White phosphorus bomb
White phosphorus bombs use one of the allotropes of phosphorus. They are used as incendiary weapons. White phosphorus is very reactive, and will ignite, when it comes in contact with the oxygen in the air. It will burn with a white flame, and heat up to 1,300 °C (2,370 °F). Burning white phosphorus will also produce a lot of toxic white smoke. While the fire can be extingished with water, the phosphorus will soon re-ignite. For this reason, sand should be used to extinguish it.
Health effects
[change | change source]Anyone coming in contact will suffer third-degree burns, and wounds which will take a very long time to heal. If they are not treated soon, injured people will die a slow and painful death.
Use is banned
[change | change source]The UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons of 1980 prohibits the use of weapons which cause a lot of injury or whose effects are indiscriminate. This means that white phosphorus ammunition is banned under the Convention. Some people think that because it is highly toxic, white phosphorus bombs may be a chemical weapon. This means that they would be banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention.