Over the years, the field of unconventional weapons has developed greatly, including chemical agents for use as weapons. Even in antiquity, armies used unconventional weapons, such as poisoning water sources, causing diseases and plagues, etc. In World War I, chlorine gas was used to paralyze military and home front capabilities. Over time, methods have been refined, and the threat has become more significant. In the Iran-Iraq war, unconventional weapons were used extensively, and the harm done to the population was tremendous.

Chemical agents are meant to harm the human body through its own physiological characteristics. The scope of the damage is generally great. The extent of the damage is a direct function of the concentration of the agent to which the population is exposed and the length of exposure time.

Harm from these material can come from various sources: firing chemical warheads, spreading chemicals from one place to another by transporting a poisonous load, et al.

A chemical weapon is defined and classified by two main characteristics:

√ Toxicity level: The capacity of the chemical agent to damage the body with which it comes into contact.

√ Reaction time: How long it takes symptoms of damage to appear after the moment the chemical agent has come into contact with the body. The effect can be either immediate or delayed.

Today, there are four possible methods of introducing chemical agents into the body:

• Through the respiratory system.
• Through contact with the eyes.
• Through the intestinal system.
• Through contact with the skin.

Introducing the chemical via the respiratory system or the eyes is often more harmful than introducing it through the skin or the intestinal system.

Chemical agents appear in three states:

• Solid (when the agent is frozen).
• Liquid.
• Aerosol (a state between liquid and gas, in spray form).

Most chemical weapons are liquid, and turn to gas only when the agents are dispersed. The durability of a particular chemical weapon is an index of its capacity to remain active after being dispersed, until the hazardous material no longer represents a threat.

These chemical agents are generally odorless. Some do carry an odor, but in chemical warfare, odorless agents are preferred in order to make detection and identification more difficult.

In a chemical attack, it is necessary to terminate contact with the agent as soon as possible by evacuating the victim from the area, and undressing and decontaminating him/her.

Organic phosphates (nerve agents) are the most toxic and hazardous among chemical weapons. They are colorless, odorless, and tasteless, and are liable to kill a great number of victims in a short period of time, without any early warning signs. The agent usually appears as a liquid or a gas, or in aerosol form (minute droplets).

If a nerve agent enters the body, the regulating of the nervous system becomes impaired very quickly. Symptoms of damage from nerve gas (in order of appearance) include: runny nose, pressure in the chest, blurry vision, difficult breathing, increased perspiration, nausea and vomiting. The appearance of at least two of these symptoms indicates nerve gas damage. Victims lose control of their muscles, convulse, perspire, and lose bladder and bowel control. Nerve gas acts relatively quickly. Death is generally caused by respiratory or cardiac arrest. Most nerve gases are introduced into the body via the respiratory system.

How do you treat a nerve gas victim?

Taking medications during and after an attack: No medicines should be taken unless authorized personnel make an announcement about an attack, and unless at least two symptoms of nerve gas damage have appeared. If this happens, you should immediately inject yourself with an atropine shot (TAB/TA), an individual, automatic syringe included in every Protection Kit, and manufactured to serve as initial treatment for nerve agent damage.

Directions for use:

1. Hold the syringe such that the yellow pin points up, and the green stopper points down (remember: yellow is for sun, green is for grass).
2. Pull out the yellow pin and discard it.
3. Pull your clothing tightly against your thigh.
4. Push the green stopper against the central thigh muscle by gently hitting it against yourself.
5. Wait several minutes for the atropine to penetrate the body, and for the body to absorb it.
6. Remove the syringe, fold the needle into a V shape, and wear it on your lapel.