Chemical Warfare &Terrorism: the risks cannot be ignored

"In 1990 the LTTE is said to be the first group to introduce and use chlorine gas against the Sri Lankan Army in Kiran. Then in1993, Islamic Fundamentalist groups tried to use hydrocyanic acid but in vain. Now the evidence found from the ruins of Afghanistan houses, it is getting clearer that terrorists or rogue countries can misuse science and technology in chemical terrorism. "

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by Sangeeta Debashis

(February 28, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) The potential for chemical disasters to cause severe health hazard and environmental damage has been realised from numerous accidents in the past in India itself. On December 3rd 1984, the world’s worst chemical disaster caused a gas tragedy in the city of Bhopal in India. From this unfortunate chilling experience of gas tragedy due to Methyl isocyanate (MIC) Indians should be aware how disastrous the consequences will be in chemical terrorism.

In Bhopal, 8000 people died immediately after the disaster, and after 16 years the death toll has risen to 20,000. Deaths are still being reported. The worst aspect of the whole incident is that the researchers have found that chromosomal aberrations in the exposed population may affect the lives to come. The numbers affected were a lot more than the anthrax attacks in America recently in which only13 persons were affected and four people died.

Chemo terrorism is the easiest and can be followed by other types of terrorism ranging from psycho to nuclear. The sizeable chemical industry (agrochemical, industrial, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, paints and dyes, industrial gases etc.) a source of dual use chemicals and technologies could be of proliferation concerns for some countries. Since the September 11 attacks, the threat of terrorists using chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) materials appear to be rising. Several of the terrorist organizations and other non-state actors worldwide have expressed an interest in chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear materials.

As the terrorist’s capabilities can not be predicted, so is their contacts. It is not the question of who but with what ,when and how? The materials required are either purchased, stolen or synthesised. The chemicals can be obtained from local to international markets. For example in India as well as in other countries pesticides can be obtained easily and these can be of use for agro terrorism.

India is more open to chemical terrorism for the following reasons.

* Indian industries produce enormous amounts of dual use chemicals.

* The chemicals are easily available and cheap.

* Access to such chemicals is hardly regulated and no verifiable record is kept.

* There are many small scale industries which keep no account of sale and vigilance is also lax.

* While government controlled industries and major companies have periodic safety regulations and inspections, the smaller ones in the small scale sector have virtually no such control.

Why Chemical Weapons? Chemical weapons are weapons of choice of terrorists, according to the OPWC’s (The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons ) Mikhail Berdennikov, as they are small but deadly, require immediate response from the authorities, no antibiotics to treat and if “properly” used they may not harm the terrorist. The potential for casualties are more than the biological ones, whereas in the case of nuclear weapons, strict vigilance and difficulty in accessibility makes the task more difficult.

Chemical weapons (CW) consist of chemical agents and delivery systems. Chemical agents that might be used by terrorists, range from warfare agents to toxic chemicals commonly used in industry to cause physiological changes in humans and animals.

Chemical warfare agents are of different types and named according to their toxic effects as blistering, nerve, choking, blood agents and riot control agents. OPCW has categorised them as Schedule 1, 2, 3.

Schedule 1: Chemicals easily used as chemical weapons and have very limited, if any, uses for peaceful purposes, e.g. nitrogen mustard for cancer, saxitoxin, ricin, used as valuable research tool.

Schedule 2: Chemicals are precursors to, or that, in some cases, can themselves be used as, chemical weapons’ agents, e.g. BZ is a neurotoxic, and also in manufacture of a pharmaceutical product, thiodiglycol, a mustard gas precursor and an ingredient in water-based inks, dyes and some pesticides.

Schedule 3: chemicals can be used to produce or can themselves be used as, chemical weapons, but which are widely used for peaceful purposes (including in herbicides, insecticides, paints, coatings, textiles and lubricants), e.g. phosgene and hydrogen cyanide.

Effectiveness of chemical weapons is controlled by a number of factors, including age, purity, weather conditions, wind direction, means of dissemination (liquids, vapors, gases and aerosols), and other factors. Some of the weapons can take hours to kill, and people exposed can sometimes survive, given proper treatment and antidotes.

