Medical Aspects of Chemical Warfare (2008) - The Black Vault

Medical Aspects of Chemical WarfareIntroductionThis chapter is the third in the series of historicalinvestigations into the use of chemicals as weapons,following Chapter 2, History of Chemical Warfare,which focuses on the history of chemical warfare onthe battlefield, and Chapter 3, History of the MedicalManagement of Chemical Casualties, which describesthe organizational management of the resultantcasualties. Over the last 20 years, the nature of thechemical threat dramatically changed. This chapteroutlines the historical progression of chemicalweapon development, summarizes how conventionaland unconventional agents may be delivered in thecontexts of conventional conflict and terrorism, andaddreses the status of current chemcial warfare capabilitiesin relation to the evolution and implementaionof international chemical warfare agreements.Development of Chemical WeaponryBefore World War I, the United States knew littleabout the potential of chemical warfare, particularlyin terms of preparing soldiers for future wars. By theend of the war, the large-scale chemical warfare usedby and against American soldiers on the battlefield haddrastically changed the situation (Figure 4-1).Early HistoryFew of the chemical agents first used in combat duringWorld War I were 20th-century discoveries. Manyof the key agents (Table 4-1) were already known tochemists; they were actually discovered during the18th and 19th centuries and could have been used onearlier battlefields. The 18th-century finds includedchlorine (Cl 2), discovered by Carl Wilhelm Scheele,a Swedish chemist, in 1774. Scheele also determinedthe properties and composition of hydrogen cyanide(HCN; North American Treaty Organization [NATO]designation: AC) in 1782. In the 19th century, CharlesA Wurtz first discovered cyanogen chloride (NATOdesignation: CK), which was synthesized in 1802by a French chemist, Comte Claude-Louis Berthollet.In 1812 phosgene (NATO designation: CG) wassynthesized by a British chemist, Sir Humphry Davy.Dichlorethylsulphide (commonly known as mustardagent, H, or HS) was synthesized by Cesar-MansueteTable 4-1Early Chemical Warfare AgentsUS Army CodeAgentFig. 4-1. The German 150-mm T-Shell, which mixed xylylbromide with an explosive charge. The explosive charge wasin the front and the chemical agent in the rear compartment.This design is similar to the one proposed in 1862 by JohnDoughty during the American Civil War.Reproduced from: Army War College. German Methods ofOffense.Vol 1. In: Gas Warfare. Washington, DC: War Department;1918: 59.CyanideACHydrogen cyanideCKCyanogen chlorideLung agentsCG (phosgene) Carbonyl chlorideDP (diphosgene) Trichloromethyl chloroformateVesicantsHD (mustard) bis-2-Chloroethyl sulfideTear gasCN2-Chloro-1-phenylethanoneCS2-ChlorobenzalmalononitrileVomiting gasDM (adamsite) 10-Chloro-5,10-dihydrophenarsazine116