What is the issue?
- Nerve gas is allegedly used in ongoing Syria attack.
- It is imperative at this juncture to look into the status of chemical weapons, particularly nerve agents or nerve gases.
What are chemical weapons?
- It is a toxic chemical in a delivery system such as bomb or artillery.
- Anything specifically designed for use in direct connection with the release of a chemical agent to cause death or harm is a chemical weapon.
- Each component of a chemical weapon is a chemical weapon, whether assembled or not, stored together or separately.
- E.g. choking agents - chlorine, phosgene, diphosgene and chloropicrin. Fluid builds up in lungs, choking victim.
- Blister agents - sulphur mustard, nitrogen mustard, phosgene oxime, Lewisite. Burns skin, mucous membranes and eyes; causes large blisters on exposed skin; blisters windpipe and lungs.
- Blood agents - Cyanide destroys ability of blood tissues to utilise oxygen, causing them to ‘starve’ and strangling the heart.
- Examples include hydrogen cyanide, cyanogen chloride, Arsine, VX.
What is CWC?
- The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is a consortium of 192 countries as signatories.
- It seeks to limit the availability of chemicals that can be used as tools of mass destruction.
- However, it allows member states to retain rights to use some of these chemicals for peaceful purposes such as riot control.
- Teargas shells, for example, are frequently used for riot control.
How is chemical weapons possession status?
- Of the 192 CWC signatories, Albania, India, Iraq, Libya, Russia, Syria, and the US declared possession of chemical weapons.
- Of these, Albania, India, Libya, Russia and Syria declared completion of destruction of chemical weapons.
- Notably, by January 2016 the destruction of all chemical weapons declared by Syria has been completed.
- Despite these, there have been continuous instances of chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
What are nerve gases?
- Nerve gases are among the most lethal form of chemical weapons.
- They notably have no use other than in chemical warfare.
- The CWC lists chemicals under various degrees of manufacturing restriction.
- Under this, the nerve gases are among the most restricted.
How do nerve gases work?
- Nerve gas weakens the mechanism within the body responsible for the conduction of nerve impulses.
- Acetylcholineesterase is a compound that catalyses the breakdown of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.
- Nerve gas prevents acetylcholinesterase from performing its normal function of breaking down acetylcholine.
- It leads to the muscles going into a state of uncontrolled contraction, a sign of paralysis or a seizure-like state.
- Death usually happens because paralysis extends to the cardiac and respiratory muscles.
- Other symptoms could include dilation of pupils, sweating and gastrointestinal pain etc.
- Nerve agents can also be absorbed through the skin.
What is Novichok?
- As restrictions on weapons are based on chemical formulae, newer molecules can bypass restrictions.
- Countries thus started to develop newer weapons to bypass the restrictions.
- This naturally led to the emergence of nerve agents and that is how Novichok evolved.
- Novichok is said to be 5-8 times more lethal than VX nerve agent.
- Also, its effects are rapid, usually within 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
Source: Indian Express
