What is a Chemical Agent?
Chemical agents include nerve agents – liquids or gasses – that can poison people, animals and plants. These agents (VX, Tabun, Sarin, Soman) damage the nervous system of victims and can cause injuries or death. How serious the injuries are depends on the type of agent, the amount, and the length of exposure. In the same family of chemical warfare agents are industrial chemicals called organophosphates. These include Malathion or Parathion and other insecticides. Nerve agents are the most toxic chemical warfare agents known to man. What is a radiological agent? Radiation is energy released from light, heat, sound and charged particles that can cause direct or indirect damage to the body. People are exposed to some radiation every day – from natural sources, man-made (microwave ovens), and medical (x-rays). Large amounts of radiation can occur in events such as a nuclear power plant accident or a terrorist attack. Printable Fact Sheet – Chemical and Radition Agents ANTHRAX What is anthr
A chemical agent is a chemical compound which has deleterious effects on human health. There are a number of different types of chemical agents, and a range of uses for these compounds, from crowd control to chemical warfare. Due to concerns about the use of chemical agents, access to these chemicals is often tightly controlled to ensure that they do not fall into the wrong hands. Many law enforcement agencies have training in how to handle chemical agents, and how to respond to chemical agent attacks. People have been utilizing chemical agents for thousands of years. The Ancient Greeks supposedly attacked each other with toxic smoke, an early form of chemical warfare, and numerous compounded poisons have been used throughout history to eliminate people. In the 20th century, the widespread use of chemical agents in warfare began to be an issue of concern, after the use of substances like mustard gas in the trenches of World War One. Numerous nations have signed an international ban on
