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Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war. Biological weapons are living organisms or replicating entities. Entomological (insect) warfare is a subtype of biological warfare.
Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The skin form presents with a small blister with surrounding swelling that often turns into a painless ulcer with a black center. The inhalation form presents with fever, chest pain, and shortness of breath. The intestinal form presents with diarrhea, abdominal pains, nausea, and vomiting.
Gruinard Island is a small, oval-shaped Scottish island approximately 2 kilometres long by 1 km wide, located in Gruinard Bay, about halfway between Gairloch and Ullapool. At its closest point to the mainland, it is about 1 km offshore. In 1942, the island became a sacrifice zone, and was dangerous for all mammals after military experiments with the anthrax bacterium, until it was decontaminated in 1990.
VX is an extremely toxic synthetic chemical compound in the organophosphorus class, specifically, a thiophosphonate. In the class of nerve agents, it was developed for military use in chemical warfare after translation of earlier discoveries of organophosphate toxicity in pesticide research. In its pure form, VX is an oily, relatively non-volatile liquid that is amber-like in colour. Because of its low volatility, VX persists in environments where it is dispersed.
Porton Down is a science and defence technology campus in Wiltshire, England, just north-east of the village of Porton, near Salisbury. It is home to two British government facilities: a site of the Ministry of Defence's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory – known for over 100 years as one of the UK's most secretive and controversial military research facilities, occupying 7,000 acres (2,800 ha) – and a site of the UK Health Security Agency. Since 2018, part of the campus has housed Porton Science Park, which is owned and operated by Wiltshire Council and has private sector companies in the health, life science and defence and security sectors.
An area denial weapon is a defensive device used to prevent an adversary from occupying or traversing an area of land, sea or air. The specific method may not be totally effective in preventing passage, but is sufficient to severely restrict, slow down, or endanger the opponent. Some area denial weapons pose risks to civilians entering the area even long after combat has ended, and consequently are often controversial. An area denial weapon can be part of an anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy.
The United Kingdom possesses, or has possessed, a variety of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. The United Kingdom is one of the five official nuclear weapon states under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The UK renounced the use of chemical and biological weapons in 1956 and subsequently destroyed its general stocks.
Decontamination foam is a spray-on cleaning solution used on surfaces that have been contaminated with biological or chemical agents. Decon foam has been found to make numerous chemical and biological agents harmless. It is also intended for use in areas where large numbers of people have possibly been contaminated.
Penclawdd is a village in the north of the Gower Peninsula in the county of Swansea, Wales. Historically, it was part of Glamorgan. Penclawdd is most famous for its local cockle industry which goes back for many years to Roman times. It falls within the Penclawdd electoral ward. It is one of the larger villages on the Gower Peninsula. Part of the village is perched on a high location, enjoying panoramic views over the Loughor estuary and surrounding Gower countryside, while the main part of the village stretches along the edge of the estuary. Being so close to an estuary, Penclawdd is thriving with wildlife. It is plentiful in birdlife and with horses that roam the estuary. The built-up area had a population of 1,935.
Vozrozhdeniya Island was an island in the Aral Sea. The former island's territory is split between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. In 1954, the Soviet Union constructed a biological weapons test site called Aralsk-7 there and on the neighbouring Komsomolskiy Island, which also no longer exists.
Sir Paul Gordon Fildes was a British pathologist and microbiologist who worked on the development of chemical-biological weaponry at Porton Down during the Second World War.
Soil contamination, soil pollution, or land pollution as a part of land degradation is caused by the presence of xenobiotic (human-made) chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. It is typically caused by industrial activity, agricultural chemicals or improper disposal of waste. The most common chemicals involved are petroleum hydrocarbons, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, solvents, pesticides, lead, and other heavy metals. Contamination is correlated with the degree of industrialization and intensity of chemical substance. The concern over soil contamination stems primarily from health risks, from direct contact with the contaminated soil, vapour from the contaminants, or from secondary contamination of water supplies within and underlying the soil. Mapping of contaminated soil sites and the resulting clean ups are time-consuming and expensive tasks, and require expertise in geology, hydrology, chemistry, computer modelling, and GIS in Environmental Contamination, as well as an appreciation of the history of industrial chemistry.
