How four women destroyed 1200 tons of chemical weapons and helped avert a global crisis?
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How four women destroyed 1200 tons of chemical weapons and helped avert a global crisis?
An obscure Defense Department team had nine months to make a stockpile of Syria’s chemical weapons disappear. In doing the impossible, they helped avert a global showdown and saved untold lives.
Did the Syrians use chemical weapons?
Investigations have found that both the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad and ISIL militants have used chemical weapons, with the majority of attacks being carried out by the Syrian government. In 2014, the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission in Syria concluded the use of chlorine was systematic and widespread.
Who did the chemical attack in Syria?
The attack was attributed to the Syrian Army by rebel forces in Douma, and by the United States, British, and French governments. The Syrian and Russian governments asserted that a widely circulated video allegedly showing the aftermath of the attack was staged.
Has VX ever been used?
Where VX is found and how it is used. It is possible that VX or other nerve agents were used in chemical warfare during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. VX is not found naturally in the environment. The only known use of VX is as a chemical warfare agent.
What does VX look like?
VX is odorless and tasteless. VX is an oily liquid that is amber in color and very slow to evaporate. It evaporates about as slowly as motor oil.
What does VX do to a person?
VX is a yellowish, odourless and tasteless liquid that disrupts the body’s nervous system to lethal effect. Ten milligrams is enough to kill a person through skin contact although it can also kill through inhalation.
How were chemical weapons deployed in Syria?
Syria has the capability to deliver these agents using aerial bombs, ballistic missiles, and artillery rockets. An Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-UN joint investigative team found Syria and the Islamic State responsible for numerous chemical weapons attacks in Syria over the past several years.
Who invented chemical bomb?
Fritz Haber, a prominent German chemist and future Nobel laureate, led the German program. 9 Haber, the so-called “father of chemical weapons,” moved enthusiastically between the front and the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry in Berlin.