Poor man’s chemical warfare
The Iraqi insurgency has gone the way of the poor man’s chemical weapons - in force. If I’m not mistaken, this is the largest group of casualties yet from a chlorine VBIED attack in Iraq.
Based on the HAZMAT training I’ve received of late, chlorine is definitely toxic in large doses. It’s been used as a weapon, first in World War I, were it destroyed lung tissue and caused, at a minimum, severe coughing.
As a modern military weapon, it’s actually very poor. Military-grade nerve agents, by way of
comparison, will kill a person with a single drop on the skin. Chlorine must be inhaled in large quantities. Because it’s not used by any armies today, U.S. military protective masks aren’t even designed to stop it.
On the other hand, as a industrial chemical used in a variety of processes, it’s fairly easy to get - and thus it’s use in Iraq by unsophisticated insurgents.
At my own FOB, there were reports of possible chlorine tanker attacks, but they never happened (while I was there). If it had occurred, the best we could have told our soldiers was to get the hell out of the area.
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The C2A1 filter canister does contain adsorbents that protect against chlorine to a limited extent.
Also I’d like to add that we should avoid using the word “tanker” as the press has been doing. No tankers have been blown up, and the word implies large amounts of chemical, thus promoting a higher fear level among the public that I’m sure terrorists would like to see.
I think I’m going to have to agree to disagree with you, bbg. Everyone I’ve talked to with Chemical and HAZMAT experience are telling me that those filters might buy you seconds - at best, if that’s what you mean by “limited extent”. My advise is to use that time to get the hell out of there - upwind and uphill, preferably. As for the use of the word “tanker”, that’s the reports were were receiving at that time (nearly a year ago). It hasn’t happened so far.