Yellow Rain - A Journey Through the Terror of Chemical Warfare (1981)

Examines the chemical warfare capabilities of the Soviet Union and the dangerous threat this new type of weaponry represents to the United States and the rest of the world.

(3-stars review of E. McCarthy Earls, July 31, 2014 @goodreads:)

While people on both sides of the Iron Curtain obsessed over the specter of nuclear war, Seagrave took the time to investigate overlooked WMDs. Although many of his facts are now known to be incorrect, the book is still an interesting piece of work. The title is drawn from a diplomatic crisis in 1981, when Secretary of State Alexander Haig accused the Soviets of supplying Vietnam with a deadly mold-based chemical weapon, for use against jungle insurgents. A team of experts investigated and discovered that the yellow rain was nothing other than honeybee scat.
Seagrave does make clear exactly how precarious the world was as recently as the '80s. At the time, thousands of leaky chemical shells were stored at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal on the flight path to Denver airport. A messy landing could have poisoned the entire city. Seagrave also points out that the East Bloc was much better prepared to wage a chemical war, training their troops in clouds of actual nerve gas. NATO lacked good chemical training at the time, and would have faced serious problems when its airbases were attacked. Planes shuttling back and forth would bring contaminants with them, potentially finishing off fatigued pilots without a chance to decon.