Historical Memories: CW were used in the ancient times (in the form of poisoned arrows and bullets), W War I (extensive use of poison gas), W War II( new and more toxic nerve gases were developed), in various civil wars. In 1990 the LTTE is said to be the first group to introduce and use chlorine gas against the Sri Lankan Army in Kiran. Then in1993, Islamic Fundamentalist groups tried to use hydrocyanic acid but in vain. Now the evidence found from the ruins of Afghanistan houses, it is getting clearer that terrorists or rogue countries can misuse science and technology in chemical terrorism. . The various diagrams, documents, literature and some of the chemicals (ricin etc.) found from the hideouts used by the Al Qaeda men and the visit Pakistan scientists showed the keen interest the terrorists had in the weapons of mass destruction. Their plans were to dissipate the chemicals in form balloons or bomb through air.

Chemical weapons and international conventions: Many states maintain chemical weapons in their arsenals to deter the use of this type of weapon against them, and to provide a retaliatory capability if deterrence failed.

At a recent symposium convened by the UN Department of Disarmament Affairs (DDA), experts were virtually unanimous in agreeing that the legal framework to prevent terrorists from acquiring nuclear, biological and chemical weapons exists. Under UN auspices, the international community has negotiated more than a dozen treaties and protocols.

The 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) came into force on 29 April 1997. By December 31, 2001, the number of States Parties and States waiting to become States Parties now stands at 145. There are, however, suspicions that several other countries are also in possession of or developing chemical weapons, and have failed to declare these activities. The OPCW was set up to monitor the Chemical Weapons Convention. It tracks materials which terrorists can use to make chemical weapons, and ensures that such materials are not diverted from legitimate to prohibited purposes.

India’s concerns: India has a well-developed chemical industry and the production of chemicals is in bulk for the domestic consumption and for Defence forces. India became one of the original signatories of the in 1993, and ratified it on 02 September 1996. The treaty came into force on April 29, 1997. India acknowledged its own chemical warfare programme in 1997 and stated that related facilities would be open for inspection.

It is believed that Pakistan has used these chemical weapons against Indian soldiers in Siachen in 1987(CSIS , FAS reports) and after that only the search for protective measures was seriously considered. Again, in June 1999, the FAS reported that Pakistan levelled allegations that India had used or was planning to use chemical weapons against the Mujahideen and Pakistani army elements fighting at the Kashmir border. Pakistan had accused India of firing chemical shells in its campaign to dislodge hundreds of suspected infiltrators from positions on the Indian side of the line of control in Kashmir (BBC, June 1999 ). India - a signatory of the Chemical Weapons Convention, has denied the accusation. Pakistan has produced no evidence for its allegation.

The Indian government has set up Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) warfare directorates in each of its military services, and an inter-Services coordination committee to monitor the program. The Indian Army established a Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) cell at Army HQ to study the effects of NBC warfare.

Experimental studies of hazardous chemicals and developing suitable antidotes against chemical warfare agents such as antidotes for cyanide, nerve agents, sulphur mustard and toxic metals are being undertaken by the DRDE ( a branch of DRDO). Rapid diagnostic tests kits for pathogenic organisms and remedial /preventive measures, e.g., kits like water poison detection kit (WPDK), residual vapour detection kit (RVD), personal decontamination kit (PDK) Portable decontamination apparatus (DAP) decontamination formulations’ synthesis, structural elucidation and toxicological evaluation of toxic chemicals have also been developed. In various institutes like AIIMS the development for antidote and training for countering the chemical attack by the medical and paramedical personnel have also been undertaken.

Conclusion: The devastating impact of chemicals, their easy accessibility and at minimal cost is yet to be realized by various agencies in India. The effect of chemical weapons manifests itself within hours, rather than days as with biological weapons. Therefore the chemical attack which is more disastrous than the biological, needs more preparedness in all sectors, i.e., police, fire, and EMS personnel. There has also to be “public awareness” programmes, as India by its very nature is vulnerable to such terrorist attacks using chemicals.