Chemical attacks are far more likely to occur over nuclear and biological attacks. Chemicals are much easier to purchase and produce and are often readily available in a grocery store. For this week’s assignment, I have chosen Chlorine as a chemical weapon of choice. This element is easily found in any store that sells pool-cleaning supplies. It has an odor similar to bleach and has similar cleaning effects. Chlorine’s mechanism of injury to the human body is acute repertory failure. A human will suffocate with agony if there is enough of the gas present in the space. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH) “Concentrations of about 400 ppm and beyond are generally fatal over 30 minutes, and at 1,000 ppm and above, fatality ensues within only a few minutes.” (White, C. W., & Martin, J. G. …show more content…
What makes this element so dangerous is that it is readily available at a given moment. If a person uses cash purchases it is next to impossible to trace the transactions so they have been afforded the opportunity to go from store to store, buying enough chlorine at once with out raising any flags. With enough chlorine and the right concentration for their intended target(s), an insurgent can carry out a mass attack on the population. A crowded restaurant on a rainy day can be locked from the outside and the insurgent can place the chlorine contents in the ventilation system. Many may believe the smell to be that of someone cleaning and or disinfecting, causing them to feel more confident in the restaurant’s sanitation policies. With the right concentration, many people would be struggling to breathe within minutes, causing mass chaos and eventually death. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) “If chlorine gas is released into the air, people may be exposed through skin contact or eye contact. They also may be exposed by breathing air that contains