Chemical weapons

A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or
harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), "the
term chemical weapon may also be applied to any toxic chemical or its precursor that can cause death,
injury, temporary incapacitation or sensory irritation through its chemical action. Munitions or other
delivery devices designed to deliver chemical weapons, whether filled or unfilled, are also considered
weapons themselves.

Blister Agents

Phosgene oxime, or CX, is an organic compound with the formula Cl2CNOH. It is a potent chemical
weapon, specifically a nettle agent. The compound itself is a colorless solid, but impure samples are
often yellowish liquids. It has a strong, disagreeable odor and a violently irritating vapor.

Lewisite (L) is an organoarsenic compound. It was once manufactured in the U.S., Japan, Germany[2] and
the Soviet Union[3] for use as a chemical weapon, acting as a vesicant (blister agent) and lung irritant.
Although colorless and odorless, impure samples of lewisite are a yellow, brown, violet-black, green, or
amber oily liquid with a distinctive odor that has been described as similar to geraniums.
Sulfur mustard, commonly known as mustard gas, is the prototypical substance of the sulfur-based
family of cytotoxic and vesicant chemical warfare agents known as the sulfur mustards, which can form
large blisters on exposed skin and in the lungs.[2] They have a long history of use as a blister-agent in
warfare and along with organoarsenic compounds are the most well-studied such agents. Related
chemical compounds with similar chemical structure and similar properties form a class of compounds
known collectively as sulfur mustards or mustard agents. Pure sulfur mustards are colorless, viscous
liquids at room temperature. When used in impure form, such as warfare agents, they are usually
yellow-brown and have an odor resembling mustard plants, garlic, or horseradish, hence the name. The
common name of "mustard gas" is considered inaccurate because the sulfur mustard is not actually
vaporized, but dispersed as a fine mist of liquid droplets. Sulfur mustard was originally assigned the
name LOST, after the scientists Wilhelm Lommel and Wilhelm Steinkopf, who developed a method of
large-scale production for the Imperial German Army in 1916.

Nitrogen mustards are cytotoxic chemotherapy agents derived from mustard gas.[1] Although their
common use is medicinal,[2][3] in principle these compounds can also be deployed as chemical warfare
agents.[4][5] Nitrogen mustards are nonspecific DNA alkylating agents. Nitrogen mustard gas was
stockpiled by several nations during the Second World War, but it was never used in combat.[6][7] As
with all types of mustard gas, nitrogen mustards are powerful and persistent blister agents and the main
examples (HN1, HN2, HN3, see below) are therefore classified as Schedule 1 substances within the
Chemical Weapons Convention.[8] Production and use is therefore strongly restricted.

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Nerve agents

Tabun or GA is an extremely toxic chemical substance. It is a clear, colorless, and tasteless liquid with a
faint fruity odor.[1] It is classified as a nerve agent because it fatally interferes with normal functioning of
the mammalian nervous system. Its production is strictly controlled and stockpiling outlawed by the
Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993. Tabun is the first of the G-series nerve agents along with GB
(sarin), GD (soman) and GF (cyclosarin).

Sarin (/ˈsɑːrɪn/), or NATO designation GB (G-series, "B"), is a highly toxic synthetic organophosphorus
compound.[5] A colorless, odorless liquid, it is used as a chemical weapon due to its extreme potency as
a nerve agent. Exposure is lethal even at very low concentrations, where death can occur within one to
ten minutes after direct inhalation of a lethal dose,[6][7] due to suffocation from lung muscle paralysis,
unless antidotes are quickly administered.[5] People who absorb a non-lethal dose, but do not receive
immediate medical treatment, may suffer permanent neurological damage.

Blood Agents

Cyanogen chloride is a toxic chemical compound with the formula NCCl. This linear, triatomic
pseudohalogen is an easily condensed colorless gas. More commonly encountered in the laboratory is
the related compound cyanogen bromide, a room-temperature solid that is widely used in biochemical
analysis and preparation.

Hydrogen cyanide (HCN), sometimes called prussic acid, is a chemical compound[11] with the chemical
formula HCN. It is a colorless, extremely poisonous and flammable liquid that boils slightly above room
temperature, at 25.6 °C (78.1 °F).[12] HCN is produced on an industrial scale and is a highly valuable
precursor to many chemical compounds ranging from polymers to pharmaceuticals.Hydrogen cyanide.

Choking Agents

Chloropicrin, also known as PS and nitrochloroform, is a chemical compound currently used as a broad-
spectrum antimicrobial, fungicide, herbicide, insecticide, and nematicide.[4] Its chemical structural
formula is Cl3CNO2.

Chlorine is a chemical element with symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The
second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its
properties are mostly intermediate between them. Chlorine is a yellow-green gas at room temperature.
It is an extremely reactive element and a strong oxidising agent: among the elements, it has the highest
electron affinity and the third-highest electronegativity, behind only oxygen and fluorine.