A TREATMENT FOR WHITE PHOSPHORUS BURNS

Abstract

Although white phosphorus has largely been replaced by various substitutes in the industries, this is not true in military practice. During the World War enormous quantities of white phosphorus were used on both sides, as a smoke screen producer, as an incendiary agent, and above all for its burning and terrorizing effect on hostile troops, when used in Stokes mortar shells, Livens projectors and hand grenades. The American production of white phosphorus for war purposes had reached the enormous figure of 1,006 tons at the time of the armistice. While the recent gas treaty prohibits the use of chemical agents such as the toxic smokes and lethal war gases, this prohibition does not cover the use of nontoxic smoke producers, and white phosphorus is still a permitted war agent. In consequence it is widely used in troop maneuvers, and a number of serious accidents have occurred, both in filling plants