Editing Nerve agent (section)

==History==
{{More citations needed section|date=March 2009}}

=== Discovery ===

This first class of nerve agents, the G-series, was accidentally discovered in Germany on December 23, 1936, by a research team headed by [[Gerhard Schrader]] working for [[IG Farben]]. Since 1934, Schrader had been working in a laboratory in [[Leverkusen]] to develop new types of [[insecticide]]s for [[IG Farben]]. While working toward his goal of improved insecticide, Schrader experimented with numerous compounds, eventually leading to the preparation of [[Tabun (nerve agent)|Tabun]].

In experiments, Tabun was extremely potent against insects: as little as 5 [[Parts per million|ppm]] of Tabun killed all the [[aphids|leaf lice]] he used in his initial experiment. In January 1937, Schrader observed the effects of nerve agents on human beings first-hand when a drop of Tabun spilled onto a lab bench. Within minutes he and his laboratory assistant began to experience [[miosis]] (constriction of the pupils of the eyes), dizziness and severe shortness of breath. It took them three weeks to recover fully.

In 1935 the [[Nazism|Nazi]] government had passed a decree that required all inventions of possible military significance to be reported to the [[Ministry of the Reichswehr|Ministry of War]], so in May 1937 Schrader sent a sample of Tabun to the [[chemical warfare]] (CW) section of the [[Waffenamt|Army Weapons Office]] in [[Berlin-Spandau]]. Schrader was summoned to the Wehrmacht chemical lab in Berlin to give a demonstration, after which Schrader's [[patent]] application and all related research was classified as secret. Colonel Rüdiger, head of the CW section, ordered the construction of new laboratories for the further investigation of Tabun and other organophosphate compounds and Schrader soon moved to a new laboratory at [[Wuppertal]]-[[Elberfeld]] in the [[Ruhr valley]] to continue his research in secret throughout [[World War II]]. The compound was initially codenamed Le-100 and later Trilon-83.

[[Sarin]] was discovered by Schrader and his team in 1938 and named in honor of its discoverers: [[Gerhard Schrader|Gerhard '''S'''chrader]], [[Otto Ambros|Otto '''A'''mbros]], {{ill|Gerhard Ritter (chemist)|lt=Gerhard '''R'''itter|de|Gerhard Ritter (Chemiker)|display=yes}}, and Hans-Jürgen von der L'''in'''de.<ref name="Evans2008">
{{cite book
 | first= Richard J.
 | last= Evans
 | title= The Third Reich at War, 1939–1945
 | year= 2008
 | publisher= Penguin
 | isbn= 978-1-59420-206-3
 | page= [https://archive.org/details/thirdreichatwar00evan_0/page/669 669]
 | url= https://archive.org/details/thirdreichatwar00evan_0
 | url-access= registration
 | access-date= January 13, 2013
}}
</ref> It was codenamed T-144 or Trilon-46. It was found to be more than ten times as potent as Tabun.

[[Soman]] was discovered by [[Richard Kuhn]] in 1944 as he worked with the existing compounds; the name is derived from either the [[Greek language|Greek]] 'to sleep' or the [[Latin]] 'to bludgeon'. It was codenamed T-300.

[[Cyclosarin]] was also discovered during WWII but the details were lost and it was rediscovered in 1949.

The G-series naming system was created by the United States when it uncovered the German activities, labeling Tabun as GA (German Agent A), Sarin as GB and Soman as GD. Ethyl Sarin was tagged GE and Cyclosarin as GF.

===During World War II===
In 1939, a pilot [[factory|plant]] for Tabun production was set up at [[Munster Training Area#Munsterlager|Munster-Lager]], on [[Lüneburg Heath]] near the German Army proving grounds at {{ill|Raubkammer|de}}. In January 1940, construction began on a secret plant, code named "[[Hochwerk]]" (''High factory''), for the production of Tabun at ''Dyhernfurth an der Oder'' (now [[Brzeg Dolny]] in [[Poland]]), on the [[Oder River]] {{convert|40|km|mi|abbr=on}} from [[Breslau]] (now [[Wrocław]]) in [[Silesia]].

