• Background on Chemical Warfare
  Noblis™
• Chemical and Biological Warfare (CBW)
  Science Tracer Bullets Online, Library of Congress
• Chemical Categories
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Chemical Emergencies
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Chemical Terrorism
  Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor
• Chemical Threat
  Ready.gov
• Chemical, Biological, and Nuclear Terrorism/Warfare: A bibliography (PDF, 2 MB)
  Dudley Knox Library Naval Postgraduate School
• Nerve Agents
  Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
• United States Chemical Weapons Convention Site
  Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce

Nerve Agents

• Health Effects
  • Physostigmine cholinesterase inhibitors (reversible)
  • Organophosphorus cholinesterase inhibitors (irreversible)
  • Disable enzymes responsible for transmitting nerve impulses.
  • Initial effects of organophosphorus agents occur within 1-10 minutes of exposure
  • Death
  • • Within 15 minutes for Tabun, Sarin, and Soman
    • From 4-42 hours for VX.
• Agents Include
  • Tabun (NATO military designation, GA)
  • Sarin (NATO military designation, GB)
  • Soman (NATO military designation, GD)
  • GF (Cyclohexyl methylphosphonofluoridate)
  • VX (Methylphosphonothioic acid S-(2-(bis(1-methylethyl)amino)ethyl) O-ethyl ester)
  • GE (Phosphonofluoridic acid, ethyl-, isopropyl ester)
  • VE (Phosphonothioic acid, ethyl-, S-(2-(diethylamino)ethyl) O-ethyl ester)
  • VG (Amiton)
  • VM (Phosphonothioic acid, methyl-, S-(2-(diethylamino)ethyl) O-ethyl ester)

Blister/Vesicant Agents

• Health Effects
  • Vesicants
  • • Skin blisters
    • Damage eyes, mucous membranes, respiratory tract, and internal organs
    • Initial effects rapid
  • Mustard agents
  • • Destroy different substances within cells of living tissue
    • Initial effects occur 12 to 24 hours after exposure.
  • Symptoms variable
  • Acute mortality low
  • Death can occur from complications after lung injury.
• Agents Include
  • Lewisite (L)
  • Mustard-Lewisite (HL)
  • Nitrogen mustards (HN-1, HN-2, HN-3)
  • Phosgene oxime (CX)
  • Sulfur mustards ( H, HD, HT)

Blood Agents

• Health Effects
  • Highly volatile
  • Rapidly acting
  • seizures
  • respiratory failure
  • cardiac arrest
• Agents Include
  • Cyanogen chloride (CK)
  • Hydrogen cyanide (AC)

Pulmonary Agents

• Health Effects
  • Liquids dispersed in gas form
  • Damage the respiratory tract and cause severe pulmonary edema in about four hours, leading to eventual death. Effects are variable
  • Rapid or delayed depending on the specific agent.
• Agents Include
  • Chlorine
  • Chloropicrin (PS)
  • Diphosgene (DP)
  • Phosgene (CG)

• Biological and chemical terrorism: strategic plan for preparedness and response. Recommendations of the
  CDC Strategic Planning Workgroup
  2000 Apr 21;49(RR-4):1-14
• Case Definitions for Chemical Poisoning
  MMWR Recomm Rep. 2005 Jan 14;4(RR01);1-24
• Emergency Room Procedures in Chemical Hazard Emergencies
  A Job Aid
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Medical Management Guidelines for Nerve Agents: Tabun (GA); Sarin (GB); Soman (GD); and VX
  Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Medical Management of Chemical Casualties Handbook, 3rd Edition
  U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense (USAMRICD)
  Brookside Press
• NATO Handbook on the Medical Aspects of NBC Defensive Operations
  Departments of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force
• Protecting Emergency Responders - Lessons Learned from Terrorist Attacks
  RAND Corporation
• Public health response to biological and chemical weapons: WHO guidance (2004)
  World Health Organization
• Textbook of Military Medicine: Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological Warfare
  The Borden Institute, Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army

• Chemical, Biological, Radiological & Nuclear Defense Information Analysis Center
  Battelle Memorial Institute, Department of Defense
• Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program
  FEMA.gov
• Chemical Weapons Elimination
  National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Emergency Response Guidelines (PDF, 2.8 MB)
  U.S. Department of Transportation – Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
• Emergency Management
  U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Guide for All-Hazard Emergency Operations Planning: State and Local Guide (PDF, 600 KB)
  FEMA.gov
• Recommendations for Protecting Human Health Against Potential Adverse Effects of Long-Term Exposure to
  Low Doses of Chemical Warfare Agents
  MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1988 Feb 12;37(5):72-4, 79

• Nuclear, Biological, Chemical, and Missile Proliferation Sanctions: Selected Current Law. Updated October 21, 2005 (PDF, 178KB)
  Congressional Research Service

PubMed - Biomedical journal literature

• Chemical Warfare
  
  • Articles from last 5 years
  • Review articles
  • All articles on this topic - May retrieve large number of citations
• Hydroxocobalamin as a cyanide antidote
  
  • Articles from last 5 years
  • Review articles
  • All articles on this topic - May retrieve large number of citations
• Hydrogen cyanide
  
  • Articles from last 5 years
  • Review articles
  • All articles on this topic - May retrieve large number of citations
• Lewisite
  
  • Articles from last 5 years
  • Review articles
  • All articles on this topic - May retrieve large number of citations
• Mustard Gas
  
  • Articles from last 5 years
  • Review articles
  • All articles on this topic - May retrieve large number of citations
• Phosgene
  
  • Articles from last 5 years
  • Review articles
  • All articles on this topic - May retrieve large number of citations
• Ricin
  
  • Articles from last 5 years
  • Review articles
  • All articles on this topic - May retrieve large number of citations
• Sarin
  
  • Articles from last 5 years
  • Review articles
  • All articles on this topic - May retrieve large number of citations
• Soman
  
  • Articles from last 5 years
  • Review articles
  • All articles on this topic - May retrieve large number of citations
• Tabun
  
  • Articles from last 5 years
  • Review articles
  • All articles on this topic - May retrieve large number of citations

TOXLINE - Special journal literature, technical reports and archival collections

• Chemical Warfare
  
  • Articles from last 5 years
  • Review articles only
  • All articles on this topic - May retrieve large number of citations
• Hydroxocobalamin as a cyanide antidote

Hazardous Substances Data Bank - Toxicology of potentially hazardous chemicals

• Hydrogen cyanide
• Lewisite
• Mustard Gas
• Phosgene
• Ricin
• Sarin
• Soman
• Tabun
• VX

ChemIDplus - Chemical identification and structure database

• Cyanide
• Lewisite
• Mustard gas
• Phosgene
• Ricin
• Sarin
• Soman
• Tabun
• VX

MedlinePlus - Consumer Health Information

• Chemical Emergencies

NLM Catalog - Access to information about books and other materials in NLM's catalog

• Chemical Warfare
  
  • Articles from last 5 years
  • All books on this topic

• The Chemical-Biological Warfare Exposures Site
  Force Health Protection and Readiness, Department of Defense
• Chemical Weapons Elimination
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• Ataque químico
  Listo.gov
• Emergencias químicas
  Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades
• Exposición a sustancias químicas
  Agencia para Sustancias Tóxicas y el Registro de Enfermedades
• Emergencias químicas
  MedlinePlus en español