Nonlethal agents

The Geneva Protocol of 1925 prohibited the first use of chemicals for wartime use. Since 1928, an international treaty has banned the use of chemical weapons but not their development and production. A multilateral treaty, the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), would require the destruction of chemical weapons and the means to produce them. The United States signed the convention in 1993 but has not ratified it as of July 1996. Earlier, the United States signed bilateral agreements with Russia aimed at destroying both countries chemical weapon stockpiles. 

Monitoring implementation of the convention will be an international agency, the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. A predecessor organization, the Preparatory Commission, is working to facilitate the entry into force of the convention and to establish the permanent agency. 

Under the first U.S.-Russian bilateral agreement, signed in 1989, the two countries are to exchange data on chemical weapon stockpiles and facilities and verify the data. The second agreement (the Bilateral Destruction Agreement-BDA), signed in 1990, calls for the destruction 

There is no accurate accounting of the world s stockpile of chemical weapons. Only the United States, Iraq, and Russia have made stockpile declarations. The United States has approximately 31,000 agent tons of chemical weapons stored in nine locations. Destruction of the weapons began in July 1990 at Johnston Atoll in the Pacific. Under current U.S. plans, destruction facilities will eventually operate at all the storage locations. 

In 1991, Iraq stated to the United Nations that it had 46,000 pieces of filled chemical munitions, 79,000 unfilled pieces, and 600 tons of bulk chemical agents. These weapons are being destroyed under the supervision of the U.N. Special Commission for Iraq. 

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Given the development of nonlethal agents, can you think of any circumstances in which lethal chemicals should be used ... 

The Soviets tended to use chemical weapons much like the Italians did in Ethiopia and like the U.S. Army had used nonlethal agents in Vietnam. One military writer summed up the general lesson learned ... 

It is normally found in the Caribbean, the South Pacific, Southeast Asia, the West Indies, India, and the Middle East. The natural reservoirs are humans, primates, and mosquitoes. Does not produce disease in animals. This is a biosafety level 2 (classical) or 3 (hemorrhagic) agent. Typically a fulminant, nonlethal disease however, it may progress to a hemorrhagic form. Stabile outside a host in dried blood and exudates for up to several days at room temperature. 

The sequel to acute injury depends on the potency and concentration of the toxic agent and the duration of exposure. Potent gases produce a severe vascular reaction and alveolar flooding. The fluid prevents gaseous exchange, and death of the human or animal ensues. After acute mild nonlethal damage, excess fluid is removed and the resistant Type II cells proliferate and reline the alveoli. The cells subsequently differentiate into Type I cells. 

Uhe stockpile (the subject of the Amy s Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program) consists of (1) bulk containers of nerve and blister agents and (2) munitions, including rockets, mines, bombs, projectiles, and spray tanks, loaded with nerve or blister agents. Buried chemical warfare materiel, recovered chemical warfare materiel, binary weapons (in which two nonlethal components are mixed after firing to yield a lethal nerve agent), former production facilities, and miscellaneous chemical warfare materiel are not included in the stockpile. The disposition of these five classes of materials is the subject of a separate Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Pro-... 

During the Vietnam War, the United States used nonlethal riot control gas in tactical situations, claiming that these harassing types of agents do not qualify as war gases prohibited by the Geneva protocols. 

You may find the accompanying student pages sufficient to provoke discussion about the wisdom of using nonlethal physically incapacitating agents in war and in police work. The following questions could stimulate deeper thinking on the issue. 

Suppose that during World War II either Japan or the United States (but not both) had highly effective nonlethal incapacitating agents. How might the war have been different ... 

Even though the lethal nerve agent exposure level for animals may be higher than that for humans, it is still possible that animals eould exhibit other nonlethal effects sooner and more notieeably than humans. Rabbits develop 90% miosis at a lower inhaled eoneentration of cyclohexyl sarin when compared to humans (2.71 mg.min/m versus 13.85 mg.min/m ) (NRC, 2003). 

BZ is considered an incapacitating chemical warfare agent. It is a nonlethal glycolate anticholinergic psychomimetic that produces incapacitation and is hallucinogenic. 

Synonyms Tear gas Less-than-lethal Nonlethal Lacrimator, Harassing agent Incapacitant 2-Chloro-l-phenylethanone 2-Chloroacetophe-none, chloroacetophenone, phenacyl chloride Chloromethyl phenyl ketone Chemical Formula CgHyClO Chemical Structure ... 

CN is considered less than lethal or nonlethal because it has a large safety ratio. That is, its effective dose or concentration ECtfo is low compared to its lethal dose or concentration (LCtfo). In the body, CN is converted to an electrophilic metabolite. It is an SN2 alkylating agent that reacts with SH groups and other nucleophilic sites of biomolecules. Alkylation of SH-containing enzymes leads to enzyme inhibition with disruption of cellular processes. CN was found to inhibit human plasma cholinesterase via a non-SH interaction, and some of the toxic effects may be due to alkylation of SH-containing enzymes. 

Tear Gas, less than lethal, nonlethal, immobilizers, irritants, lacrimators, harassing agents, RCAs, crowd control agents (Table 1). 

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