Chemical attack: consequences. Chemical weapons: damaging factors and protective measures

Wars are shaking our planet throughout the history of human existence. And with every century they become more bloody, and the weapons used are more sophisticated. The military come up with new types of weapons, which must completely demoralize and destroy the enemy, without affecting the structure and infrastructure. Once upon a time such an advantage gave the enemies chemical weapons, which became a new milestone in the development of military developments of the nineteenth century. And till now it is being improved, because its application minimizes the losses of the attacking side, leaving behind a poisonous cloud only a lifeless desert and mountains of dead bodies. Is it possible to protect yourself from chemical attack? Are poisonous substances used in the theater of war of our days? And what is their radius of defeat? We will answer all of these questions in this article.

Weapons of Mass Destruction: wording

Chemical weapons belong to a special type of armament, which is based on the use of various chemicals. These include poisonous substances and toxins that can exert their effect on all living organisms, including plants within the radius of injury. After using such weapons, not only people are killed, but also the land itself. It is known that in Vietnam, in places where Americans used poisonous substances, nothing has been growing, and children are born with numerous mutations.

Modern scientists believe that a chemical attack can lead to a real ecological catastrophe that will affect every inhabitant of the planet. Therefore, many scientific communities speak out against any development of chemical weapons, designed to find new poisonous substances and increase their range of damage.

Types of Combustible Toxic Chemicals

To date, there are several states of toxic substances with which chemical attacks are produced:

• Vaporous;
• Gaseous;
• Liquid.

In any form, the substances remain active and cause irreparable damage to all living things that fall into the affected area.

Signs of the use of poisonous substances

The ammunition stuffed with toxic substances, blows into the air a cloud of vapor or fog of yellowish or white color. It almost instantly spreads with the wind for long distances, penetrating into military equipment, shelters and houses. It is impossible to hide from this poisonous cloud.

Sometimes a chemical attack is carried out using liquid poisonous substances - then they pour out of the plane, representing a dark strip. A poisonous rain settles on the grass and trees with an oily film.

Consequences of chemical attack

Any use of poisonous substances leads to terrible consequences for all living things. Immediately after the use of chemical weapons, a zone of damage is formed, which has the following characteristics:

• A mortal defeat of people and animals caught in the epicenter of the explosion;
• The defeat of living organisms located far from the epicenter in the open air;
• Defeat of people and animals hiding in shelter in the distance from the source of defeat;
• Contamination of residential areas, economic and infrastructure facilities;
• Powerful moral impact.

Of course, this is a fairly general characteristic. After all, it is possible to predict the consequences of the use of poisonous substances only knowing what type they are.

Classification of toxic substances

Scientists have developed several areas on which it is possible to classify substances used in chemical weapons:

• On the toxic manifestation;
• On combat;
• By stamina.

Each direction, in turn, is divided into several types. If we are talking about toxic, then the substances can be classified as follows:

• Nerve-paralytic (for example, chemical attack by sarin);
• Substances of blistering;
• Suffocating;
• Common poison;
• Psychochemical action;
• Irritating action.

For each category there are several types of known poisonous substances that are easily synthesized in any chemical laboratory.

For combat purposes, the following toxins can be distinguished:

• Deadly;
• Neutralizing the enemy for a while;
• Annoying.

Resistant and unstable substances emit stability by military chemists. The first retain their characteristics for several hours or days. And the latter are able to act no more than an hour, in the future they become absolutely safe for all living things.

The development of chemical weapons and the first application

The first chemical attacks were made during the First World War. The developer of chemical weapons is the German Fritz Haber. He was commissioned to create a substance that would have managed to end the protracted war on all fronts. It is worth noting that he himself spoke out against any military action. He believed that the creation of a poisonous substance would help to avoid more mass casualties and bring the end of a prolonged war closer.

Together with his wife, Gaber invented and launched into production weapons based on gaseous chlorine. The first chemical attack was launched on April 22, 1915. In the northeast of the Ipra protrusion, British and French troops have held the defense for several months, so it was in this direction that the German command decided to use the latest weapons.

The consequences were terrible: a yellowish-green cloud blinded his eyes, blocked his breath and corroded the skin. Many soldiers fled in horror, and others could not get out of the trenches. The Germans themselves were shocked by the effectiveness of their new weapons and quickly took up the development of new poisonous substances that added to their military arsenal.

The use of chemical weapons in Syria

On April 4 this year, the whole world community was shocked by the chemical attack in Syria. Early in the morning, news reports received the first reports that as a result of the use of poisonous substances by the official Damascus in the province of Idlib, more than 200 civilians got into hospitals.

Everywhere began to publish terrible pictures of dead bodies and victims, which local doctors were still trying to save. As a result of the chemical attack in Syria, about seventy people died. All of them were ordinary, peaceful people. Naturally, such a monstrous destruction of people could not but cause a public outcry. However, the official Damascus replied that it had not conducted any military operations against the civilian population. As a result of the bombings, the ammunition depot of terrorists was destroyed, where the shells stuffed with poisonous substances could well have been destroyed. Russia supports this version and is ready to present substantive evidence of its words.

Investigation of the Syrian tragedy

Photographs of victims of chemical attack are full of the Internet. Here and there a video interview of the Syrians, telling about the brutal Bashar Assad and his regime. Naturally, in connection with all the accusations thrown upon the official Damascus, it became necessary to conduct an independent investigation into the chemical attack.

However, it is difficult to prove that you are right when people do not want to see the obvious. For example, attentive Internet users noticed discrepancies in the videos about the attack with a statement about the time of the attack. Also unclear is the fact of where the photo came from with nine dead children in the back of the truck on the eve of the alleged attack. All this requires careful examination and verification, since it is not known whether the spraying of poisonous substances was deliberate, or it is still a tragic accident that took several dozen lives of innocent people.

Chemical weapons: damaging factors and protective measures

The damaging factors of chemical weapons lie in its ability to exert influence regardless of its state. In any of them poisonous substances are capable of destroying all living organisms. Therefore, despite the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Chemical Weapons, supported by sixty-five countries in the world, it is necessary to have an idea of protection from toxic substances.

Protecting the population from the effects of chemical weapons can only be achieved through comprehensive measures covering all spheres of life:

• Chemical reconnaissance and detection of the use of toxic agents;
• Compliance with a special regime in the affected area;
• Distribution of personal protective equipment to the public and information on the methods of their application;
• Evacuation from the affected area or distribution of the population in shelters, where volatile toxic substances can not penetrate;
• Carrying out measures to cleanse the skin and introduce antidotes;
• Provision of civilians with food and water, brought from abroad by the zone of destruction.

All of the above measures must be carried out consistently and in accordance with strict regulations.

Any means of protection against toxic substances reduces the risk of contamination of the population, but the only correct solution is a complete ban on the development and use of chemical weapons. These points are included in the international Convention already mentioned in our article. But the sixty-five states that signed it are not enough to stop the procession on the planet of chemical weapons definitively.