Can you legally purchase white phosphorus?

It is unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally to possess or distribute red phosphorus, white phosphorus, or hypophosphorous acid, knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe, these substances will be used to illegally manufacture methamphetamine.

Are white phosphorus rounds legal?

Because it has legal uses, white phosphorus is not banned as a chemical weapon under international conventions. But some U.S. military training manuals say its use against people is banned. It is a colorless or yellowish translucent wax-like substance that smells a bit like garlic and ignites on contact with oxygen.

Are white phosphorus bombs illegal?

While in general white phosphorus is an industrial chemical not subject to restriction, certain uses in weaponry are banned or restricted by general international laws: in particular, those related to incendiary devices.

Where can I buy white phosphorus?

It can be found in the water and bottom sediment of rivers and lakes near facilities that make or use it. In the air, white phosphorus reacts rapidly with oxygen to produce relatively harmless chemicals within minutes.

Does the military still use white phosphorus?

White phosphorus munitions can be used for several purposes on the battlefield: as an obscurant or smoke screen, for signaling and marking, and as an incendiary weapon. US forces are using white phosphorus in both Mosul, in Iraq, and in the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa, in Syria.

How do you make white phosphorus at home?

Mix two tablespoons of finely-powdered charcoal and two tablespoons of powdered cinnamon into the urine and stir. Pour the urine/charcoal dust and cinnamon mixture into a glass retort with a glass tube leading into a second beaker filled with plain water. Heat the retort containing the urine mixture using your torch.

What fuel do flamethrowers use?

Most military flamethrowers use liquid fuel, typically either gasoline or diesel, but commercial flamethrowers are generally blowtorches using gaseous fuels such as propane; gases are safer in peacetime applications, because their flames have less mass flow rate and dissipate faster, and often are easier to extinguish …

What is white phosphorus used for in the military?

As a result, smoke-producing white phosphorus munitions are very common, particularly as smoke grenades for infantry, loaded in defensive grenade launchers on tanks and other armoured vehicles, and as part of the ammunition allotment for artillery or mortars.

Did the US use M15 white phosphorus in WW2?

At least five American Medal of Honor citations mention their recipients using M15 white phosphorus hand grenades to clear enemy positions, and in the 1944 liberation of Cherbourg alone, a single US mortar battalion, the 87th, fired 11,899 white phosphorus rounds into the city.

What is the common name for white phosphorus?

White phosphorus is used in smoke, illumination, and incendiary munitions, and is commonly the burning element of tracer ammunition. Other common names include WP and the slang term “Willie Pete” or “Willie Peter” derived from William Peter, the World War II phonetic alphabet for “WP”, which is still sometimes used in military jargon.

Was phosphorus used as a weapon in the Iraq War?

^ “U.S. official admits phosphorus used as weapon in Iraq”. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 16 November 2005. Retrieved 19 May 2011. ^ “White Phosphorus In Iraq”. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. ^ “BBC NEWS: US general defends phosphorus use”. BBC News. 30 November 2005.