Het gebruik van chemische oorlogsagentia: historiek en toxicologische aspecten

The first wholesale use of chemical warfare agents took place in World War I. These agents can be classified either as "weapons", like choking agents, nose agents, vesicants and nerve agents, or as "expedients", like smoking agents and defoliants, depending on the fact if they are used with the purpose either to kill or to incapacitate the enemy or to interfere with his fighting performances, or if they are only applied in view of an easier enforcement of certain military operations. In this paper the history of chemical warfare will be expounded concisely, starting from the period of the "Great War" (1914-1918) up to the more recent conflicts like the first and the second Gulf War. The chemical agents used and their toxicological effects in case of exposure are also outlined briefly. As concluding remarks some particular problems, related to the possible impact of chemical weapons on the environment and on human health, that will continue to exist in the future, and this in spite of the new Chemical Weapons Convention that came into force very recently, will be pointed out.