Wars shake our planet throughout the history of humanity. Moreover, with every century they become more bloody, and the weapons used - more sophisticated. The military is coming up with new types of weapons that should completely demoralize and destroy the enemy without affecting buildings and infrastructure. Once such an advantage was given to opponents by chemical weapons, which became a new milestone in the development of military developments of the nineteenth century. And still it is being improved, because its application minimizes the losses of the attacking side, leaving behind the poisonous cloud only a lifeless desert and mountains of dead bodies. Is it possible to defend against chemical attack? Are poisons used in the theater of war today? And what is their radius of destruction? We will answer all these questions in this article.
Weapons of mass destruction: wording
Chemical weapons are a special type of weapon based on the use of various chemicals. These include toxic substances and toxins, which are able to exert their effect on all living organisms, including plants in the radius of damage. After using such weapons, not only people die, but the earth itself. It is known that in Vietnam, in those places where the Americans used poisonous substances, nothing is still growing, and children are born with numerous mutations.
Modern scientists believe that a chemical attack can lead to a real environmental disaster that will affect every inhabitant of the planet. Therefore, many scientific communities are opposed to any development of chemical weapons designed to find new toxic substances and increase their radius of destruction.
Types of Combat Toxic Chemicals
To date, several states of toxic substances with the help of which chemical attacks are made are known:
In any form, the substances remain active and cause irreparable damage to all living things that fall into the affected area.
Signs of the use of toxic substances
Ammunition filled with toxic substances, during the explosion, releases into the air a cloud of steam or fog of yellowish or white color. It practically instantly spreads with the wind over long distances, penetrating into military equipment, shelters and houses. It’s impossible to hide from this poisonous cloud.
Sometimes a chemical attack is carried out using liquid poisonous substances - then they spill out of the plane, representing a dark band. Poisonous rain settles on the grass and trees with an oily film.
Consequences of a chemical attack
Any use of toxic substances leads to terrible consequences for all living things. Immediately after the use of chemical weapons, a lesion zone forms, which has the following characteristics:
- fatal damage to people and animals caught in the epicenter of an explosion;
- damage to living organisms that are far from the epicenter in the open;
- defeat of people and animals hiding in a shelter in a distance from the lesion;
- contamination of residential areas, economic and infrastructure facilities;
- powerful moral impact.
Of course, this is a fairly general characteristic. After all, it is possible to predict the consequences of the use of toxic substances only by knowing what type they belong to.
Classification of Toxic Substances
Scientists have developed several areas in which it is possible to classify substances used in chemical weapons:
- by toxic manifestation;
- in combat;
- by durability.
Each direction, in turn, is divided into several types. If we are talking about toxic, then substances can be classified as follows:
- nerve agents (e.g. chemical attack by sarin);
- substances of a skin-boiling effect;
- asphyxiating
- common poisonous;
- psychochemical action;
- annoying effect.
For each category there are several types of known toxic substances, which are quite easily synthesized in any chemical laboratory.
For military purposes, the following toxins can be distinguished:
- deadly;
- neutralizing the enemy for a while;
- annoying.
In terms of persistence, military chemists emit persistent and unstable substances. The former retain their characteristics for several hours or days. And the latter are able to act no more than an hour, in the future they become absolutely safe for all living things.
Chemical weapons development and first use
The first chemical attacks were carried out during the First World War. The developer of chemical weapons is the German Fritz Gaber. He was instructed to create a substance that would be able to stop the protracted war on all fronts. It is worth noting that Gaber himself opposed any military action. He believed that the creation of a poisonous substance would help to avoid more massive casualties and bring closer the end of a protracted war.
Together with his wife, Gaber invented and put into production weapons based on chlorine gas. A chemical attack was first launched on April 22, 1915. In the north-east of the Ypresky ledge, the British and French troops had been firmly holding their defenses for several months, so it was in this direction that the German command decided to use the latest weapons.
The consequences were terrible: a yellowish-green cloud blinded the eyes, blocked breathing and corroded the skin. Many soldiers fled in horror, while others could not get out of the trenches. The Germans themselves were shocked by the effectiveness of their new weapons and quickly took up the development of new toxic substances that replenished their military arsenal.
The use of chemical weapons in Syria
On April 4 of this year, the entire world community was shocked by the chemical attack in Syria. Early in the morning, the first news reports arrived that as a result of the official use of poisonous substances by the official Damascus in Idlib province, more than two hundred civilians were hospitalized.
Scary pictures of dead bodies and victims, which local doctors were still trying to save, began to be published everywhere. A chemical attack in Syria killed about seventy people. All of them were ordinary, peaceful people. Naturally, such a monstrous extermination of people could not but cause a public outcry. However, official Damascus replied that it did not conduct any military operations against civilians. As a result of the bombing, the terrorist ammunition depot was destroyed, where shells filled with poisonous substances could well be located. Russia supports this version and is ready to provide strong evidence of its words.
Syrian tragedy investigation
Photos of victims of chemical attacks are full of the Internet. Here and there, video interviews of Syrians appear, telling about the cruel Bashar al-Assad and his regime. Naturally, in connection with all the accusations thrown to official Damascus, it became necessary to conduct an independent investigation of the chemical attack.
However, it is difficult to prove their case when people do not want to see the obvious. For example, attentive Internet users noticed inconsistencies in the videos about the attack with a statement about the time of the attack. It is also unclear where the photo came from with nine dead children in a truck on the eve of the alleged attack. All this requires careful study and verification, because it is not known whether the spraying of toxic substances was deliberate, or is it still a tragic accident that claimed the lives of several dozens of innocent people.
Chemical weapons: damaging factors and protective measures
The striking factors of chemical weapons are their ability to exert an influence, regardless of their condition. In any of them, poisonous substances can destroy all living organisms. Therefore, despite the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Chemical Weapons, supported by sixty-five countries of the world, it is necessary to have an idea of protection against toxic substances.
Protecting the population from the effects of chemical weapons is possible only through comprehensive measures covering all spheres of life:
- chemical reconnaissance and detection of the use of toxic substances;
- compliance with a special regime in the affected area;
- Distribution of personal protective equipment to the population and informing on methods of their use;
- evacuation from the affected area or the distribution of the population in shelters where volatile toxic substances cannot penetrate;
- carrying out measures to cleanse the skin and the introduction of antidotes;
- providing civilians with food and water brought from outside the affected area.
All of the above activities must be carried out sequentially and observing clear regulations.
Any means of protection against toxic substances reduces the risk of infection of the population, however, the only right solution is a complete ban on the development and use of chemical weapons. These paragraphs are included in the international Convention already mentioned in our article. But the sixty-five states that signed it are not enough to finally stop the march on the planet of chemical weapons.