Chemical weapons military purposes

Chemical Munitions. In a broad sense, any and all supplies and equipment required to conduct offensive or defensive war by means of chemical agents. This includes chemical weapons, chemical ammunition, transport and fuel, but excludes personnel and supplies and equipment for purposes other than for direct military operations. In a restricted sense, the term means chemical ordnance, which includes chemical military materiel, such as combat weapons with ammunition and equipment for their use, vehicles, repair tools and machinery (See also Chemical Ammunition)... 

The six countries to have declared chemical weapons are required to destroy some 8.5 million items, including munitions and containers. As of April 2005,167 countries had joined the OPCW. ° All declared chemical weapons production capacity had been inactivated, with two-thirds of the declared facilities either verifiably destroyed or converted for peaceful purposes. With respect to chemical weapons, the inventory of all declared stockpiles had been completed and verified, but less than one-quarter of the declared 8.5 million chemical weapon munitions had been verifiably destroyed. Of the 70,000 tonnes of declared chemical weapons agents, only about 15 per cent had been verifiably destroyed just a tiny drop of nerve agent the size of a pin head can kill an adult within minutes of exposure. Almost 5,000 industrial facilities around the world are liable for inspection the OPCW had conducted almost 2,000 inspections at 170 military and 600 industrial sites in 68 countries. 

For military purposes, a number of chemicals were tested, but only a small number are contained in military arsenals. However, according to the deflnition contained in the CWC, any toxic chemical intended for military use must be considered a chemical weapon, i.e. the aim is to limit the designation of the compound in question for use as a CW. 

Minute quantities of sulfur mustard are used by various military and contract laboratories for defense research purposes, and for verification of Chemical Weapons Convention comphance. Bulk quantities of sulfur mustard are no longer manufactured in the USA. Military stockpiles of sulfur mustard are awaiting destruction or are in the process of being destroyed. Some sulfur mustard may also be found buried or abandoned at former defense sites. Sulfur mustard was frequently loaded into artillery shells and aerial bombs (often with lewisite). Various quantities of sulfur mustard also exist in other countries. Large amounts of sulfur mustard have been disposed of at sea. 

It is evident65 that the US military is still attempting to discover new forms of chemical incapaci-tant. Moreover, some might argue that the peaceful purpose exemption of Article II.(9)(d) of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which allows for Law enforcement including domestic riot control purposes , would allow quite new law enforcement chemicals with complex physiological effects on humans to be developed - particularly as no definition is offered for what chemicals are permitted for law enforcement other than that Schedule 1 chemicals may not be used. 

AAy purpose is to present certain aspects of the present threat against the United States and its Allies which is associated with the possible use of chemical weapons in warfare. I propose to do this by summarizing in general terms the military capabilities and hazards with respect to chemical weapons now generally known to exist, then giving some glimpses of future developments in this field, and the problems that may arise. 

The term chemical warfare agents ideally would comprise all toxic chemicals that have been developed, produced, or used in a military context with the intention of utilizing its toxicity to man, animals or plants as its primary weapons characteristic. This definition excludes a considerable number of toxic chemicals used in a military environment, which serve other purposes a case in point is rocket fuel, which is highly toxic, but whose primary purpose is the propulsion of a missile. On the other hand, this definition goes beyond that used in the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) according to the CWC s Article II, para. 2 only those chemicals which through its chemical action on life processes can cause death, temporary incapacitation or permanent harm to humans or animals (emphasis added)1 count as chemical warfare agents. 

The use of poisons in warfare is recorded all through history in various cultural contexts.8 However, even by the late 19th century, when more and more chemicals were produced in quantity, including toxic chemicals, their military utilization was not immediately directed towards an exploitation of their toxicity for weapons purposes. Instead it was first ... 

One caution is that only a handful of chemical agents are included in the treaty. Tests for CWM conducted by military components will usually only include this handful, whereas many more agents have been found in World War I stockpiles or at experiment stations. For example, phosgene and arsine are used for industrial purposes and were omitted from the treaty, yet they should be sampled for at chemical weapon sites because both are present in our current arsenal. 

Chemical warfare materiel (CWM) encompasses diverse items that were used during 60 years of efforts by the United States to develop a capability for condncting chemical warfare. Non-Stockpile CWM (NSCWM) is materiel not included in the current U.S. inventory of chemical munitions and includes buried materiel, recovered materiel, components of binary chemical weapons, former production facilities, and miscellaneous materiel. NSCWM that had been buried on former military sites is increasingly being dug up as the land is developed for other purposes. Other NSCWM may be found on or near the surface at former research facilities or test and firing ranges. 

The verification provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention are not nearly as extensive as those employed by UNSCOM. The CWC inspectors will lack the access rights, the freedom of movement, and the surveillance opportunities enjoyed by UNSCOM. They will have to implement two systems of verification, involving routine and challenge inspections. Under the routine system, inspectors will be required to validate the declarations of participating states to the OPCW on topics specified in the treaty. This will include initial information on the size and composition of existing stockpiles, storage facilities, and any production facilities the actual destruction of those stockpiles and production facilities (or the conversion of the latter for purposes not prohibited under the Convention) the non-diversion of chemicals made in civilian facilities for military purposes and the operation of the single, small-scale facility pennitted to each state party for the production of Schedule 1 chemicals for research, medical, protective and other purposes. 

Soviet investment in chemical warfare expanded considerably in the post-war period. The Military Chemical Forces (VKhV) are a separate arm of the military establishment. Commanded by a three-star general (Colonel-General V. K. Pikalov), these specialist troops consist of units and subunits with responsibilities for chemical defence, radiation and chemical reconnaissance, the operation of flame throwers and smoke generators, the identification of enemy chemical weapon sites and other targets for Soviet chemical strikes, and for the decontamination and deactivation of personnel, weapons, equipment, structures and terrain exposed to radioactive and chemical agents. Apart from the employment of smoke and flame equipment, these chemical troops are trained and equipped for defensive purposes they are not responsible for the delivery of chemical munitions. ... 

Permitted purposes are defined as non-hostile purposes, that is, industrial, agricultural, research, medical, law enforcement, other peaceful or protective purposes and military purposes which are not related to the use of chemical weapons . Ibid, Annex 1, p. 3. 

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