Учебный вопрос №4. Зрительно - устный перевод текста

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CHEMICAL AGENTS

Since the end of World War II the United States has main­tained an active cml program.

Current CW preparations in the USA and NATO countries include the stockage of bombs, shells and msl warheads filled with lethal or harassing agents; the maintenance of CW agent plants on a standby conditions; and the deployment of associated equip and pers. NATO armies have specialized troops for the offensive role in CW; this tends to be integrated within other units, but in the US Army there is a Chemical Corps (Cml C).

Chemical agents may be classified by physical state (solid, liquids, gases), by tactical use (casualty gases, training and riot control gases, screening smokes, signaling smokes, incendiaries) and by physiological action (nerve gas«s, blood gases, blister gases, choking gases, vomiting and tear gases). Cas (casualty) gases may­be persistent or nonpersistent.

Another classification divides cml agts into toxic, irritant, smoke and incendiary including flame fuels.

Toxic. Chemical Agents

Nerve agents sarin (GB), tabun (GA), soman (GD) and V-gases are quick-acting cml agents, that in liquid or vapor form produce casualties from incapacitation to death by paralizing respiratory muscles of exposed pers.

Blood gases as hydrogen cyanide (AC) attack the blood­stream barring oxygen to tissue.

Blister agents — mustard (HD), lewisite (L) are delayed- acting cml agts that in liquid or vapor form produce cas (casualties) among exposed pers by their blistering action on the eyes, skin or parts of the respiratory system.

Binary Chemical Weapons

For years, the Army Cml C (Corps) has been conducting research and development on binaries with a view to replacing its ageing stockpiles of nerve agents —estimated to amount to about 40 million pounds — with the new wpns. The idea is that since binaries consist of two relatively nontoxic components which form a lethal agent (CB) only when they are mixed together, they can be manufactured and stored much more safely than conventional nerve gases. This is a new generation of cml wpns. Besides, the US Army is pushing ahead its plans to produce a binary wpn which would form the much more persistent nerve agent VX. The gas GB quickly breaks down in the environment, but VX can remain lethal for several weeks under some conditions. The new agents can be delivered on tgt by "artillery projectiles filled with a nontoxic chemical solution." The nerve gas codenamed VX is the most toxic of a family of V-agents. VX i$ said to be so toxic that in liquid form a drop the size of a pinhead, placed on the skin is lethal.

Irritant Chemical Agents

Choking gases or lung irritants—phosgene (CG) and chloro- picrin (PS), when being breathed, cause irritation and inflamma­tion of bronchial tubes and lungs.

Vomiting gases such as adamsite (DM), when disseminated as an aerosol, cause violent sneezing, nausea and vomiting.

Tear gases—chloracetophenone (CN) and bromobenzylcyanide (BBC) cause a copious flow of tears and intense eye pain.

Smoke Agents

Signaling smoke is produced by a fuel containing an organic dye. When the fuel is burned the dye is vaporized and then is condensed to form the colored smoke.

Screening smoke — fog and oil that produces a very dense white smoke when vaporized and condensed; white phosphorus (WP) is a solid that burns when exposed to air, forming a very dense white smoke.

Flame Fuels and Incendiary Agents

Flame fuel is employed primarily against pers. It consists of special blends of petroleum products, usually in thickened form. Incd agts consist of a combination of flammable substances that burn with an intense heat.

Methods of Dissemination

Cml agts may be disseminated by bursting-type munition (artillery and mortar shells, rockets, bombs, grenades and land mines), generating-type equipment and munitions which employ heat to vaporize and disseminate cml agts (mechanical generator, thermal generator, burning-type generator), pressure-type wea­pons and munitions which employ industrial compressed gases to project cml agts towards the tgt. They include mechanical pressure wpns (portable flame thrower) and field expedient munition (flame mines) and spray-type equip which can be used to disseminate large quantities of liquid or solid particle chemical agents from acft.

Учебный вопрос №5. Выполнение упражнений III, IV, VI, VII,

EXERCISES