Davis, 1

Chris Davis
English 2010-26
13/10/14
Research Paper

Chemical Weapons

Chemical weapons are a truly terrifying thing in

this world; a force of raw destruction. Chemical weapons
have the potential to kill hundreds of thousands of people,
and do it without causing any damage to structure of
property. With the ability do be dispersed in many different
forms, and with a high fatality rate, chemical weapons offer
both a savage deadly threat, and tragic death tole potential.
Illustration 1: Chemical Weapons Symbol, Sudan
Tribune
Weapons that have been used in the past with great
effectiveness, and weapons that the world is quickly out growing. The real challenge being, how to
balance the threat of chemical weapons attacks on the world, with the ability to protect against such
cases, and to prevent them from happening.
The first threat to the world concerning chemical weapons is, the possibility of them being used
for military or terror based purposes. Military organization all around the world either have, or have the
ability to produce, chemical weapons. Chemical weapons are relatively easy to produce, especially with
the right kind of manufacturing power. They are cheep to produce, can be mass produced, and are very
effective. Because chemical weapons were made and stored in mass during World War II, in many

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countries there is a surplus of deadly chemicals with the ability to be weaponized. (Pike, WMD's)
There is very little chance that any military across the world will attempt to use chemical
weapons on another country. This would lead to a war that the world is not yet prepared to handle. Our
real threat is from terrorist organizations who could possibly get their hands on a chemical weapons
store and then turn the chemicals on the public. With so many chemical weapons having been produced
in the past, there are many chemical dumps, and arsenals that have been left behind, or simply forgotten
about. Because of this, there is more of a chance that someone of the wrong nature gets their hands on
chemicals that could easily have deadly potential. If these weapons did fall into the wrong hands, then
there could be very severe and deadly consequences. This has actually happened a few times across the
world. Two of the most recent and major were the attack on the subway in Japan, and the bombing of
civilians in Syria. The first major attack was by a Japanese terror cult know as the Aum Shinrikyo.
They set off two chemical weapons, one in the city of Matsumoto, and the other in a Tokyo subway.
The attack killed 19 people and injured many others. It was also an eye opener for the Japanese police
force and for the world at large. Not only were chemical weapons a real threat to the public, it was also
very likely that terror groups could acquire and use such weapons. (Seto) The second real disaster
happened in Syria, when President Bashar al-Assad had his airborne regime drop canisters of chlorine
based chemical weapons on suburban areas outside of Damascus. This resulted in many thousands
hospitalized and around 1,400 people killed. (Sherlock) Because of both of these attacks, and other
small attacks, military, government, and national groups have started to arm their peoples against other
such future attacks.
These examples give us a small taste of the potential of chemical weapons being used in the
wrong hands. If a terrorist organization managed to acquire a significant amount of chemical weapons,
they could devastate a large civilian populace with very little effort. With either air, water, or contact
based chemical dispersion methods, there is potential to kill millions of innocent people before the

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threat can even be detected. This makes the need to be able to arm ourselves against chemical threats,
and to prevent them from happening a very urgent matter.
To counteract this threat, governments across the world have united to try and counter the threat
of a major chemical weapons attack happening. There are three ways they have done this. First they
have prepared the military forces to withstand chemical attacks, and trained them how to react to and
help in case of a civilian based attack. Second, they have stopped the legal production of chemical
weapons; and third, they have started the disposal of the chemical weapons stockpiles that are currently
in existence.
Military leaders recognize the threat of chemical weapons being used in combat and civilian
situations, and have tried to prepare their forces for any and every such occasion. The military forces
are prepared against chemical weapons in many ways. Some of those ways include, small exposure to
common non lethal chemical weapons, being equipped with the proper equipment, being trained to use
that equipment, and being armed with the anti toxins for many of those chemical weapons. The military
forces are also trained on how to react to a chemical weapons attack against a civilian target. They are
taught how to prepare others for attacks, how to treat those that may be effected by the poison, and how
to prevent the spread of the poison and contamination of others. With the armed forces being prepared
in such a way, the threat of severe casualty due to a chemical weapons attack on either civilians or
troops is greatly decreased.

