The Perilous Legacy of Weapons of Mass Destruction

Weapons of mass destruction are, by definition “nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons that can cause indiscriminate death or injury on a large scale” (Dictionary.com). The three main types have been used in different scenarios for decades in warfare and terrorism. Each of the three have different instant and long term effects on the people directly affected, and on the surrounding population of where the attack took place. Weapons of mass destruction are too commonly used, and should only be used when absolutely necessary. They not only affect the targeted group, but the people around them. They have many negative long term side effects. The exposure can lead to health issues, genetic defects in future generations of those who have been exposed and possibly even the death of many innocent people. The exposure of radiation from nuclear weapons can lead to health issues in the future. Chemical weapons like mustard gas used in war can leave organs, particularly the respiratory system with chronic side effects. Biological weapons like ricin can damage the liver and kidneys.

Nuclear weapons cause devastation on every level imaginable. The most commonly known time of use for a nuclear weapon was the attack of Hiroshima in 1945. The United States military used a nuclear bomb that weighed more than nine thousand pounds and contained uranium-235. The blast exploded two thousand feet above Hiroshima, and the blast equaled twelve to fifteen thousand tons of TNT. This left five square miles of the city demolished. (They release heat waves, blast and radiation that can leave thousands of people in the surrounding area wounded or deceased. It destroys houses, buildings and it has extremely negative long term effects to the environment. There are three major sources of injury or death: the initial blast from the explosion, the heat wave that follows and then finally the instant radiation. “These effects would range from after-effects of the injuries sustained from the explosion to long-term effects of radiation exposure and health problems caused by the disruption and destruction of health services” (World Health Organization ‘Health and Environmental Effects of Nuclear Weapons’, Page 4). It releases waves that affect the cellular and technological waves, making it impossible for those in need of medical assistance to reach emergency medical personnel. Aside those causes of death, there are the collapse of many buildings and structures that can crush anyone inhabiting them. Nuclear weapons have been used in warfare to wipe out opposing territories. It does more damage than is needed by leaving the innocent population, including children, families and the general working population critically injured or deceased. Their homes and workplaces often end up being destroyed as well.

Chemical weapons are another commonly used weapon of war, due to their widespread effect on a large population. In world war one, this was a very popular way of attacking your enemy with an inescapable defense. Some chemical weapons are still used today in cases of riots by law enforcement, to control people that are obstructing traffic and being violent when general approaches are taken. Tear gas is the most commonly known chemical weapon. Tear gas is the weapon law enforcement uses in riot situations. Border control may use it to decrease the influx of immigrants migrating to our country illegally. “Riot control agents (sometimes referred to as “tear gas”) are chemical compounds that temporarily make people unable to function by causing irritation to the eyes, mouth, throat, lungs, and skin” (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Emergency Preparedness and Response; Facts About Riot Control Agents). Not all chemical weapons only cause temporary damage for control purposes, though. Many uses of chemical weapons throughout war were for the purpose of defeat, or to eliminate a population. Mustard gas is another commonly heard of chemical weapon. The effects of mustard gas do not happen immediately after exposure, rather than hours. The first signs are bloodshot eyes that increasingly become more painful and some exposed may even suffer temporary blindness. Following the burning eyes, the skin blisters and the blisters become infected extremely quick. Mustard gas not only contaminates the people that are around when it is deployed but also the ground. Mustard gas is believed to hold the highest amount of casualties from chemical weapons, killing 120,000 people or more. The only unusual thing about it, mustard gas caused few direct deaths due to the open air in fields where it was deployed, keeping the levels of gas below lethal (Science History Institute, A Brief History of Chemical War). Another chemical weapon which is infamous unlike mustard gas, is chlorine gas. This gas comes in a greenish-yellow cloud that gives off the scent of bleach. It immediately begins as an irritant to the respiratory system, causing the eyes, nose, lungs and throat to begin to close. In high enough doses and lengthy exposure, it can cause death. Unlike nuclear weapons, chemical weapons usually only affect the targeted group, rather than having widespread devastation. We still use chemical weapons today, as discussed early and referred to as ‘Riot control agents’ such as tear gas. They serve a purpose as a control factor for uncontrollably large groups of people. Though it is possible to affect the surrounding people in a crowded area, death will not follow exposure to tear gas.

