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VetBooks.ir Chapter 5

Chemicals of Terrorism

Tina Wismer

INTRODUCTION to as many as 3000 deaths (Somani and Babu, 1989;
Balali-Mood, 2015). Iraq also used “yellow rain” (a mix-
Chemical agents may be chosen by terrorists, as they can
ture of mycotoxins, mustard gas, and nerve agents)
be dispersed over large areas and can eventually penetrate
against Iran in 1984. Approximately 100,000 unpro-
even the most well-defended positions. These agents can
tected soldiers suffered severe and long-lasting injuries.
be deployed against specific targets, and depending on the
The fatality rate was 20% (Drasch et al., 1987). Syria
agent used, the effects can be immediate or delayed.
has also been accused of manufacturing and using
Chemical agents can cause incapacitation, disorientation, chemical weapons against its own people on several
or death. Many of the more commonly used agents can be
occasions (Paton, 2017).
produced inexpensively and easily stored.
Chemical weapons have also been used by groups or
There are four basic types of military agents that can
individuals for political purposes. Aum Shinrikyo (Supreme
be used for chemical terrorism: choking agents (chlorine,
Truth), a Japanese doomsday cult, used both sarin gas and
phosgene), blister agents (mustard, Lewisite, phosgene
phosgene in the mid-1990s to bring attention to themselves
oxime), blood agents (cyanide, hydrogen cyanide) and
and their cause. They killed 18 people and injured over
nerve agents (tabun, sarin, soman, VX). Chemical warfare
6000 people in these attacks (Kaplan and Marshall, 1996;
agents can be delivered by a variety of methods: bomb,
Okumura et al., 2015). Kim Jong Nam was assassinated in
spray tanks, rockets, missiles, land mines, and artillery
a Malaysian airport in February 2017 with VX gas after it
projectiles (USACHPPM, 2001a). Few indicators of a
was wiped on his face (Berlinger, 2017).
chemical attack may be evident at first. The initial obser-
Chemical agents also have their problems as agents of
vation of unusual signs and symptoms that correlate with
terror. They are most effective in confined spaces.
nerve agents, vesicants, blood or pulmonary agents’ expo-
Chemical warfare agents dissipate quickly and degrade or
sures should raise the immediate suspicion of poisoning.
adhere to surfaces. Attacks need to be well coordinated
The history of chemical warfare dates back to the
for dispersal of the agent and escape from the area of
beginning of the last century. The first chemical warfare
deployment.
agent of modern times was chlorine. It was used by the
Both livestock and pet animals can be exposed to
German army at Ypres in 1915 against the Allies. Chlorine
chemical agents during a terrorist attack. Treatment of
with phosgene, or phosgene alone, followed soon after.
animals is secondary to treating human causalities.
Phosgene, arsenicals, blister agents, and mustard gas were
Humane euthanasia may be the only recourse due to
estimated to be responsible for approximately 1.3 million
financial or logistical concerns. For further details on epi-
casualties during the war, including at least 90,000 fatali-
demiology, toxicity, treatment, and various other aspects
ties (Raffle et al., 1994; Bingham et al., 2001; HSDB,
of chemical warfare agents, readers are referred to a
2005; Johnson et al., 2015; Bajgar et al., 2015). Chemical
recently published book, Handbook of Toxicology of
warfare agents do not need to be lethal to be disruptive.
Chemical Warfare Agents (Gupta, 2015).
Mustard gas caused severe injuries, and due to its persis-
tence, remained a hazard and barrier to troop movements.
Even though they are banned, chemical weapons are CHLORINE GAS
still being used. Phosgene was deployed by Egyptian bom-
bers against Yemeni royalist forces in the Yemeni civil Background
war in the 1980s (Evison et al., 2002). The Iraqi military
Chlorine (Agent CL, Cl 2 ) has been used as a choking or
used both mustard gas and HCN against the Kurds leading
pulmonary agent for military purposes under the name
Veterinary Toxicology. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-811410-0.00005-2
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