The Environmental effects of Napalm:
Napalm can cause death by burns or asphyxiation, which is a severely deficient supply of oxygen. Napalm bombs do just that and generate carbon monoxide while simultaneously removing oxygen from the air. This effect occurs because napalm partially combusts the oxygen in the air, turning CO2(carbon dioxide) into CO (carbon monoxide).
The raw ingredients of napalm can also be harmful, though certainly less so than when a napalm mixture is ignited as part of a bomb. If you've ever felt a little dizzy after breathing in fumes, you can relate to this feeling. But when polystyrene, another common ingredient in napalm, burns at high temperatures, it becomes styrene, which is toxic.
Napalm was first used in flamethrowers for U.S. ground troops; they burned down sections of forest and bushes in hopes of eliminating any enemy guerrilla fighters. Later on in the war B-52 Bombers began dropping napalm bombs and other incendiary explosives. Air raids that used napalm were much more devastating than flamethrowers; a single bomb was capable of destroying areas up to 2,500 square yards, by burning at temperatures of 1,500 to 2,000 degrees fahrenheit (Water burns at 212 degrees fahrenheit).
Although one of napalm's early uses was agricultural, it has largely proved destructive toward the environment. Fires caused by napalm can cause widespread damage. In Vietnam, the U.S. military took advantage of this fact by deploying napalm to destroy forests that North Vietnamese soldiers relied on for cover. This killed off trees and other natural resources that were vital at that time.
Napalm was dropped onto an area and quickly incinerated anything it hit. Burning at such high temperatures and made of dangerous chemicals napalm was more of a threat to the environment than it may have appeared. Not only burning trees, shelter, crops, and other vital natural resources, it also released harmful chemicals into the atmosphere. These chemicals being released made it hard not only for surrounding people to breath, but were still released into the atmosphere poisoning air for an extended range before dispersing.
What a Napalm Drop Looks Like:
