The last chemical weapons stockpile destroyed by the US

A recent announcement from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) revealed that the last of the nation’s “outdated” chemical weapons stockpile had also been safely destroyed. As it is the last declared relic of this terrible weapon of war, At least on paper, it is possible to say that the world is free from chemical weapons.

With the decision described in the press release as “a milestone in the disarmament built for decades”, a total of 30 thousand tons of explosive metal canisters were reduced to zero. These artifacts, which contain mustard, sarin and VX gases, release a vapor that can be inhaled or come into contact with the skin, causing severe pain, burning, suffocation and death.

As the Cold War was drawing to a close, the US Congress demanded in 1986 that all stockpiles of chemical warfare agents in the country be destroyed. But the decision was only officially approved 11 years later. When the United States acceded to the United Nations Convention on International Chemical Weapons.

What chemical weapons did the US stockpile?

According to the Department of Defense, the country’s last chemical weapon – stored in the M55 rocket, which was destroyed on July 7 at a military facility in Kentucky – It was “sarin nerve gas.” This substance is a colorless, odorless, tasteless liquid that can be easily evaporated, inhaled or absorbed through the skin by blocking a neurotransmitter that controls muscles and nerves.

Another deadly agent that was part of the American reservoir was mustard gas. Used in both world wars, this product is a pale yellow, almost colorless, oily liquid with a mustard odour. Once it evaporates and is released, it causes painful blisters on the skin that can cause death within minutes.

Geneva Convention

The 1925 Protocol, known as the Geneva Convention, has a pompous and clear name: Prohibition of Use of Asphyxiant, Toxic or Other Gases and Bacteriological Control Methods. The document, which was about to turn one hundred years old, prohibited the development, production and possession of chemical weapons, but also outlawed their use.

As a result, the United States and other world powers continued to invest in the research and production of increasingly deadly chemical weapons.

Ironically, during the invasion of Iraq, carried out on the pretext that the country has “weapons of mass destruction”The US used white phosphorus, a highly toxic and lethal chemical substance.

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