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Chemical warfare agents

The use of poisonous chemicals from plant extracts to poison individuals is widely documented throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance, but it was not until the expansion of industrial chemistry in the 19th century that mass production and deployment of CW agents in war became a possibility. Thus, the birth of modern CW was ushered in by the German gas attack with chlorine on 22nd April 1915 at Ypres, Belgium. The use of these toxic chemicals, including phosgene, sulfur mustard and lewisites caused 100,000 deaths and 1.2 million casualties in World War I (WWI).[3] Millions of innocent civilians were killed by the Nazis with Zyklon B gas (hydrogen cyanide gas) during World War II. Agent Orange…

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Articles of Interest

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