Did white phosphorus used in Iraq result in civilian deaths?
In military applications, white phosphorus (WP) is used in ammunition, in incendiary devices, for signalling purposes, and for generating smoke screens. It functions, therefore, in both an offensive and a defensive capacity. If you are referring to environmental contamination leading to civilian illness and/or death, I do not believe this has been investigated or will ever be investigated, unless very large amounts remain in the soil in combat areas and become a source of toxins in the future. However, WP as used in military applications burns when it contacts oxygen and is invariably fully consumed unless something interferes with the combustion process. This occurs only rarely, except for medical intervention when burning WP contacts human skin / flesh. It is highly probable that WP has caused civilian deaths, since it is used in munitions. A certain percentage of all military operations result in civilian deaths. These are, unfortunately, unavoidable, even when the civilian populati
