"White Phosphorus as Weapon" What does it do?

[donheld]

I will show my ignorance. I would just like more info as to what this does when used. Anyone?

[Rick Myers]

1. It's a semi-solid that cannot be extinguished!!!

And as it burns, it emits VERY toxic gases.

[justiceischeap]

2. it attacks flesh

melts it but leaves clothing untouched. Water makes it burn worse.

[MrMonk]

6. It reacts with the water in your flesh

burning it out until the phosphorous runs out, or there is nothing left to burn.

[rd_kent]

8. NO IT DOES NOT!!!!!!

Dont spread false crap around!!!! WP is used as an incendiary device to start fires, mark positions, it is the light from a tracer round, etc.... It does not attack fleash, melt it to the bone and leave clothing untouched!!!! If burning WP gets on you, you will burn, as will your clothes.

[tk2kewl]

10. watch the italian documentary

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/110805Z.shtml

[acmejack]

11. Per the CDC

snip>
White phosphorus is used by the military in various types of ammunition, and to produce smoke for concealing troop movements and identifying targets. (In the Navy it was used for smoke, but it was common knowledge that airbursting over troops was vicious.)

Breathing white phosphorus for short periods may cause coughing and irritation of the throat and lungs. Breathing white phosphorus for long periods may cause a condition known as "phossy jaw" which involves poor wound healing of the mouth and breakdown of the jaw bone.

Eating or drinking small amounts of white phosphorus may cause liver, heart, or kidney damage, vomiting, stomach cramps, drowsiness, or death. We do not know what the effects are from eating or drinking very small amounts of white phosphorus-containing substances over long periods of time. Skin contact with burning white phosphorus may burn skin or cause liver, heart, and kidney damage.

We do not know whether or not white phosphorus can affect the ability to have children or cause birth defects in people.

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts103.html

[MrMonk]

12. Some sources differ from your understanding

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_phosphorus_incendiary

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/wp.htm

"White phosphorus burns spontaneously in air. Contact with these particles can cause local burns. These weapons are particularly nasty because white phosphorus continues to burn until it disappears. If service members are hit by pieces of white phosphorus, it could burn right down to the bone. Remove quickly all clothing affected by phosphorus to prevent phosphorus burning through to skin. If this is impossible, plunge skin or clothing affected by phosphorus in cold water or moisten strongly to extinguish or prevent fire. Then immediately remove affected clothing and rinse affected skin areas with cold sodium bicarbonate solution or with cold water. Moisten skin and remove visible phosphorus (preferably under water) with squared object (knife-back etc.) or tweezers. Do not touch phosphorus with fingers! Throw removed phosphorus or clothing affected by phosphorus into water or allow to bum in suitable location. Cover phosphorus burns with moist dressing and keep moist to prevent renewed inflammation. It is neccessary to dress white phosphorus-injured patients with saline-soaked dressings to prevent reignition of the phosphorus by contact with the air.

White phosphorus fume is an irritant of the respiratory tract and eyes; the solid in contact with the skin produces deep thermal burns. Exposure to moisture produces phosphoric acid. Prolonged absorption of phosphorus causes necrosis of bones. It is a hepatotoxin."

[CanOfWhoopAss]

13. Watch this using any of the links. You may reconsider your beliefs.

http://win20ca.audiovideoweb.com/ca20win15004/fallujah_ING512K.wmv

http://websrvr20.audiovideoweb.com/avwebdswebsrvr2143/news_video/fallujah_ING512K.mov

http://real21mt.audiovideoweb.com/ramgen/nj20real2514/fallujah_ING512K.rm

http://movies.crooksandliars.com/fallujah_ING~1.wmv


Also...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5314393

[leftchick]

16. links??? proof??

this should be good...

:popcorn:

[Mr_Spock]

17. Please respond to your critics

Don't make inflammatory rebuttals and then not respond when you are rebuffed numerous times...

[Lerkfish]

18. it would appear, sir, that you are the one spreading false information.

http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic918.htm


Pathophysiology: White phosphorus results in painful chemical burn injuries. The resultant burn typically appears as a necrotic area with a yellowish color and characteristic garliclike odor. White phosphorus is highly lipid soluble and as such, is believed to have rapid dermal penetration once particles are embedded under the skin. Because of its enhanced lipid solubility, many have believed that these injuries result in delayed wound healing. This has not been well studied; therefore, all that can be stated is that white phosphorus burns represent a small subsegment of chemical burns, all of which typically result in delayed wound healing.


