ABSTRACT
When chemical warfare is mentioned, the first thing likely to spring to mind is the production of chemical weapons by the human race for use in warfare; the employment of mustard gas and lewisite during the First World War or, more recently, the use of a nerve gas against Kurds by Saddam Hussein. During the World War II both the Allies and Nazi Germany possessed stockpiles of nerve gases, which, fortunately, were not used at the time. In what follows, the phenomenon of chemical warfare will be considered from a wider perspective.
