Chemical Weapons by Luke Fellure Chemical weapons have been used throughout history, the first documented use dates back to 600 BC, when the Athenians poisoned the wells of the Spartans, who then retaliated by launching burning sulfur pitch above the walls of Athens, trying to fill the city with toxic smoke. Genghis Khan also used sulfur pitch, burning it and then catapulting it into cities around 1200 AD. Many armies even put poisons on arrows and projectiles to make them more deadly. Then, on April 22, 1915, during World War I, the Germans used the first large-scale chemical gas attack. 90,000 people were killed and 1 million were injured during World War I due to chemical weapons. Then the Italians used mustard gas in Ethiopia, Japan used blister agents in China and then Syria used mustard gas on their own people. Chemical weapons are one of the four types of weapons of mass destruction, and for good reason. Today, many countries have chemical weapons, but most of them have signed a non-proliferation treaty, which bans their use. Both the United States and Russia have the largest known stockpiles of chemical weapons. Both countries are reducing their stockpiles and destroying chemical weapons through the Chemical Weapons Convention. The United States, Russia, China, Japan and Syria still have chemical weapons, while Egypt, Taiwan, Sudan and North Korea may have them. Stockpiles of chemical weapons are increasingly depleted. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons was founded on April 29, 1997 to prohibit the production and use of chemical weapons. Oversees the destruction of chemical weapons production facilities and the destruction of all chemical weapons, including chemical...... middle of paper ......allows blood elements and waste products to pass through the capillary wall towards the tissue spaces. This allows fluid to move into the interstitial and alveolar spaces. Phosgene is made up of one carbon atom, one oxygen atom and two chlorine atoms, COCl2. Phosgene was synthesized by the British chemist John Davy in 1812. Phosgene, as well as others, is banned from use (NCBI). Chemical warfare has been condemned since it was first used on a large scale during World War I. Chemical weapons are cheap, can cause mass casualties, and are relatively easy to produce. They were used in many conflicts throughout the 20th century. Chemical weapons, despite the OPCW and other regulations, will continue to be a thought in the minds of shady people. Chemical weapons have been used since ancient times and will continue to be a part of warfare for many years to come.