Prompt gamma-ray neutron activation analysis (PGNAA) is now a proven method for the identification of chemical warfare agents and explosives in military projectiles and storage containers. Idaho National Laboratory is developing a next-generation PGNAA instrument based on the new Ortec Detective mechanically-cooled HPGe detector and a neutron generator. In this paper we review PGNAA analysis of...

The UK government has carried out a research programme studying military capability under conditions of chemical warfare at a facility at Porton Down, Wiltshire, since World War I. In 2001 the Ministry of Defence commissioned a cohort study to investigate the long-term health effects on military veterans of their participation in this programme. We assessed the availability and quality of expos...

Recent events have emphasized the threat from chemical and biological warfare agents. Within the efforts to counter this threat, the biocatalytic destruction and sensing of chemical and biological weapons has become an important area of focus. The specificity and high catalytic rates of biological catalysts make them appropriate for decommissioning nerve agent stockpiles, counteracting nerve ag...

CONTEXT The main objectives of triage are securing patient safety during the process of emergency diagnosis and treatment, and reduction of waiting time for medical services and transport. To date, there is no triage system for nerve agent victims. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION This systematic review proposes a new triage system for patients exposed to nerve agents. Information regarding clinical sign...

The old Japanese army developed several chemical warfare agents on Ohkuno Island in Seto inland sea, Hiroshima Japan, during the period between 1919 and 1944. These chemical agents including yperite (mustard; irritating agent), lewisite (irritating agent), diphenylchloroarsine (DA; vomiting agent), diphenylcyanoarsine (DC; vomiting agent) and other poisonous gases were manufactured to be used i...

Chemical and biological warfare agents constitute a low-probability, but high-impact risk both to the military and to the civilian population. The use of hazardous materials of chemical or biological origin as weapons and for homicide has been documented since ancient times. The first use of chemicals in terms of weapons of mass destruction goes back to World War I, when on April 22, 1915 large...

Chemical and biological warfare agents (CBWA's) are diverse in nature; volatile acute low-molecular-weight toxic compounds, chemical warfare agents (CWA's, gaseous choking and blood agents, volatile nerve gases and blister agents, nonvolatile vomit agents and lacrymators), biological toxins (nonvolatile low-molecular-weight toxins, proteinous toxins) and microbes (bacteria, viruses, rickettsiae...

Forensic laboratories do not have the infrastructure to process or store contaminated DNA samples that have been recovered from a crime scene contaminated with chemical or biological warfare agents. Previous research has shown that DNA profiles can be recovered from blood exposed to several chemical warfare agents after the agent has been removed. The fate of four toxic agents, sulfur mustard, ...

The weapons of mass destruction, chemical, biological and nuclear warfare are the most brutal created by the humans. They kill and incapacitate not only the armed forces but also the innocent public, without any mercy. The Chemical Weapons Convention prohibits the production, storage and use of toxic chemicals during warfare. In fact, the use of “Any chemical which through its chemical action o...