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The most common, and most effective way that the governments of the world are fighting the
threat of chemical weapons is by being a part of the Chemical Weapons Convention, or CWC. This is
an organization that was created to prevent the creation of any further chemical weapons after WWII
and to oversee the disarmament of the remaining chemical stockpiles. There are only six countries that
are not currently a part of the CWC, or are not fully participating in the agreement. That means that
98% of the world is living in accordance with the agreement to stop the production of chemical
weapons, and to safely destroy what chemical weapons they have left. That is an amazing achievement.

Signatory States which have not yet ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention
No.
1
2

State
Israel
Myanmar

Signature
13/01/1993
14/01/1993

States that have neither signed nor acceded to the Chemical Weapons Convention
No.
1
2
3
4

State
Angola
Egypt
North Korea
South Sudan

(OPCW)

The CWC provides strict regulation about what kind of chemical there are, and to which class
of chemicals they belong. There are three classes of Chemicals, classes 1-3. These three classification
break the chemical down into their uses in non-weapons related situations, and by they're commonality.
These classifications are:
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 100 g must be notified to the OPCW and a country can have a
stockpile of no more than one tonne of these chemicals.

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Schedule 2 Have no large-scale industrial uses, but may have legitimate small-scale uses.
Examples include dimethyl methylphosphonate, a Precursor to sarin but which is also used as a
flame retardant and Thiodiglycol which is a precursor chemical used in the manufacture of
mustard gas but is also widely used as a solvent in inks.
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. Any plant producing more
than 30 tonnes per year must be notified to, and can be inspected by, the OPCW.
(DICT)
With the safety protocol in place that the CWC has mandated, chemicals all over the world are
being produced legitimately, and without much threat of being used in chemical weapons. This also
includes the distribution and sales of chemicals. The CWC goes over all possibilities that could lead to
the creation of chemical weapons by legitimate governments and their parties.
Included in the CWC are the guidelines on the destruction of all chemical weapons. They state
that The destruction of Category 1 chemical weapons not later than two years after this Convention
enters into force for it, and shall complete the destruction not later than 10 years after entry into force
of this Convention. These guidelines are almost identical to the guidelines for chemicals of categories
2 and 3. (OPCW2) With these guidelines in action, the major countries in the world have all but
eliminated their significant chemical weapons stores at this point in time. What little there is left is
continuously being destroyed in the safest possible ways. With the destruction of these chemical
weapons stores, there is much less of a threat to the world at large for almost any kind of devastating
chemical attack. It makes it nearly impossible for chemical weapons to end up in the wrong hands, and
keeps the wrest of us safe.

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With war, and the fallacies of man, will always come the uncertainty and the threat of chemical
weapons. There will always be the chance that someone with wicked intent will find a way to arm
themselves with chemical weapons; but we can wrest at ease knowing that there are many things in
place to stop that from happening. As long as we keep preparing ourselves for anything that could
happen, we will be able to defend ourselves against such a situation. With the help of the CWC and all
the countries that are a part of that council, the world should not have to worry about the threat of
chemical war anytime in the near future. Chemical weapons are a force of great death and destruction,
but we should not fear them. They are a threat that is being neutralized day by day. Each day that we
work together as people around the world, we minimize the chances of chemical weapons becoming a
threat to civilization as a whole. We make the world safer, one little step at a time.

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ABC News, Types of Chemical Weapons, ABC News 5 October,

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Congressional Research Service, 13 September 2013,

Tucker, Jonathan B. War of Nerves: Chemical Warfare from World War I to Al-Qaeda,
New York: Pantheon Books, c2006.,

Pike, John. Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD's); Chemical Weapons. Global Security.org.
Globalsecurity.org,

7/24/11

Seto, Dr. Yasuo. The Sarin Gas Attack in Japan and the Related Forensic Investigation. 1 June 2001.
Web 21 October 2014. Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Sherlock, Ruth. Syria Chemical Weapons: the proof that Assad regime launching chlorine attacks on
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(OCPW) Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Non-Member States, Web 21 October
2014.
Dictionary.com, (DICT). Chemical Warfare. 10 October 2008. Web 21 October 2014. Dictionary.com

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OCPW2). Convention on the Prohibition of the
Development, Production, Stockpiling, and use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction.
2005. Printed and distributed by the Technical Secretariat of the Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.