Novichok is a series of nerve agents developed by the Soviet Union and Russia between 1971 and 1993.Russian scientists who developed the agents claim they are the deadliest nerve agents ever made, with some variants possibly five to eight times more potent than VX and others up to ten times more potent than soman.
They were designed as part of a Soviet programme codenamed "FOLIANT". Five Novichok variants are believed to have been adapted for military use. Novichok agents have never been used on the battlefield. Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and many heads of state, said that one such agent was used in the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in England in March 2018.Novichok was also confirmed to have been involved in the poisoning of a British couple, again in Wiltshire, four months later. These attacks left both pairs in a critical condition, and hospitalised a police officer, who responded without knowledge that the nerve agent had been used and were therefore not using appropriate protective equipment. Russia denies producing or researching agents "under the title novichok".
In 2016, Iranian chemists synthesised five Novichok agents for analysis and produced detailed mass spectral data which was added to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Central Analytical Database.[13][14] Previously there had been no detailed descriptions of their spectral properties in open scientific literature.[13][15] A small amount of agent A-230 was also claimed to have been synthesised in the Czech Republic in 2017 for the purpose of obtaining analytical data to help defend against these novel toxic compounds.
They were designed as part of a Soviet programme codenamed "FOLIANT". Five Novichok variants are believed to have been adapted for military use. Novichok agents have never been used on the battlefield. Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and many heads of state, said that one such agent was used in the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in England in March 2018.Novichok was also confirmed to have been involved in the poisoning of a British couple, again in Wiltshire, four months later. These attacks left both pairs in a critical condition, and hospitalised a police officer, who responded without knowledge that the nerve agent had been used and were therefore not using appropriate protective equipment. Russia denies producing or researching agents "under the title novichok".
In 2016, Iranian chemists synthesised five Novichok agents for analysis and produced detailed mass spectral data which was added to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Central Analytical Database.[13][14] Previously there had been no detailed descriptions of their spectral properties in open scientific literature.[13][15] A small amount of agent A-230 was also claimed to have been synthesised in the Czech Republic in 2017 for the purpose of obtaining analytical data to help defend against these novel toxic compounds.
No comments:
Post a Comment