Just how dangerous are the WMD found in Iraq?

Rep. Jane Harmon claims that these are old 1980s weapons and pose no more danger than what she can find under her kitchen sink. Perhaps Ms. Harmon should read the report 2003 UN Report: Iraq Sulfur Mustard Gas Chemical Weapons Have High Quality After 12 years of Storage:

March 2003 UN report about Iraq Weapons of Mass Destruction there is the following on page 77 (Page 79 of the pdf file), paragraph 1 of the report http://www.un.org/Depts/unmovic/documents/6mar.pdf :

 

“ The Sulfur Mustard contained in artillery shells that had been stored for over 12 years, had been found by UNMOVIC to be still of high purity. It is possible that viable filled artillery shells and aerial bombs still remain in Iraq.

Ms. Harmon, you sure are brave. Will you store these chemicals under your sink for us?

Hat tip: PeterUK

What Are Blister Agents?

Blister agents, or mustard agents as they are usually called, are chemical weapons agents that get their name due to the wounds caused by the agents, which resemble blisters or burns. Of course blistering and burning are not the only damage that mustard agents inflict, mustard agents also cause server tissue damage to the eyes, respiratory system, and internal organs. Blister agents will constantly be called mustard agents in the following sections, but remember that they are the same thing.

What Substances Belong To The Blister Agents? 

Several well known chemical substances that are classified as blister agents are sulphur mustard agent (bis-2-chloroethylsulphide) A.K.A. Distilled Mustard (HD), Levinstein (H) and, the Nitrogen Mustards (HN-1, HN-2 and HN-3), Phosgene Oxime (CX), Lewsite (L), Phenyldichloroarsine (PD), Ethyldichloroarsine (ED).

General Information About the Blister Agents

Blister agents are most likely to be used both to produce and to force enemy troops to wear protective equipment causing them to fight less efficiently. Blister agents can contaminate almost anything it touches for long periods of time. mustards are able to penetrate cell membranes in tissues and many other materials (wood, rubber, plants, etc.). Blister agents in their pure states are colorless and almost odorless. When odor is present it smells like rotten onions or mustard. Mustard like other chemical weapons can be thickened by adding a polymer. At room temperature mustard agents are liquids that are stable with a low volatility. In warmer climates persistence of mustards is less but higher concentrations of vapor occur. When mustards are dissolved in water they hydrolyzed at fast rates yielding poly-alcohols and hydrochloric acid (which is also not a very pleasant solution in and of itself). The only time that mustards break down into non-hazardous compounds is when they are dissolved in aqueous solutions when they are decomposed by means of hydrolysis (such aqueous compounds are bleaching powder and chloramines). *Because the mustards are so much alike the majority of the information provided about the blistering agents will be contained in the above paragraph and the following section on sulphur mustard. However, small portions of differences between the blistering agents will be noted under the respective blistering agent. ... More

Comments

[ikez78]

Nice post on Harman. Someone should call her out on that but of course the press only has the guts to challenge conservatives.

If you are ever interested in reading about Saddam's terror sponsorship I blog about it at http://markeichenlaub.blogspot.com/