ABSTRACT
Chemical weapons were used on a large scale World War I (resulting in over a million casualties and over 100,000 death). In 1995, the Japanese terrorist group, Aum Shinrikyo produced and used sarin nerve gas in an attack on the Tokyo subway system.
Chemical warfare agents are grouped according to their intended used and effects on the human body into: Nerve agents, Blister agents, Blood agents, choking agents, Incapacitating agents, Vomiting agents and Tear agents.
Mustard gas is not very difficult to make-especially given supplies of the industrial chemical thiodiglycol. Nerve gases such as sarin are related to organophosphorus pesticides.
A number of countries around the world have the capability to used chemical weapons.
There are four main cornerstones in the protection against chemical weapons, all of which are largely dependent upon each other to provide optimum effect, these four are:
1.
Physical protection: respirator protection, body protection, collective protection,
2.
Medical Protection: pre-treatment, therapy,
3.
Detection: alarm, monitoring, verification, identification, all-clear,
4.
Decontamination: individual decontamination, equipment decontamination.