What is white phosphorous?
WHITE phosphorous is currently in the news after claims Turkey had been using banned white phosphorous bombs in their military campaign against the Kurds.
It has been claimed the horrific weapons have been used in Turkish airstrikes which are being used to bombard the Kurdish stronghold in northern Syria.
What is white phosphorous?
The compound is derived from the chemical element phosphorous and can be used in smoke, tracer fire as well as munitions.
White phosphorous is pyrophoric, meaning it self-ignites, and can burn clothing, skin, fuel and ammunition.
Due to its smoke-producing qualities it is usually found in smoke grenades and other munitions, such as launchers or mortars.
They are used to create a smoke screen to hide troop movements or firing positions as well as infrared signatures.
White phosphorous has been used extensively in combat through the years although now there are regulations restricting its use.
The first use of the compound is thought to have been by the Fenian arsonists in the 19th century.
Since then white phosphorous has been used widely in a long list of conflicts, including World War 1 and II as well as in Korea and Vietnam.
White phosphorous has also been used in more recent conflicts such as by Saddam Hussein in 1988 during the poison gas attack on Halabja.
The most recent allegations now say it has been used by Turkish forces against the Kurds.
What the effects of white phosphorous on humans?
There are three main ways it can cause injuries and death – by burning deep into tissue, by being inhaled as a smoke, and by being ingested.
Burns – the particles in white phosphorus when it is exploded can produce extensive burns on the human body. The burns can be especially horrific as the element has a tendency to stick to the skin. Phosphorus burns can be particularly deadly as the skin can then absorb the phosphorus leading to liver, heart and kidney damage and in particularly bad cases, multiple organ failure.
Smoke inhalation – burning white phosphorus produces a hot, dense, white smoke which is largely made up of phosphorus pentoxide. Simply inhaling the substance can cause illness or even death and can even produce burns.
Oral ingestion – The accepted lethal dose of absorbing white phosphorus is just 1mg per kg of body weight. It can also cause liver, heart or kidney damage.
Fume inhalation – simply inhaling the fumes from white phosphorus over a long period of time can cause a condition called phossy jaw, which is a painful, debilitating and ultimately lethal condition. This condition was often found in factory workers involved with making of matches that contained white phosphorus until the practice was outlawed in 1906 under the Berne Convention.
What are the international regulations over the military use of white phosphorus?
Article 1 of Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons defines incendiary weapons as “any weapon or munition which is primarily designed to set fire to objects or to cause burn injury to persons through the action of flame, heat, or combination thereof, produced by a chemical reaction of a substance delivered on the target”.
The protocol bans the use of such weapons against civilians or in civilian areas.
But the protocol also states two key exceptions:
- Munitions which may have incidental incendiary effects, such as illuminants, tracers, smoke or signalling systems
- Munitions designed to combine penetration, blast or fragmentation effects with an additional incendiary effect
Weapons that contain white phosphorus but are not seen as incendiary weapons are not regulated by the protocol.
The use against military targets outside civilian areas is not explicitly banned by any treaty.
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The protocol also bans the use of all air-delivered incendiary weapons against civilian populations, or for indiscriminate incendiary attacks against military forces co-located with civilians.
It though excludes weapons whose incendiary effects are secondary, such as smoke grenades.
However several countries are not signatories to Protocol III.