The plant was large, covering an area of {{convert|2.4|by|0.8|km|mi|abbr=on}} and was completely self-contained, synthesizing all intermediates as well as the final product, Tabun. The factory even had an underground plant for filling munitions, which were then stored at Krappitz (now [[Krapkowice]]) in Upper Silesia. The plant was operated by {{ill|Anorgana GmbH|de|Anorgana}}, a subsidiary of [[IG Farben]], as were all other [[chemical weapon agent]] production plants in Germany at the time.

Because of the plant's deep secrecy and the difficult nature of the production process, it took from January 1940 until June 1942 for the plant to become fully operational. Many of Tabun's chemical precursors were so corrosive that reaction chambers not lined with quartz or silver soon became useless. Tabun itself was so hazardous that the final processes had to be performed while enclosed in double glass-lined chambers with a stream of pressurized air circulating between the walls.

Three thousand German nationals were employed at Hochwerk, all equipped with [[respirators]] and [[clothing]] constructed of a poly-layered rubber/cloth/rubber sandwich that was destroyed after the tenth wearing. Despite all precautions, there were over 300 accidents before production even began and at least ten workers died during the two and a half years of operation. Some incidents cited in ''A Higher Form of Killing: The Secret History of Chemical and Biological Warfare'' are as follows:<ref>{{cite book|title=A higher form of killing : the secret history of chemical and biological warfare|last=Harris|first=Robert|name-list-style=vanc|date=2002|publisher=Random House Trade Paperbacks|others=Paxman, Jeremy, 1950–|isbn=9780812966534|location=New York|oclc=49356080|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780812966534}}</ref>
*Four pipe fitters had liquid Tabun drain onto them and died before their rubber suits could be removed.
*A worker had two liters of Tabun pour down the neck of his rubber suit. He died within two minutes.
*Seven workers were hit in the face with a stream of Tabun of such force that the liquid was forced behind their respirators. Only two survived despite [[resuscitation]] measures.

{{Citation needed span|text=The plant produced between 10 000 and 30 000 tons of Tabun before its capture by the Soviet Army|date=March 2018|reason=}} and moved, probably to [[Dzerzhinsk, Russia|Dzerzhinsk]], [[Soviet Union|USSR]].<ref>{{cite book | title = Corona: America's first satellite program | date=1995 | publisher=Morgan James |last=Ruffner |first=Kevin Conley |name-list-style=vanc |isbn=978-0-9758570-4-5 |location=New York |pages=185 |oclc=772235331 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7AlgLBVWPV0C&pg=PA185 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Suspect CW Agent Production Plants, Dzerzhinsk, USSR, Changes Since 1962 |publisher=CIA/NPIC |year=1963 }}</ref>

In 1940 the [[German Army Weapons Office]] ordered the mass production of Sarin for wartime use. A number of pilot plants were built and a high-production facility was under construction (but was not finished) by the end of [[World War II]]. Estimates for total Sarin production by Nazi Germany range from 500&nbsp;[[Kilogram|kg]] to 10 [[ton]]s.

During that time, German [[intelligence (information gathering)|intelligence]] believed that the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] also knew of these compounds, assuming that because these compounds were not discussed in the Allies' scientific journals information about them was being suppressed. Though Sarin, Tabun and Soman were incorporated into [[artillery]] shells, the German government ultimately decided not to use nerve agents against Allied targets. The Allies did not learn of these agents until shells filled with them were captured towards the end of the war. German forces used chemical warfare against partisans during the [[Battle of the Kerch Peninsula]] in 1942, but did not use any nerve agent.<ref>Bellamy, Chris (2008). Absolute War: Soviet Russia in the Second World War. Knopf.</ref>

This is detailed in Joseph Borkin's book ''The Crime and Punishment of IG Farben'':<ref>{{cite book | title=The crime and punishment of I.G. Farben | url=https://archive.org/details/crimepunishmento0000bork | url-access=registration | first = Joseph | last = Borkin | name-list-style = vanc | date=1978|publisher=Free Press| series = Mazal Holocaust Collection.|isbn=978-0-02-904630-2|location=New York|oclc=3845685}}</ref>

