Chemical weapons and agents

Jensen, R.A. 1991. Successful destruction of chemical weapons and agent the BZ experience. Annual Meeting and Exhibition Proceedings of the Air and Waste Management Association, 2-14. 

From 1970 through 1976, the Army destroyed chemical weapons and agents by incineration and neutralization at Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Colorado. However, the neutralization technology proved to have several drawbacks, and the Army began searching for an alternative technology. In 1979, the Army built a prototype high-temperature baseline incineration facility at Tooele, Utah. 

The fiscal year 1993 Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 102-484) required that the Department of Defense destroy the U.S. stockpile of chemical weapons and agents by December 31, 2004. Previous legislation had established earlier deadlines. In January 1993, the United States signed the United Nations-sponsored Chemical Weapons Convention, an international treaty that is intended to prohibit the production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons. 

The amount of chemical weapons and agents stored at Johnston Atoll decreases as disposal operations continue. 

The Army chose high temperature incineration as the best and safest method for destroying chemical weapons and agents. 

In addition to the agents detailed in this handbook, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) identifies in its Declaration Handbook 2002 for the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling, and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction another five agents in this class. However, there is no information available in the unclassified literature concerning the physical, chemical, or toxicological properties of these additional agents. 

Chapter 21 contains four indices to allow easy access to specific agents in this handbook. These indices are the Alphabetical Index of names, the Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) numbers index, the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) numbers index, and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) agent numbers index. These indices contain synonyms and identifying numbers for the agents in this handbook that are cross-referenced to the individual agents via the handbook number. 

According to the conclusions reached by some experts, terrorist acts apply a new strategy in the use of chemical weapons and other chemical agents, i.e. ... 

In the event of (a) the use of chemical weapons or riot control agents as a method of warfare, and/or (b) the threat of the use of chemical weapons, and/or (c) the threat of actions or activities prohibited for States Parties by Article I ... 

The growing public concern about the environment and natural resources could not have been perceived some 20 30 years ago, and this trend has placed severe restrictions on the means available for destroying chemical weapons and CW agents. ... 

Bajgar, J. (1968). Survey of chemicals for consideration as possible V agents (in Czech). Inf. Zpravodaj 9 5-17. Bajgar, J. (2006). The use of chemical weapons and negotiations on their han from historic to present time. NUCLEUS, Hradec Kralove, 180 pp. (In Czech)... 

Information available in this chapter will provide a brief overview of the history of biological and chemical weapons and their use for terrorism, briefly discuss the technical aspects characteristic of currently recognized biological and chemical threat agents, and relate the importance of ongoing and needed multidisciplinary research programs to address countermeasures to biological and chemical threats to both military and civilian elements of Western society, economic viability, and political stability. 

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