Systemic toxicity has been described extensively in the animal model. Pathologic changes have been documented in the liver and kidney. These changes result in the development of progressive anuria, decreased creatinine clearance, and increased blood phosphorus levels. Depression of serum calcium with an elevation in the serum phosphorus level (reversed calcium-phosphorus ratio) with electrocardiographic changes including prolongation of the QT segment, ST segment depression, T wave changes, and bradycardia also have been observed. Oral ingestion of white phosphorus in humans has been demonstrated to result in pathologic changes to the liver and kidneys. The accepted lethal dose is 1 mg/kg, although the ingestion of as little as 15 mg has resulted in death. Individuals with a history of oral ingestion have been noted to pass phosphorus-laden stool ("smoking stool syndrome").


Mortality/Morbidity: Morbidity and mortality are related directly to trauma and burns sustained from exposure.

Burns usually are limited to areas of exposed skin (upper extremities, face). Burns frequently are second and third degree because of the rapid ignition and highly lipophilic properties of white phosphorus.
Trauma usually is a combination of blunt and penetrating. Blunt trauma results from the percussion and force of the blast, and penetrating trauma results from projectiles produced from the explosion.

[Lerkfish]

23. further: the US admits using it as a weapon...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5314738

[leftchick]

20. YES IT DOES TOO!

your turn...

[TomInTib]

26. You are right. I have seen it up close

Depending on the physical state of WP (weaponized, solid, etc) it has varying effect on DRY textile (cloth). However, once the flesh ignites all bets are off. Everything burns. These reports of unburned clothing- if factual- mean some other type of weapon was used.

[justiceischeap]

27. I'm just reporting what a navy friend told me today.

I guess he's wrong... :shrug:

[ET Awful]

30. The only part of your answer that is 100% accurate is the last sentence

It is used as an anti-personnel weapon in some cases. It dos not attack/melt flesh, but it DOES burn until it is either suffocated or completely burned out/consumed. It will indeed burn clothing.

[the_spectator]

22. Wow! It's like a fashionista neutron bomb!

Nice to know that if we ever declare war on Anna Wintour and her people at Vogue, we will be able to kill them without having to destroy some really nice outfits!

[Lerkfish]

24. if you'd seen the italian video, I doubt you'd be joking.

these people had flesh hanging off their bones in strips.

I was very disturbed and heartsick after viewing.

I don't think I could make a joke about it, but hey, that's me.

[the_spectator]

25. Well, I haven't seen the video, so I think you're right.

I wouldn't have joked if I'd seen it; as this is the first time I've read or heard about phosphorus as a weapon, the concept of "burns/melts flesh, but clothing remains untouched" struck me so wierd that the joke kind of told itself! Sorry though.

[ET Awful]

28. It does NOT leave clothing untouched. I've trained with WP grenades

and I know what it can do. You are trained to remove any clothing that has WP on it before it burns through to your skin.

Once again, it does NOT leave clothing untouched.

[thefloyd]

3. Terrible

My Nam' Vet father says WP just eats your flesh down to the bone.

[The Stranger]

5. Maybe it can be marketed as a weight loss product?

Sounds like good stuff.

:sarcasm:

[Postman]

4. It burns your skin and flesh to the bone....

but will not burn your clothing.

If you breath it in, it will form blisters inside your lungs and throat until you die, then it burns your body from the inside out.

When it explodes it forms a gas and affects everything within a tenth of a mile. It can only be "put out" with wet mud. Water will do nothing to stop it from burning you to death.

check out this link for a more insightful discussion...

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/11/08/1516232

[chat_noir]

7. see post #17

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5313063

[oneighty]

9. White Phosphorous

was (IS?) an igniter for napalm bombs (The ones that look like wing tanks.)

We once inadvertently blew up some napalm igniters in a piney forest in a mysterious area of the south and spent many many hours fighting the resulting forest fires.

Most EODs would never ever admit to such an error.

180

[Carolab]

14. Watch this video: Fallujah--The Hidden Massacre

http://informationclearinghouse.info/article10907.htm

[raysr]

15. In Basic Training

they put a canister of WP on a jeep engine block and set it off. It went straight through in less than a minute.

[Caution]

19. Wikipedia on WP as a weapon

Please people, when in doubt use Wikipedia, it's generally a LOT more reliable than most other sources.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_phosphorus_incendiary

From the Wikipedia entry on White Phosphorus:

Incendiary

It is commonly believed that white phosphorus ignites spontaneously on contact with air at room temperature. This is not quite true; the autoignition temperature is actually about 30°C in humid air, and slightly higher in dry air. However at slightly lower temperatures WP will slowly surface oxidise, effectively smouldering, and will often warm up to the point where it will ignite. At any rate, the slightest degree of friction will easily ignite it, and it is practically guaranteed to be ignited by a burster charge, so for all intents and purposes it is pyrophoric.
Because of this, WP has long had a secondary role as an incendiary, either directly or more usually as a "first fire" material. Contrary to another popular myth, it does not burn particularly fiercely, especially in comparison to other incendiaries like thermite. As an incendiary, it is most effective against highly flammable targets like very dry vegetation or petrol, oils and lubricants. However a WP fire does have the special difficulty that if extinguished with water, even to the point of being quite cold, it may reignite later when it dries out and exposes the WP to the air again.