Biological weapons are also known as ‘germ warfare’. This is the use of infectious diseases, viruses or toxins to kill or deliberately disable not only humans, but animals and even plants as well. The United States government has developed a system of rating different biological attacks, according to the risk factor they have for national security. Category A agents are of highest priority. The diseases or toxins in this category have the highest mortality rate, are easily transmitted from person to person and would cause an extremely high level of social disturbance. Examples of these diseases include smallpox, Ebola, Marburg, Lassa and Machupo. Toxins that are a category A threat are anthrax and botulism which are not transmittable from one person to another, but still have extremely high fatality rates. Category B threats are generally easier to deal with than category A. They have a lower mortality rate. These include glanders, brucellosis and typhus fever. The toxin that falls in this category is ricin. Ricin is very well known and has had recent attacks that have taken place. The most recent attack being in October of 2018 when there was a letter sent to the White House, containing ricin ingredients (USA today, Mike James and John Bacon). Finally, category C agents are diseases that could be biologically engineered in the future to cause mass fatality. These include diseases like the Nipah virus. The opinion of experts probability of a biological weapon attack to take place differs. In 2008, the National Intelligence Council stated that bioterrorism is more of a threat than nuclear terrorism is. Again in 2008, Mike McConnel stated that of all weapons of mass destruction, biological weapons were his greatest fear personally (McConnel, 2008). On the contrary, other experts say that the complications that come with starting a biological war or plotting a biological terrorism attack are far too great to be our biggest concern. “For example, the technical difficulties in aerosolizing a disease agent and dispersing it accurately and widely while maintaining its virulence are immense. Regardless, most biosecurity experts acknowledge that the potential of an attack should not be ignored. Moreover, preparations for a biological attack will likely benefit the response to other kinds of public health emergencies” (History of Vaccines, Biological Weapons, Bioterrorism, and Vaccines).

To sum everything up, weapons of mass destruction are useful in times of absolute necessity. They negatively affect the population surrounding the attack, and can injure or cause casualties outside of the population that was being targeted. There are some weapons that we use still, like tear gas for riot control. In large groups where a group of people is obstructing traffic due to rioting, tear gas assists law enforcement control them. Nuclear bombs and other weapons emit a large amount of radiation, heat waves and a blast which can destroy houses and other buildings. This often causes mass destruction beyond the area that was meant to be destroyed and can cause the death of many innocent people due to radiation poisoning. Chemical weapons such as mustard gas though, were useful during the war as a direct weapon against enemies. It rarely lasted in lethal amounts on the battlefield due to open air, but there are still victims of exposure who suffer respiratory diseases due to mustard gas. Biological weapons are extremely fatal when used, and as some experts say may be an even bigger threat than nuclear weapons. Ricin and other untraceable toxins are used still today to commit acts of terrorism, usually against people of authority or government officials. Weapons of mass destruction are useful when they’re deployed in the proper time and place, but still have extreme negative effects for years to come, and military officials should have a higher threshold before going as far as using these particular weapons. They cause many more casualties than just the population being targeted.

Work Cited

1. World Health Organization, Health and Environment Effects of Nuclear Warfare April 26, 1993
2. History.com Editors, Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki December 20, 2018
3. Dictionary.com, Weapons of Mass Destruction
4. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Emergency Preparedness and Response; Facts About Riot Control Agents April 4, 2018
5. Everts, Sarah. Science History Institute, A Brief History of Chemical War Spring 2015.
6. History of Vaccines, Biological Weapons, Bioterrorism, and Vaccines January 10, 2018
7. James, Mike. Bacon, John. USA today, Navy Vet Arrested in Case of Poisoned Letters Sent to White House; Ricin Ingredients Found. October 3, 2018