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During the final days of World War II, the Allies seized and destroyed many of Germany's weapons, including top-secret nerve agents German chemists had attempted to hide from the outside world. During this process, many of the chemical formulas for the agents were discovered by the United States, Britain and Russia. Once the chemical formula for VX, a member of the V-series, was made known to the Soviet Union, Russian chemists immediately began testing upon the nerve agent. Thus, the Novichok (Russian for "newcomer") Agents, or foliant agents, were developed in the late 1950's. The Soviet Union continued to secretly experiment on Novichok Agents well into the 80's and 90's, despite Russia's promise to NATO to declare all supplies of nerve agents. This activity persisted until an anonymous scientist revealed Russia's experiments with Novichok Agents to the media. Novichok Agents are by far the most toxic nerve chemicals, exceeding the strength of both the G series and the V series. <ref>[http://toxipedia.org/display/toxipedia/Nerve+Agents Nerve Agents] ''toxipedia''. Web. Accessed May 27, 2013. Foley, Shaun. </ref> | During the final days of World War II, the Allies seized and destroyed many of Germany's weapons, including top-secret nerve agents German chemists had attempted to hide from the outside world. During this process, many of the chemical formulas for the agents were discovered by the United States, Britain and Russia. Once the chemical formula for VX, a member of the V-series, was made known to the Soviet Union, Russian chemists immediately began testing upon the nerve agent. Thus, the Novichok (Russian for "newcomer") Agents, or foliant agents, were developed in the late 1950's. The Soviet Union continued to secretly experiment on Novichok Agents well into the 80's and 90's, despite Russia's promise to NATO to declare all supplies of nerve agents. This activity persisted until an anonymous scientist revealed Russia's experiments with Novichok Agents to the media. Novichok Agents are by far the most toxic nerve chemicals, exceeding the strength of both the G series and the V series. <ref>[http://toxipedia.org/display/toxipedia/Nerve+Agents Nerve Agents] ''toxipedia''. Web. Accessed May 27, 2013. Foley, Shaun. </ref> | ||
== Regulation == | |||
On January 13, 1993, the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, otherwise known as the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)was signed. This arms control agreement served to outlaw the use, manufacturing, and stockpiling of chemical weapons, including nerve agents. This treaty served as an addition to the Geneva Protocol, created in 1925 for similar purposes. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, located in Hague, Netherlands, is charged with the management of the treaty. This management includes making certain that out of the 175 countries that have signed so far, none stockpile chemical weapons or manufacture any new chemical weapons. Additionally, each country must destroy much of their current stockpiles. These conditions coincide with the CWC's stated goal: ". . .for the sake of all mankind, to exclude completely the possibility of the use of chemical weapons, through the implementation of the provisions of this Convention." Signed in 1993, the treaty actually took action in 1997, in the month of April. <ref>http://toxipedia.org/display/toxipedia/Chemical+Weapons+Convention Chemical Weapons Convention. Web. updated Apr 29, 2011. Gilbert, Steven</ref> | |||
== Effects == | == Effects == | ||
