Pulmonary Toxic Agents

The world changed at 0846 on September 11, 2001, when a group of terrorists used a coordinated attack of civilian aircraft loaded with jet fuel to wreak havoc on the World Trade Center. This incident served as a warning to industrial, military, and political leaders that common chemicals used in the manufacture of household products could possibly be used to inflict massive casualties within a community (1,2). Pulmonary toxic agents are prevalent throughout the world because of the worldwide demands placed on industry for dyestuffs, textiles, metals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, and pesticides. These chemicals are often warehoused and transported via container barge, on interstate highway, and on railways. The industrial mishap in Bhopal, India underscores the importance of safeguarding these chemicals so that they may not be used for military or political gain. Some of these chemicals are well known in the annals of military history and evoke a great fear that some day they may be used once again in war, declared or otherwise. In World War I, approximately 1.2 million troops suffered a chemical gas exposure, resulting in 100,000 deaths (3).