CBRN defense

Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense (CBRN defense or CBRND) is protective measures taken in situations in which chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear warfare (including terrorism) hazards may be present. CBRN defense consists of CBRN passive protection, contamination avoidance and CBRN mitigation.

A CBRN incident differs from a hazardous material incident in both scope (i.e., CBRN can be a mass casualty situation) and intent. CBRN incidents are responded to under the assumption that they are intentional and malicious; evidence preservation and perpetrator apprehension are of greater concern than with HAZMAT incidents.

A 2011 forecast concluded that worldwide government spending on CBRN defence products and services would reach US$8.38bn that year.

Etymology

In English the term CBRN is a replacement for the cold war term NBC (nuclear, biological, and chemical), which had replaced the term ABC (atomic, biological, and chemical) that was used in the fifties. The addition of the R (for radiological) is a consequence of the "new" threat of a radiological weapon (also known as "dirty bombs"), in addition to end the joke among members of the Chemical Corps which called "NBC as NoBody Cares". In the new millennium, the term CBRNe was introduced as an extension of CBRN - the e in this term representing the enhanced (improvised) explosives threat. Leaders and members of the Chemical Corps also use CBRN as "Could Be Right Now".

Cyanogen bromide

Cyanogen bromide is a pseudohalogen compound with the formula C(Br)N. It is a colorless solid that is widely used to modify biopolymers, fragment proteins and peptides, and synthesize other compounds.

Synthesis, basic properties, and structure

The carbon atom in cyanogen bromide is bonded to bromine by a single bond and to nitrogen by a triple bond (i.e. Br–C≡N). The compound is linear and quite polar, but it does not spontaneously ionize in water. Therefore, it dissolves in both water and polar organic solvents.

Cyanogen bromide can be prepared by oxidation of sodium cyanide with bromine, which proceeds in two steps via the intermediate cyanogen ((CN)₂ or N≡C–C≡N).

If properly stored the pure material is long-term stable but like other cyanogen compounds it can undergo an exothermic trimerisation to form cyanuric bromide (c.f. cyanuric chloride). This reaction can be catalyzed by traces of bromine, metal salts, acids and bases.

Cyanogen bromide is hydrolyzed by water to release hydrogen cyanide and hypobromous acid

Weapon of mass destruction

A weapon of mass destruction (WMD or WoMD) is a nuclear, radiological, chemical, biological or other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans or cause great damage to human-made structures (e.g. buildings), natural structures (e.g. mountains), or the biosphere. The scope and application of the term has evolved and been disputed, often signifying more politically than technically. Originally coined in reference to aerial bombing with chemical explosives, since World War II it has come to refer to large-scale weaponry of other technologies, such as chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear.

Early uses of term

The first use of the term "weapon of mass destruction" on record is by Cosmo Gordon Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1937 in reference to the aerial bombardment of Guernica, Spain:

At the time, the United States (with help from Western Allies) had yet to develop and use nuclear weapons. Japan conducted research on biological weapons (see Unit 731), and chemical weapons had seen wide battlefield use in World War I. They were outlawed by the Geneva Protocol of 1925. Italy used mustard gas against civilians and soldiers in Ethiopia in 1935-36.