First aid and Toxicity
Burns to persons struck by particles of burning WP are usually much less extensive than napalm or metal incendiary burns, but are complicated by the toxicity of phosphorus, the release of phosphoric acid into the wounds, and the possibility of small particles continuing to smoulder for some time if undetected.
The most immediate concern is to exclude air from wounds so as to extinguish any remaining burning particles—while the first aider takes care not to touch the WP particles. Usually, this is mostly practicably achieved by cutting off contaminated clothing and dumping it in a fire resistant contaminated waste bin, and applying soaked compresses to the wounds. Ideally the compresses should be soaked in a mild sodium bicarbonate solution to neutralise phosphoric acid. If the patient is to be transported, sufficient water must be provided to keep the bandages wet at all times.
As soon as practicable, remaining particles must be removed from the wounds. This is done by underwater debridement of burnt areas with tweezers or a blunt metal spatula. If available, irrigation with a fresh 1% solution of copper sulphate is advantageous as it reacts with any remaining phosphorus particles, coating them with a layer of copper phosphide. (This very dark material is easier to see, and also fluoresces under ultraviolet light, if available. Furthermore it provides a relatively inert coating.) Care must be taken to only irrigate briefly, however, and thoroughly rinse away the solution afterward, or there is a risk of copper poisoning through the wounds. If copper sulphate is not available, inspection of the wounds in a darkened room may reveal any missed pieces through phosphorescence.
Subsequently treat as for a burn, but seek expert medical advice to treat phosphorus poisoning. Avoid oily ointments until it is certain all phosphorus has been removed.
Afterward, ensure all particles of WP and contaminated clothing are decontaminated by incineration.
Chronic exposure to phosphorus over several months to years may lead to condition known as phossy-jaw.

[ET Awful]

29. Thank you for the only completely correct answer. n/t

[KerryOn]

21. WP - Igniter for Napalm used in Korea and Vietnam - Warning graphic text.

many people don't know that Napalm was used in Korea as well as Vietnam. Here is an entry from my fathers journal from Korea.

Thursday - March 1, 1951

This morning we took our heavy guns and set up on a hill behind the one we tried to take yesterday. It is hill 318 and we are supposed to take it today. Our whole platoon is on this hill and we covered the rifle companies while they advanced up it. Those four guns fired an awful lot of ammo today. I made two trips down after ammo and one after water to cool the gun.

It was a vicious fight for the riflemen and several of them were killed and a good many wounded but before dark we had taken the hill.

We moved down from our hill and around hill 318 to the side. We ate chow and while we were in chow line the chinks started throwing in mortars again. There was a deep ditch we took cover in until it let up. They were coming too close for comfort.

After chow we started up, the mortar fire dwindling to a round now and then. Just before dark we got up to where our positions were because we had to go around to keep cover. We were attached to Charlie Company and I walked part way up the hill with Shroute. The platoon we were attached to only had 16 men left. The others had become casualties today. There was a dead chink just below our position who was burning from white phosphorus and Reed and I were detailed to cover him with dirt to stop some of the smell. It was the worst thing I've ever smelled. Our positions on the crest of the hill were not too good and we had to dig in but the enemy in front of us kept up an accosting fire until dark.

Our own mortars started firing for the evening and they were dropping them in too close and the same thing almost happened as yesterday. Some of our own men were wounded by our own artillery fire yesterday, we were getting such close support.

All night long there was a wounded chink a ways out in front of us that kept yelling in a fever. Nerves were on edge and guys kept heaving hand grenades over all night long at intervals. We got very little sleep with the 50% alert on. It was so dark you couldn't see anything. Campbell kept circulating up and down to see if everyone was O.K. Altogether it was a rough day but we had taken 318.

[OneBlueSky]

31. short answer = dissolves flesh . . . n/t

.

[nadinbrzezinski]

32. It burns, in a very hot exothermic reaction

and water does not extinghish it... it is NASTY... and it is allowed under certain conditions.

See post 19 for the rest

[nguoihue]

33. A long time ago

Two USMC buddies of mine were victims of a booby-trapped WP artillery round. Both were med-evaced. One we were told was blinded in both eyes. We never saw him again. The other returned to duty with us in 3 or 4 months. He had a terrible, raw meat looking scar on one side of his face, neck shoulder and chest but he was in good spirits.

This happened in a rice paddy which had water about hip deep in it. Their rifles, at that time we still had M-14s with wooden stocks, still smoldered under the paddy water.

Frenchy, are you still out there man? Today is the day. Happy Marine Corps Birthday.

[DanCa]

34. Don Held thanks for asking and for thanks everyone for the info.

I love it on DU I get such a good education.