White Phosphorus as Military Warhead

News: Human Rights Watch accused Israel of “unlawfully” using white phosphorus over residential parts of a southern Lebanese town.

About White Phosphorus as Military Warhead

• White phosphorus is a chemical substance that ignites when it comes in contact with oxygen and burns at extremely high temperatures.
• Properties:
  • Colour and odour: It is a white to yellow waxy solid with a garlic like odour.
  • It ignites spontaneously in air at temperatures above 30 °C and continues to burn until it is fully oxidized or until deprived of oxygen.
  • Burning phosphorus produces dense, white, irritating smoke containing mixed phosphorus oxides.
• Applications:
  • Military use: It is used for military purposes in grenades and artillery shells to produce illumination, to generate a smokescreen and as an incendiary.
  • Industrial use: It is used in industries for the production of phosphoric acid, phosphates and other compounds.
• Effects of exposure:
  • It keeps burning when exposed to oxygen, causing extremely deep burns that can destroy skin, muscle, and even bone.
  • It also releases toxic smoke that damages eyes, lungs and internal organs if it enters the bloodstream.
• Regulation of its use:
  • It is not classified as a chemical weapon under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
  • Its use is regulated by the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), specifically Protocol III, which governs incendiary weapons.
  • The treaty does not prohibit white phosphorus outright, but it places restrictions on how incendiary weapons can be used.
  • If white phosphorus is used in a way that scatters burning fragments over densely populated areas, it can violate fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.