White Phosphorus Bomb

• White phosphorus (P4) is a colourless, white or yellowish and waxy solid. It dose not occur naturally. It is manufactured by using phosphate rocks. It is an explosive and smoke generating substance, which is used as a flammable weapon.

• It reacts with oxygen in the air and becomes a highly combustible substance and forms a cloud of toxic 'phosphorous pentoxide'. It can also be flammable at 10°C above room temperature.

• Initially it was used in pesticides and fireworks, but due to the nature of flammability, almost all countries have *banned it and made strict rules for its manufacture and operation.

• It is used in the manufacture of bombs and shells etc for military. Apart from this, it is also used for the manufacture of chemicals used in fertilizers, food additives and cleaning compounds.

• Recently, Ukraine has accused the Russian military using White Phosphorus as a weapon in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.