{{Quotation|[[Albert Speer|Speer]], who was strongly opposed to the introduction of [[Tabun (nerve gas)|Tabun]], flew [[Otto Ambros]], [[IG Farben|I.G.'s]] authority on poison gas as well as synthetic rubber, to the meeting. Hitler asked Ambros, "What is the other side doing about poison gas?" Ambros explained that the enemy, because of its greater access to [[ethylene]], probably had a greater capacity to produce [[mustard gas]] than Germany did. Hitler interrupted to explain that he was not referring to traditional poison gases: "I understand that the countries with petroleum are in a position to make more [mustard gas], but Germany has a special gas, Tabun. In this we have a monopoly in Germany." He specifically wanted to know whether the enemy had access to such a gas and what it was doing in this area. To Hitler's disappointment Ambros replied, "I have justified reasons to assume that Tabun, too, is known abroad. I know that Tabun was publicized as early as 1902, that Sarin was patented and that these substances appeared in patents. " (...)Ambros was informing Hitler of an extraordinary fact about one of Germany's most secret weapons. The essential nature of Tabun and Sarin had already been disclosed in the technical journals as far back as 1902 and [[IG Farben|I.G.]] had [[patent]]ed both products in 1937 and 1938. Ambros then warned Hitler that if Germany used Tabun, it must face the possibility that the Allies could produce this gas in much larger quantities. Upon receiving this discouraging report, Hitler abruptly left the meeting. The nerve gases would not be used, for the time being at least, although they would continue to be produced and tested.|[[Joseph Borkin]]|The Crime and Punishment of IG Farben}}

===Post–World War II===
Since World War II, Iraq's use of mustard gas against Iranian troops and [[Kurdish people|Kurds]] ([[Iran–Iraq War]] of 1980–1988) has been the only large-scale use of any chemical weapons. On the scale of the single Kurdish village of [[Halabja]] within its own territory, Iraqi forces did expose the populace to some kind of chemical weapons, possibly mustard gas and most likely nerve agents.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1991/IRAQ913.htm|title=Whatever Happened To The Iraqi Kurds?|first = Susan | last = Kinsley | name-list-style = vanc | date = 11 March 1991 | work = Human Rights Watch in Iraq | publisher = Human Rights Watch | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081213235253/https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1991/IRAQ913.htm | archive-date = 2008-12-13 | url-status = live | access-date = 20 July 2011 }}</ref>

Operatives of the [[Aum Shinrikyo]] religious group made and used [[Sarin]] several times on other Japanese, most notably the [[Tokyo subway sarin attack]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/04/30/national/crime-legal/aum-driver-takahashi-gets-life-term-role-95-Sarin-attack-tokyo-subway/|title=Ex-Aum Shinrikyo member Katsuya Takahashi gets life in prison over 1995 Sarin attack|first=Tomohiro|last=Osaki | name-list-style = vanc |date=30 April 2015|newspaper=Japan Times Online|access-date=24 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = Deadly cults : the crimes of true believers | last = Snow | first = Robert L. | name-list-style = vanc | date = 2003 | publisher = Praeger | isbn = 978-0-275-98052-8 | location = Westport, Conn | oclc = 52602822 | url = https://archive.org/details/deadlycultscrime00snow }}</ref>

In the [[Gulf War]], no nerve agents (nor other chemical weapons) were used, but a number of U.S. and UK personnel were exposed to them when the [[Khamisiyah]] chemical depot was destroyed. This and the widespread use of anticholinergic drugs as a protective treatment against any possible nerve gas attack have been proposed as a possible cause of [[Gulf War syndrome]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/irp/gulf/cia/970409/cia_wp.html |title=Khamisiyah: A Historical Perspective on Related Intelligence |author=Persian Gulf War Illnesses Task Force |date=April 9, 1997 |access-date=March 29, 2015 |publisher=[[Federation of American Scientists]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722221240/https://fas.org/irp/gulf/cia/970409/cia_wp.html |archive-date=July 22, 2013 }}</ref>

