ABSTRACT
Chemical warfare agents (CWAs) are chemical substances that rely on their toxic properties to produce lethal, incapacitating, or damaging effects on humans, animals, and plants when suitably delivered. Since their introduction in World War I by the Germans, they have remained another form of weapons to be used by combatant armies. However in recent years, they have been used by armies
against rebellious noncombatant civilians and by terrorists against innocent, nonsuspecting citizens, as was the case in Japan. The risk of their deployment by terrorists increased signifi cantly after the attack on the New York World Trade Center in September 11, 2001, and the anthrax incidents that followed. Although the United States and most European countries place greater emphasis and allocate most of their antiterrorist resources to prepare for potential chemical and biological terrorism, blasts from explosive detonation remain the single most frequent cause of human death and injury and property damage by terrorist attacks.
