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Writer's pictureKatie B
Jun 9, 20205 min read

Case Study: Chlorine Gas by Jadyn

Updated: Jan 5, 2021

Chemical warfare is the use of toxic properties of a certain chemical to incapacitate or kill an enemy (Science Daily, 2020). The first use of chemical warfare was during World War 1 (WW1) during the 20th century. This included: mustard gas, tear gas, hydrogen cyanide and chlorine gas. This essay will be focused on chlorine gas, specifically its properties and effects. Even though chlorine is used in everyday life such as in swimming pools as a disinfectant, as a gas it can cause serious irritation and suffocation. WW1 resulted in the 1925 Geneva Protocol, which caused all chlorine gas as well as other chemical weapons to be banned.


During WW1, chlorine gas was frequently used from 1915. It had to be used as a gas so it was able to sink into the opposition's trenches since Cl2 is denser than nitrogen and oxygen which are the main gases in the atmosphere (rsc, 2019). This helps chlorine be a good weapon because it can reach certain places that gunfire or other weapons wouldn’t be able to reach. An example of this was in Ypres in 1915, in the first battle of Ypres when the Allies and Germany were fighting for control over the northern side of Belgium. The Germans surprised the Allies by sending 150 tonnes of chlorine gas (History, 2020). After this attack, there was a big breakthrough in medical advancements when the Allies decided to create gas masks to prevent themselves from further attacks.


Pure chlorine was first isolated from hydrochloric acid by Carl Wilhelm in 1774 and its bleaching properties were found in 1810 by Humphry Davy (Newsweek 2016). As it’s not naturally found, there has to be an intention to use chlorine gas for such a purpose as a weapon, therefore it shows how useful the weapon was during the War. If it wasn’t useful, countries wouldn’t bother wasting unnecessary resources to get hold of the gas. Chlorine has a boiling point of -34.04 degrees Celsius (BBC, 2019) meaning it is naturally a gas at room temperature and as a gas, it is toxic which helped it be a good weapon since it would naturally kill and harm any living person. Chlorine is highly reactive and when reacting with water, it hydrolyses rapidly to create hydrochloric acid(Libre Texts, 2019). When reacting, hydrogen ions are produced and this results in the water in the lungs becoming more acidic and the pH of the water will decrease. Due to the gas being highly reactive, it results in it being a good weapon since it can attack the body very quickly, serving its purpose by leading to suffocation as well as vomiting and choking. Chlorine can cause serious long term effects such as pulmonary oedema (fluid in the lungs) (CDC, 2019).


Chlorine gas has a distinct yellow-green colour as well as an irritating, pungent smell at room temperature (ncbi, 2008). These properties make it very easy for someone to detect an unknown gas. However, overall, the properties mean that chlorine gas isn’t a very good chemical weapon because it can be detected easily. Its distinctive colour means that the opposition is aware that the unwanted gas is in the atmosphere and they can take the correct precautions to protect themselves, such as putting on gas masks. Doctors were able to work out exactly how the gas affects the body as well as its victims and this helped create a useful barrier which would help troops. Even though chlorine can be spotted quickly due to its colour and odour, the gas would’ve already entered the human body via respiration and since the gas is fast-acting, the infected person would already be infected and they would be experiencing symptoms caused by the taking in of chlorine gas but it wouldn’t kill them as easily once the gas mask has been put on. Initially, it was a good weapon however as the war went on, its success rate slowly decreased since it could be spotted easily and gas masks were available for troops.


The use of chemical weapons resulted in the 1925 Geneva Protocol. The Geneva Protocol “prohibits the use of chemical weapons and biological weapons in war” (UN, 2020.) The protocol was drawn up as well as signed at a conference in Geneva with the League of Nations (now known as the United Nations) it finally came into action on the 8th February 1928. This protocol was created because the “widespread use of asphyxiating gas during World War I ushered in a new era of human-inflicted mass destruction and greatly alarmed the international community’ (Britannia, 2018.) The Geneva Protocol received 38 signatures however Germany wasn’t included. This is significant since Germany didn’t stop using chemical weapons after WW1. A very famous example was during the Holocaust in World War 2 when the Nazis would murder Jews by using toxic gas. The Geneva Protocol could be seen as a success, it has eased the worry of any illegal weapons being used, it has urged nations to think about their weaponry and it forces nations to follow all the necessary rules. However, this Protocol hasn’t stopped chemical weapons from being used in the 20th and 21st centuries. For example, during the Cold War, the US military used Agent Orange in the Vietnam War (The Conversation , 2017). In the 21st century, Russia used Novichok against a former agent in Salsbury (UK Government, 2018).


In conclusion, I believe that chlorine gas was a good weapon during the 20th century but it isn't’ good now. During WW1, it served its purpose of incapacitating and killing enemy soldiers. It caused many significant deaths which helped both sides when they were falling behind during the war. Even though its colour means chlorine can be spotted quickly, the gas would’ve already entered the human body via respiration and since the gas is fast-acting, the infected person would already be at a greater risk. However, now it has lost its significance as a good weapon. For example, every soldier has a protective gas mask when they are going out to war so they are protected at all times.


 

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