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Friday, February 24, 2017

What really is the chemical weapon substance used to kill Jong-nam?



KINIGUIDE Police have confirmed that an extremely toxic chemical substance was used in the murder of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Citing preliminary analysis from the Chemistry Department of Malaysia, inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar said that the substance was identified as ethyl s-2-diisopropylaminoethyl methylphosphonothiolate or “VX nerve agent”.
VX, Khalid had affirmed, is listed as a chemical weapon under Schedule 1 of the Chemical Weapons Convention Act 2005 and Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) 1997.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), last week, had cited an expert on chemical weapons who suggested that VX gas may have been used to kill Jong-nam.
So, what is VX?
It is used in chemical warfare as a nerve agent. Tasteless and odorless, it is hard to detect.
The United Nations, in UN Resolution 687, classified it as a weapon of mass destruction. This is because just 10mg of the substance is enough for it to be fatal through skin contact.
According to US-based think-tank Council on Foreign Relations, VX “is the deadliest nerve agent ever created”.
The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 outlawed the production of VX exceeding 100 grammes per year per facility.
According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the only exception for the above is for “research, medical or pharmaceutical purposes outside a single small-scale facility in aggregate quantities not exceeding 10 kg per year per facility”.
The nerve agent is far more deadly than sarin, a well-known nerve agent toxin. Colourless and odorless, sarin is also considered a weapon of mass destruction.
How did VX come into existence?
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it was first developed in the United Kingdom in the 1950s as a deadly chemical warfare agent.
The Guardian reported that the nerve agent was first synthesised by a chemist working for Britain’s Imperial Chemical Industries, Ranajit Ghosh.
According to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in Washington, the British military had studied its toxicity and physical properties before passing the formula on to the US military.
The US began full-scale production of VX in 1961.
Has it been used as a weapon?
Citing the CDC, CNN reported that it is believed to have been used for chemical warfare during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.
The US army was also involved in several controlled and accidental releases of VX gas.
Reported to have produced over 50 tonnes, Iraq under Saddam Hussein is believed to have used VX in a 1988 attack against the Kurds and during the Iran-Iraq war.
Which countries have it?
The US and Russia are the only countries that have admitted owning VX stockpiles. More countries, however, are believed to hold it, The Guardian reported.
Under the Chemical Weapons Convention, the US had destroyed a small portion of its stockpile and Russia followed suit.
According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), North Korea claims it has never had a chemical weapons programme.
But the isolated country is believed to possess between 2,500 and 5,000 tonnes, including VX, third behind the US and Russia.
“The South Korean government assesses that North Korea is able to produce most types of chemical weapons indigenously, although it must import some precursors to produce nerve agents, which it has done in the past.
“At maximum capacity North Korea is estimated to be capable of producing up to 12,000 tonnes (of chemical weapons). Nerve agents such as sarin and VX are thought to be the focus of North Korean production,” reported The Guardian, citing the NTI.
What will happen when VX is administered on a person?
According to the US’ National Academies, exposure to near-lethal and lethal doses “quickly causes loss of consciousness, convulsions, flaccid paralysis and apnoea”.
Like all nerve agents, VX stops a vital enzyme from working, eventually leading to the body tiring, and no longer being able to breathe, CNN reported.
Symptoms will start occurring either immediately or up to 18 hours later, depending on the exposure.
Those affected could convulse and lose consciousness due to large doses of the substance and paralysis and death would occur due to respiratory failure.

Small doses of VX could cause symptoms such as increased heart rate, nausea, drooling, blurred vision, diarrhoea, pain and weakness.
Can victims be treated?
Although there are antidotes for VX, they are most effective when administered immediately.
Those exposed can be injected with the antidotes but victims must be treated immediately for higher chances of survival as the nerve agent works very quickly. -Mkini

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