Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction

The weapons of mass destruction are those that destroy in great quantity human life and/or fauna, flora and infrastructure. This type of arms is divided into four categories, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons.

Chemical weapons are those that use the toxic properties of chemicals. This type of weapons is different from conventional ones, because their destructive power does not lie in an explosion but in the toxic/chemical used in them. These weapons are categorized into four types according to the area of the human body they attack: nerve, blood, blister and choking.

Moreover biological weapons use viruses, bacteria and other biological agents and the toxins caused by them. The characteristic of these weapons is that their main components are living organisms that reproduce in the body of the victim. These weapons can be used to attack humans and / or agriculture.

Radiological weapons are any weapon used to spread radioactive material in the environment. This weapons use conventional explosives to spread the radioactive material.

The nuclear weapons use nuclear reactions to cause an explosion. There are two types of nuclear weapons, the first one which derive their explosive power from nuclear fission such as the atomic bombs, and the second one that produce their energy from nuclear fusion like the thermonuclear weapons or hydrogen bombs.

The production and use of weapons of mass destruction is regulated by international treaties, such as: Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention and Chemical Weapons Convention. Not all the countries that possess weapons of mass destruction are part of these treaties.

References:

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

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

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

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

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