Chemical warfare agents hazardous properties

The physical properties of a chemical warfare agent play an important part in defining the hazard presented by that agent The physical state (gas, liquid or solid) is important in determining the conditions and manner in which an agent would be used and dispersed.The vapour pressure gives an indication of both the vapour hazard and the persistency of the agent in the field. The solubility in water (and rate of hydrolysis) affects persistency in the environment, ease of decontamination and possible threat to water supplies. The viscosity affects the persistency, ability to penetrate surfaces and ease of decontamination. The... 

XII.B HAZARDOUS PROPERTIES OF SOME CHEMICAL WARFARE AGENTS... 

The year 2014 was the centenary of the commencement of the 1914-18 war [World War I (WWI)], a conflict that resulted in more than 20 million deaths and unprecedented numbers of casualties. A notorious development of that conflict was the widespread use of chemical weapons, manufactured on an industrial scale. Since 1914 more than 700000 tonnes of chemical agents have been produced by various nations but, fortunately, since 1918 the use of chemical weapons in warfare has been the exception rather than the rule. Nevertheless, their use in conflicts in Iraq in the 1980s and more recently in Syria in 2013, particularly against unprotected civilian populations, has served as a reminder that the dangers still exist, even though a near comprehensive treaty, the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), entered into force in April 1997. This chapter provides the reader with a brief history of the development and use of chemical weapons, a summary of the physicochemical properties that determine the primary hazard posed by chemical agents and how... 

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