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

Medical Aspects of Chemical Warfareture and climate, persistence can also change greatlywith temperature; sulfur mustard volatility increasesnearly 40-fold between 0°C and 40°C. The threat ofrespiratory intoxication from sulfur mustard, whichis always present, is considerably greater at highertemperatures, although its persistence is reduced.Rapidity of action also factors into agent selection.Volatile agents such as cyanide and sarin can act veryswiftly, primarily via the respiratory tract. In general,nerve agent effects follow immediately after exposure,culminating in seizures and death within a few minutesof inhalation, cutaneous dosing, or both. Other agents,such as mustard, lewisite, and phosgene, act onlyafter a delay. For example, both the blistering and theedematous effects of skin exposure to sulfur mustardoccur only many hours after contact, and skin exposureto mustard may not be noticed for quite some time. Bycontrast, lewisite, which is also a vesicant, heralds itspresence by immediate pain and irritation.Choice of Agent and Delivery SystemBy selecting the appropriate agents, formulations,and delivery systems, a well-equipped military is in abetter position to achieve its tactical objectives. Fieldmanuals, such as the now-limited US Army FieldManual (FM) 3-10, Employment of Chemical Agents,discuss how chemical munitions could be usedseparately or integrated with conventional weapons.Chemical warfare agents can be used to cause casualties,harass the enemy, and hamper or restrict the useof terrain. Although an offensive capability no longerexists, FM 3-10 provides useful information on howchemical warfare agents can be used defensively onthe battlefield. 88 In his classic 1937 book, Chemicalsin War, Brigadier General Augustin M Prentiss, aCWS officer, describes the offensive tactical uses ofchemical agents that were in place following WorldWar I. 2CHEMICAL WEAPONS AGREEMENTSAlthough world terrorism has shown no signs of recession,the CWC has recently been implemented amongnations. This ban is the product of the evolution of ideasdriven by 20th-century global conflicts and imperatives.Although the idea of a global agreement to ban the useof chemical weapons actually preceded the developmentof effective chemical weapons, the rapid developmentand effective use of chemical weapons during WorldWar I created a more favorable climate for seeking alimited international agreement to restrict agent usein war: the Geneva Protocol. This protocol served as aprecursor to the much more complicated CWC treaty.Development of the Geneva ProtocolThe earliest international agreement banning chemicalweaponry was the 1675 Strasbourg Agreement betweenFrance and Germany, which prohibited the useof poisoned bullets between forces. Later, 19th-centurybattlefield carnage led to international efforts to protectcivilians and reduce the suffering of injured combatants.Initial efforts to improve medical care in the fieldin the 1860s were followed by the Brussels Conventionof 1874, which called for a ban on the use of poisonor poisoned weapons. Although never ratified, theBrussels Convention served as a model and catalyst forfuture international agreements and unilateral policiesgoverning military conduct on the field.The industrial revolution of the 19th century andtechnological innovations in weaponry combined tocreate an atmosphere of insecurity and fear resultingfrom the prewar buildup of weaponry among Europeannations. This led to the First Hague Conferenceof 1899, in which arms control measures were consideredbut never ratified. Although effective chemicalweaponry had yet to emerge, negotiations includedlanguage to curb the use of chemicals in warfare:“Three propositions were . . . adopted . . . one forbiddingthe use of projectiles the sole purpose of whichwas, on bursting, to spread asphyxiating or deleteriousgases. . . .” 89Although unsuccessful in implementing armscontrol, the Hague conferences of 1899 and 1907 establisheda permanent court of arbitration at The Hague,providing both a future venue for the potentialarbitration and peaceful resolution of internationaldisputes and an initial framework for developingmultilateral entities, such as the League of Nationsand the UN.The extensive chemical industry of World WarI Germany probably provided the impetus for therapid development of chemical arms. Germany’s capitulationled to the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, whichimposed a unilateral ban on Germany’s use, manufacture,storage, and importation of chemical agents andmunitions. However, even with fresh memories of gaswarfare and widespread public revulsion to chemicalweapons, governments were loathe to part with theirown chemical warfare capabilities for fear of havingsuch weapons used against them. 90After World War I, armament stockpiles and freshmemories of carnage led the newly formed League ofNations to convene the May 1925 Conference for theSupervision of the International Trade in Arms and136