Introduction to chemical warfare agents, relevant simulants and modern neutralisation methods

Using cheminformatics to find simulants for chemical warfare agents.

Direct experimentation with chemical warfare agents (CWA) to study important problems such as their permeation across protective barrier materials, decontamination of equipment and facilities, or the environmental transport and fate of CWAs is not feasible because of the obvious toxicity of the CWAs and associated restrictions on their laboratory use. The common practice is to use "simulants," ...

FETAL DEATHS AND PARENTAL EXPOSURE TO CHEMICAL WARFARE AGENTS

In the present work we studied the incidence of fetal deaths among conceptions whose fathers or both parents were survivors of chemical warfare attacks by Iraq. We showed that there was significant correlation between frequency of fetal deaths among conceptions which eventuated after exposure of the parents to gas bombs compared to the frequency of fetal deaths among the control group. Thi...

Surface detection of chemical warfare agent simulants and degradation products

Chemical warfare agent (CWA) simulants as well as their degradation and hydrolysis products were detected from surfaces using thermal desorption ion mobility spectrometry (TD-IMS). CWA simulant materials that closely mimic the chemical structures of real CWA G/V-type nerve and S-type vesicant simulants were used in this study. Reduced mobility constants (K0) in air were reported for 20 compound...

Chemical Warfare Agents

Modern chemical warfare: a history.

Recent events including the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania have illustrated the vulnerability of the United States to terrorist activity. Many experts agree that a chemical or biological event is likely to occur within the continental United States during our lifetime. The anesthesiologist, as well as, emergency medicine provider and critical care specialis...