Novichok agent
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please discuss this issue on the talk page or replace this tag with a more specific message. This article has been tagged since December 2005. |
 |
| This article forms part of the series |
| (A subset of Weapons of mass destruction) |
| Lethal agents |
|---|
| Blood agents |
| Cyanogen chloride (CK) |
| Hydrogen cyanide (AC) |
| Blister agents |
| Lewisite (L) |
| Sulfur mustard gas (HD, H, HT, HL, HQ) |
| Nitrogen mustard gas (HN1, HN2, HN3) |
| Nerve agents |
| G-Agents |
| Tabun (GA), Sarin (GB) Soman (GD), Cyclosarin (GF) |
| GV |
| V-Agents |
| VE, VG, VM, VX |
| Novichok agents |
| Pulmonary agents |
| Chlorine |
| Chloropicrin (PS) |
| Phosgene (CG) |
| Diphosgene (DP) |
| "Non-lethal" agents |
| Incapacitating agents |
| Agent 15 (BZ) |
| KOLOKOL-1 |
| Riot control agents |
| Pepper spray (OC) |
| CS gas |
| CN gas (mace) |
| CR gas |
Novichok (translated from Russian "Newcomer") is a series of nerve agents that were developed by the Soviet Union to achieve three strategic and tactical objectives:
- Circumvent the Chemical Weapons Treaty. Because chemical weapons are banned on the basis of chemical structure, a new chemical agent is not subject to past treaties.
- Defeat NATO chemical detection equipment. The Soviets engineered Novichok weapons to be undetectable using standard NATO chemical detection equipment. This makes NATO units more susceptible to Novichok attacks.
- Defeat NATO chemical protective gear.
Contents |
[edit] Discovery
The secret Novichok program was exposed in 1992 when Lev Fedorov and Vil Mirzayanov told their story in the newspaper Moscow News.[1] As a former chemical weapons scientist, Vil Mirzayanov was arrested afterwards for his whistleblowing and revealing government secrets.
One example of the novichok family is the third-generation nerve agent variant A-234 which is a simple unitary agent derived from aconitrile and a common organophosphate pesticide precursor. Dispersed in an ultra-fine powder as opposed to a gas or a vapor, it has unique qualities. It can bypass much of the chemical protective gear used by most modern armies where it can be absorbed directly through the skin.
[edit] Alleged uses
Novichok has been suggested as a possible cause of Gulf War Syndrome, but there is no significant evidence of this. The fact that more widely available chemical weapons were not used suggests that this is little more than a conspiracy theory, especially now that it is known that Iraqi chemical weapons holdings and capabilities were wildly overstated, though sarin stockpiling and usage are reported to have been uncovered.
[edit] Effects
As a nerve agent, Novichok agents inhibit the enzyme cholinesterase, preventing the normal breakdown of acetylcholine. The big difference with Novichok is that there is, allegedly, more permanent damage done, even when given a nerve agent antidote.
[edit] In fiction
A Novichok binary nerve agent was used against the capital of Chechnya in the movie The Sum of All Fears.
[edit] References
- ^ Fedorov, Lev and Vil Mirzayanov, "A Poisoned Policy," Moscow News weekly No. 39, 1992.
