It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into weapons of mass destruction. (Discuss)

CBRN is an acronym for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear weapons, used by the UK security services, UK emergency services, and the U.S Military. It replaced the out-dated NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) acronym which was used in both the United States and the United Kingdom. One of the primary reasons for the change was to acknowledge the increasing hazard presented by non-traditional agents such as toxic industrial chemicals and radiological isotopes. It can be said to be a synonym for WMD. A US extension of this acronym is CBRNE, the latter addition refers to conventional explosives. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a term used to describe a munition with the capacity to indiscriminately kill large numbers of human beings. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Backronym and Apronym (Discuss) Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations, such as NATO, laser, and ABC, written as the initial letter or letters of words, and pronounced on the basis of this abbreviated written form. ... Chemical warfare is warfare (and associated military operations) using the toxic properties of chemical substances to kill, injure or incapacitate an enemy. ... Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of any organism (bacteria, virus or other disease-causing organism) or toxin found in nature, as a weapon of war. ... The term dirty bomb is most often used to refer to a Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD), a radiological weapon which combines radioactive material with conventional explosives. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the epicenter. ... In the United Kingdom, the umbrella term security services refers to the UK government agencies collectively responsible for espionage, counterespionage, counterterrorism and other covert activities. ... Weapons of Mass Destruction is also the name of rapper Xzibits 2004 album. ...

In emergency services terminology, any incident involving unidentified substances is deemed to be a CBRN incident, requiring special procedures to protect emergency services personnel and the public. These procedures can involve the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as containment suits and decontamination tents.

CBRN is also used as an acronym by the U.S. Marine Corps for its 5711 military occupational specialty. School trained 5711s are known as Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense Specialists. Prior to the change, 5711s were known as Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) Defense specialists. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Backronym and Apronym (Discuss) Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations, such as NATO, laser, and ABC, written as the initial letter or letters of words, and pronounced on the basis of this abbreviated written form. ...