ABSTRACT
Guides for Emergency Response: Chemical Agents and Weapons Because they can be easily manufactured and used, chemical agents and weapons are the most likely weapons of mass destruction (WMD) to be used in any wars of the immediate future. Th ey have been widely used in the past. Th e U.S. Marine Corps has estimated that chemical agents are stockpiled, or under development, in twenty to twenty-fi ve countries. “Many of the same countries associated with nuclear or biological programs have established, or are seeking to establish, chemical weapons programs. Egypt, France, Iran, Libya, Iraq, People’s Republic of China, Syria, Russia, and many of the countries belonging to the former Warsaw Pact (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and the former Yugoslav republics) have, or are suspected of having, chemical weapons programs” (Biological, and Chemical Defense Operations, pp. 1-5, MCWP 3-37 MAGTF Nuclear).
