff-Plunkett/9780987427908 Chemical Warfare in Australia: Australia's Involvement In Chemical Warfare 1914 – Today, (2nd Edition), 2013.]''. Leech Cup Books. A volume in the Army Military History Series published in association with the Army History Unit.
* [[Jonathan B. Tucker]]. ''Chemical Warfare from World War I to Al-Qaeda'' (2006)
==External links==
{{Commons category|Chemical warfare}}
* [http://www.opcw.org/ Official website] of the [[Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons]] (OPCW)
* [https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule74 Rule 74. The use of chemical weapons is prohibited.] – section on chemical weapons from ''Customary IHL Database'', an "updated version of the Study on customary [[international humanitarian law]] conducted by the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]] (ICRC) and originally published by [[Cambridge University Press]]."
* [http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/chemicalwarfare.html Chemical Warfare information page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113223023/http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/chemicalwarfare.html |date=November 13, 2012 }}, from the Disaster Information Management Research Center of the [[U.S. Department of Health and Human Services]] including links to relevant sources in the [[U.S. National Library of Medicine]]
{{Doomsday}}
{{Pollution}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chemical Warfare}}
[[Category:Chemical warfare| ]]
[[Category:Warfare by type]]
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