The United States biological weapons program officially began in spring 1943 on orders from U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Research continued following World War II as the U.S. built up a large stockpile of biological agents and weapons. Over the course of its 27-year history, the program weaponized and stockpiled seven bio-agents — Bacillus anthracis (anthrax), Francisella tularensis (tularemia), Brucella spp (brucellosis), Coxiella burnetii (Q-fever), Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, Botulinum toxin (botulism), and Staphylococcal enterotoxin B. The US also pursued basic research on many more bio-agents. Throughout its history, the U.S. bioweapons program was secret. It was later revealed that laboratory and field testing had been common. The official policy of the United States was first to deter the use of bio-weapons against U.S. forces and secondarily to retaliate if deterrence failed.
The U.S. Army Biological Warfare Laboratories (USBWL) was a suite of research laboratories and pilot plant centers operating at Camp Detrick, Maryland, United States, beginning in 1943 under the control of the U.S. Army Chemical Corps Research and Development Command. The USBWL undertook research and development into biocontainment, decontamination, gaseous sterilization, and agent production and purification for the U.S. offensive biological warfare program. The laboratories and their projects were discontinued in 1969.
Operation Vegetarian was an unused British biowarfare military operation plan developed from 1942 to 1944 during World War II. The plan consisted of disseminating linseed cakes infected with anthrax spores into the countryside of Nazi Germany. These cakes would have been eaten by the cattle, which would then be consumed by the human population, leading to widespread death and disruption. Furthermore, it would have wiped out the majority of Germany's cattle, creating a massive food shortage for the rest of the population that remained uninfected. Preparations were not complete until early 1944, when the plan was abandoned due to Operation Overlord; the linseed cakes were destroyed via incinerators in 1945.
Events from the year 1990 in Scotland.
Before the 20th century, the use of biological agents took three major forms:
Events from the year 1942 in Scotland.
Although many other countries have possessed chemical and biological weapons programs, Rhodesia was one of many countries known to have used chemical and biological agents. Rhodesian CBW use took place toward the end of Rhodesia's protracted struggle against a growing African nationalist insurgency in the late 1970s. The genesis of the Rhodesian CBW effort emerged as a result of a deteriorating security situation that developed following Mozambique's independence from Portuguese colonial rule. In April 1980, the former colony became the independent country of Zimbabwe.
Anthrax weaponization is the development and deployment of the bacterium Bacillus anthracis or, more commonly, its spore, as a biological weapon. As a biological weapon, anthrax has been used in biowarfare and bioterrorism since 1914. However, in 1975 the Biological Weapons Convention prohibited the "development, production and stockpiling" of biological weapons. It has since been used in bioterrorism.
References
- ↑ Carn. Celtic League. 1987. p. 3.
- ↑ Curtis E. Cummings; Elisaveta Stikova (1 January 2007). Strengthening National Public Health Preparedness and Response to Chemical, Biological and Radiological Agent Threats. IOS Press. pp. 55–. ISBN 978-1-58603-744-4.
- ↑ MacLeay, Iain and Scott (1990). Britain's Secret War: Tartan Terrorism and the Anglo-American State. Mainstream Publishing. pp. 102–106. ISBN 1-85158-306-8.
- 1 2 3 4 Macdonald, Iain (26 February 2022). "40 years on, Dark Harvest campaign over 'anthrax island' is back in spotlight". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ↑ Weapons of Mass Destruction. ABC-CLIO. 2005. pp. 146–. ISBN 978-1-85109-490-5.
- ↑ "Biological Warfare: Dark Harvest". Time. 9 November 1981. Archived from the original on 26 January 2010.
- ↑ Rankin, Ian (13 October 2011). The Impossible Dead. Orion Publishing Group. ISBN 9781409112143.
