Blood agent

A blood agent is a poisonous chemical. A blood agent makes it impossible for a person's blood to hold oxygen and bring it to the rest of the body.^[1] Every part of the body needs oxygen to survive. Blood agents can cause life-threatening symptoms like seizures or coma, which happen because the brain is not getting enough oxygen. In high enough doses, blood agents can make a person suffocate.^[2]

When they are used on purpose to kill many people, blood agents are weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).^[3]

The most common types of blood agents are chemical compounds that include cyanide. However, other blood agents are based on arsenic.^[2]

1. ↑ "Blood Agents". CDC: Emergency Preparedness and Response. United States Centers for Disease Control. April 18, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Hayer, Robert J. (January 10, 2006). Introduction to CBRNE Terrorism: An Awareness Primer and Preparedness Guide for Emergency Response (PDF) (Report). The Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 29, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
3. ↑ National Science and Technology Council Committee on Homeland and National Security, Subcommittee on Standards (May 2011). A National Strategy for CBRNE Standards (PDF) (Report). Office of Science and Technology Policy. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 18, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016.