Chemical Warfare Agents

Chemical Warfare Agents has been totally revised since the successful first edition and expanded to about three times the length, with many new chapters and much more in-depth consideration of all the topics. The chapters have been written by distinguished international experts in various aspects of chemical warfare agents and edited by an experienced team to produce a clear review of the field.The book now contains a wealth of material on the mechanisms of action of the major chemical warfare agents, including the nerve agent cyclosarin, formally considered to be of secondary importance, as well as ricin and abrin. Historically, chemical warfare agents were generally considered to be threats to military personnel. Since the Japanese terrorist incidents with sarin, and more recent terrorist incidents such as 9/11 in the USA (none of which so far has involved the use of chemical weapons), this view has had to be revised and the protection of civilians against these agents now has to be considered. Civilians differ from military personnel in that civilians are not necessarily young and fit. Nor, crucially, will they generally receive pretreatments such as pyridostigmine, which is available for the protection of military personnel against poisoning with organophosphorus nerve agents, especially soman. This means that a potential mass casualty situation has to be considered.This book provides a comprehensive review of chemical warfare agents, assessing all available evidence regarding the medical, technical and legal aspects of their use. It will be invaluable as a reference source for physicians, public health planners, regulators and any other professionals involved in this field.It is with great regret that we record that Dr Fred Sidell died during the preparation of this second edition.