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Chemical Weapons Production and Storage

There are thousands of toxic chemicals that could be used in chemical weapons. Depending on the type of agent to be produced, there can be technical hurdles that must be overcome. "Classic" agents can be manufactured using existing chemical infrastructure, and most have legitimate commercial uses. Likewise, vesicants are not technologically complicated. The production of the nerve agents, however, requires significantly more sophisticated chemical processing. Some production processes require strict temperature control. Containment of toxic substances and gases can pose problems. Depending on the immediacy of use, purity of product can add a difficult dimension to production. In some cases, special equipment or handling is required to prevent corrosion of equipment and/or rapid deterioration of the product.

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Date Of Record Release 2009-04-07 17:02:05
Description There are thousands of toxic chemicals that could be used in chemical weapons. Depending on the type of agent to be produced, there can be technical hurdles that must be overcome. "Classic" agents can be manufactured using existing chemical infrastructure, and most have legitimate commercial uses. Likewise, vesicants are not technologically complicated. The production of the nerve agents, however, requires significantly more sophisticated chemical processing. Some production processes require strict temperature control. Containment of toxic substances and gases can pose problems. Depending on the immediacy of use, purity of product can add a difficult dimension to production. In some cases, special equipment or handling is required to prevent corrosion of equipment and/or rapid deterioration of the product.
Classification
Resource Type
Format
Subject
Source Federation of American Scientists
Keyword Chemicals, Chemical weapons, Biological weapons,
Date Of Record Creation 2009-04-07 16:53:49
Education Level
Date Last Modified 2009-04-07 17:02:05
Language English
Date Record Checked: 2009-04-07 00:00:00 (W3C-DTF)

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