Chemical and Biological Weapons Bill Menke November 29, 2005

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Chemical and Biological WeaponsBill
MenkeNovember 29, 2005
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Summary

• What are chemical and biological weapons?
• Comparison with nuclear weapons
• Case studies of their use
• The Chemical Weapons Convention
• Potential Threats
• Questions to ponder

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Types of Chemical Weapon Agents

• Nerve Agents
• GA (Tabun)
• GB (Sarin)
• GD (Soman)
• GF
• VX (methylphosphonothioic acid)
• Blister Agents
• HD - sulphur mustard (Yperite)
• HN - nitrogen mustard
• L - Lewisite
• CX - phosgene oximine
• Choking Agents
• CG phosgene
• DP diphosgene
• Cl chlorine
• PS chloropicrin

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Types of Biological Weapon Agents

• Anthrax
• Botulinum Toxins
• Brucellosis
• Cholera
• Clostridium Perfringens Toxins
• Congo-Crimean Hemorrhagic Fever
• Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever
• Melioidosis
• Plague
• Q Fever
• Ricin
• Rift Valley Fever
• Saxitoxin
• Smallpox
• Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B
• Trichothecene Mycotoxins
• Tularemia
• Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis

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• Case Study 1
• The Second Battle of Ypres
• World War 1
• April, 1915
• first large-scale military use of chemical weapons

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Line of cylinders release gas at Ypres
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• Germany used 168 tons of chlorine gas against
  French Algerian and, later, Canadian troops
• 16,000 troops exposed, about 6,000 die
  of asphyxiation. 
• German press release state that use is in
  response to prior French use of gas
• Allied troops panic as trenches become saturated
  with heavier-than-air gas

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• Following a heavy bombardment, the enemy attacked
  the French Divisions at about 5p.m., using
  asphyxiating gases for the first time. Aircraft
  reported that at about 5p.m., thick yellow smoke
  had been seen issuing from the German trenches
  between Langemarck and Bixschoote. The French
  reported that two simultaneous attacks had been
  made east of the Ypres-Staden Railway, in which
  these asphyxiating gases had been employed.
• What follows almost defies description. The
  effect of these poisonous gases was so virulent
  as to render the whole of the line held by the
  French Division mentioned above practically
  incapable of any action at all. It was at first
  impossible for anyone to realize what had
  actually happened. The smoke and fumes hid
  everything from sight, and hundreds of men were
  thrown into a comatose or dying condition, and
  within an hour the whole position had to be
  abandoned, together with about 50 guns.
• Field Marshal Sir John French
• Commander-in-Chief of the British Army
• 1915

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• Case Study 2
• Halabja poison gas attack
• March 15-19, 1988
• Military use of chemical weapons
• Against Iraqi Kurds during the
• Iran-Iraq war

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News or Propaganda ?Photo purported to be of gas
attack victims
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• Halabja, Iraq is a town of about 80,000
• Reported casualties range from several hundred to
  5,000 people
• multiple chemical agents, possibly including
  mustard gas, and the nerve agents sarin, tabun
  and VX, and the blood agent hydrogen cyanide may
  have been used
• Targets included Iranian troops and Iraqi Kurdish
  guerrillas allied with Tehran
• Both Iran and Iraq have variously been ascribed
  blame.

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• Case Study 3
• Tokyo Sarin Attack
• March 20, 1995
• terrorists place containers of the nerve gas
  sarin in five trains on 3 of Tokyo's 10
  underground railway lines.

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• Sarin C4H10FO2P

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• 5,000-6,000 persons were exposed
• 493 hospitalized
• 17 developed severe symptoms
• 12 people died
• 9 at site
• 1 during first 24 hours in hospital
• 2 died several weeks later

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Rescue Efforts after Tokyo Attack
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• Shoko Asahara, founder of the religious cult
  Aleph, found guilty of ordering attack in a trial
  that ended on February 27, 2004

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• Case Study 4
• US Anthrax Attack
• September 18 October 9, 2001

Anthrax spores found in this Princeton NJ mailbox
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• terrorists (?) mail letters containing
• Anthrax spores to 5 US Newspapers
• and 2 US Senators

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Anthrax bacteria
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• Several thousand people exposed and take
  antibiotics
• 22 people developed anthrax infections
• 11 inhalation anthrax
• 11 subcutaneous anthrax (less lethal)
• 5 died of inhalation anthrax
• 2 postal workers
• 3 from unknown sources, possibly
  cross-contamination of mail
• total damage (incl. cleanup) exceeded 1 billion

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• The Justice Department has named no suspects in
  the case

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Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)1969 U.S.
reserves right to have stockpile for
retaliation1985 Congress mandates U.S.
stockpile of CW be destroyed1991 Bush
administration states U. S. would formally
forswear use of CW once CWC entered into
force1993 U.S. signs Convention
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1997 U.S. ratifies Convention it enters into
force2001 143 countries sign CWC but not Iraq,
Syria, Libya and N. KoreaCWC requires member
states to destroy all stockpiles facilities by
2007U.S. has been incinerating CW at Dugway UT
and Johnson Is. in Pacific
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Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPCW) is an international
overseeing agency that verifies compliance with
CWC 70,000 tonnes of CW and 8.6 million
munitions/containers declared by 4 nations
61 former CW production sites declared by 11
nations
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6,700 tonnes CW, 2 million munitions and 27 CW
production facilities destroyed under
OPCW inspection. OPCW has conducted 1169
inspectionsDual use of plants make verification
difficult considerable access neededIn 2001
U.S. threatens to abandon Treaty if Director is
not replaced, mixing political and managerial
concerns. He is replaced.
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Biological Weapons ConventionNixon supports
prohibiting development, production and
possession of BW1972 Biological Weapons
Convention negotiated1975 Convention ratified
by US. BW Convention now has 144 state parties.
Holdouts in Middle EastConvention has neither
standing organization nor verification 1994
member states of BWC mandate development of
protocol to strengthen BWC including
verification measures2001 consolidated text of
protocol gains general acceptance. Bush
administration withdraws from negotiations citing
lack of confidence in others and threat to
biodefense and pharmaceutical secrets.
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Questions to Ponder

• Are doomsday biological weapons a real
  possibility?
• What is the relative threat of the terrorist use
  of BC and conventional weapons?
• Is biotechnology too small-scale for peaceful
  intent to be effectively verified?
• What preparedness is needed to provide an
  effective response to BC weapons?

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Develop contingency plans Use standard
statistical risk analysis to prioritize
preparedness Strengthen public health
infrastructure Identify beforehand sources
of Additional assistance Draw upon international
assistance And support Implement the
Conventions