Chemical warfare

Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substance to kill, injure or incapacitate an enemy. Chemical warfare is different from the use of conventional weapon or nuclear weapon because the destructive effects of chemical weapons are not primarily due to any explosive force. The offensive use of living organism (such as anthrax) is considered to be biological warfare rather than chemical warfare; the use of nonliving toxic products produced by living organisms (e.g., toxin such as botulinum toxin, ricin, or saxitoxin) is considered chemical warfare under the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Under this Convention, any toxic chemical, regardless of its origin, is considered as a chemical weapon unless it is used for purposes that are not prohibited (an important legal definition, known as the General Purpose Criterion). About 70 different chemicals have been used or stockpiled as Chemical Warfare (CW) agents during the 20th century. Chemical... full article at wikipedia