Download Chemical and Biological Weapons

Period 9/10
Kristen Sposetta, Aaron Mohr, Destanee Goosby, Taylor Host
DEFINITIONS
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Chemical Weapons (also called “the poor man’s atomic
bomb”) - chemical substances that can be delivered
using munitions and dispersal devices to cause death or
severe harm to people, animals, and plants
Biological Weapons (also called “germ weapon”) - a
weapon of mass destruction that uses a biological agent
or pathogen such as bacteria or a virus that is harmful
to people and plants
The use of biological weapons against an enemy for
hostile purposes or during armed conflict is called
biological warfare
PROS/ADVANTAGES
Easy to produce and quantify
 Cheaper than nuclear weapons and overall
cheapest weapon
 Easy to conceal
 Conventional weapons (bombs, grenades, etc.)
explode once, kill a few hundred people, mutilate
thousands of others. Biological agents, on the
other hand, can spread from person to person,
killing more of the enemy
 Chemical weapons can give an army a tactical,
battlefield advantage
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CONS/DISADVANTAGES
Backfire, since containment is difficult once a
contagious disease has begun spreading
 Difficult to deliver to the enemy
 Does not immediately incapacitate an enemy,
other weaponry is more effective
 Unpredictable, you may infect your own troops
 Lasts for a long time, for example, anthrax can live
in soil for up to 50 years
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EXAMPLES OF BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS
Bacteria- such as anthrax, brucellosis,
tularemia, and plague
 Viruses- intracellular parasites, smallpox, and
yellow fever
 Fungi- pathogens that can be weaponized for
use against crops to cause disease
 Toxins- poisons that are weaponized after
extraction from snakes, insects, spiders,
marine organisms and other animals
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EXAMPLES OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS
Mustard gas, Sarin, Chlorine, hydrogen cyanide,
tear gas, poisoned arrows, boiling tar, and
arsenic smoke
 Substances such as inflammatory or
combustible mixtures, smokes, or gases that
can irritate, burn, incapacitate, and poison
 The first chemical weapon used effectively in
battle was chlorine gas, which burns and
destroys lung tissue
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Chemical Weapon Examples
Mustard
gas
Tear
gas
WORKS CITED
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"Brief History of Chemical Weapons Use." Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 1927. <http://www.opcw.org/about-chemical-weapons/history-of-cw-use/>.
"chemical weapon." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/108951/chemical-weapon>.
"biological weapon." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 27 Oct.
2013. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/938340/biological-weapon>.
"Advantages of using biological weapons." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.
<http://library.thinkquest.org/27393/dreamwvr/warfare/introduction2.htm>.
"PressTV - KSA behind Syria chemical attack: Russian source." PressTV - KSA behind Syria chemical
attack: Russian source. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.
<http://www.presstv.com/detail/2013/10/05/327634/saudi-arabia-behind-syria-chem-attack/>.
"Syria chemical attack: What we know." BBC News. BBC, 24 Sept. 2013. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23927399>.
"Kirsch Foundation Nuclear Disarmament." Kirsch Foundation Nuclear Disarmament. N.p., n.d. Web.
27 Oct. 2013. <http://www.kirschfoundation.org/care/chemical.html>.
"Why are we so afraid of chemical weapons?." New Internationalist All posts RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 27
Oct. 2013. <http://newint.org/features/web-exclusive/2013/06/19/syria-chemical-weaponsexistential-threat/>.
“organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons.” OPCW. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.
http://www.opcw.org/about-chemical-weapons.