[[Sarin]] gas was deployed in [[Ghouta chemical attack|a 2013 attack]] on [[Ghouta]] during the [[Syrian Civil War]], killing several hundred people. Most governments contend that forces loyal to President [[Bashar al-Assad]] deployed the gas;<ref name="Sellstrom_report">{{cite web |first1=Åke |last1=Sellström |author-link=Åke Sellström |first2=Scott |last2=Cairns |first3=Maurizio |last3=Barbeschi |name-list-style=vanc |title=Report of the United Nations Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic on the alleged use of chemical weapons in the Ghouta area of Damascus on 21 August 2013 |publisher=United Nations |date=16 September 2013 |url=https://disarmament-library.un.org/UNODA/Library.nsf/780cfafd472b047785257b1000501037/e4d4477c9b67de9085257bf800694bd2/$FILE/A%2067%20997-S%202013%20553.pdf |access-date=27 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130917130833/http://www.un.org/disarmament/content/slideshow/Secretary_General_Report_of_CW_Investigation.pdf |archive-date=17 September 2013 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}</ref> however, the [[Syrian Government]] has denied responsibility.

On 13 February 2017, the nerve agent [[VX (nerve agent)|VX]] was used in the [[assassination of Kim Jong-nam]], half-brother of the North Korean leader [[Kim Jong-un]], at [[Kuala Lumpur International Airport]] in [[Malaysia]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2018/03/279079.htm|title=Imposition of Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act Sanctions on North Korea|last=Nauert|first=Heather | name-list-style = vanc |date=March 6, 2018|publisher=[[United States Department of State]]|quote=On February 22, 2018, the United States determined under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act) that the Government of North Korea used the chemical warfare agent VX to assassinate Kim Jong Nam, in the Kuala Lumpur airport.}}</ref>

On 4 March 2018, a former Russian agent (who was convicted of high treason but allowed to live in the [[United Kingdom]] via a [[spy swap]] agreement), [[Sergei Skripal]], and his daughter, who was visiting from Moscow, [[Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal|were both poisoned by a Novichok nerve agent]] in the English city of [[Salisbury]]. They survived, and were subsequently released from hospital.<ref>{{cite news | first1 = Steven | last1 = Morris | first2 = Patrick | last2 = Wintour | title = Sergei Skripal Discharged from Salisbury Hospital |date=18 May 2018 |work= The Guardian (UK) |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/may/18/sergei-skripal-discharged-from-salisbury-hospital |access-date=2018-05-18}}</ref> In addition, a [[Wiltshire Police]] officer, Nick Bailey, was exposed to the substance. He was one of the first to respond to the incident. Twenty-one members of the public received medical treatment following exposure to the nerve agent. Despite this, only Bailey and the Skripals remained in critical condition.<ref>{{cite news |title=Russia spy latest: Salisbury police officer exposed to nerve agent says he is 'not a hero' and was 'merely doing his job' |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/russia-spy-latest-salisbury-police-officer-nick-bailey-nerve-agent-not-a-hero-a8249711.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/russia-spy-latest-salisbury-police-officer-nick-bailey-nerve-agent-not-a-hero-a8249711.html |archive-date=2022-06-18 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live }}</ref> On 11 March 2018, [[Public Health England]] issued advice for the other people believed to have been in the Mill pub (the location where the attack is believed to have been carried out) or the nearby [[Zizzi]] Restaurant.<ref>{{cite web |title=Public health advice following Salisbury nerve agent incident |date=11 March 2018 |work=Gov.UK |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-health-advice-following-salisbury-nerve-agent-incident }}</ref> On 12 March 2018, British Prime Minister [[Theresa May]] stated that the substance used was a Novichok nerve agent.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43377856|title=Highly likely Russia behind spy attack – PM|date=2018-03-13|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-03-13|language=en-GB}}</ref>

On 30 June 2018, two British nationals, Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess, [[2018 Amesbury poisonings|were poisoned by a Novichok nerve agent]] of the same kind that was used in the Skripal poisoning, which Rowley had found in a discarded perfume bottle and gifted to Sturgess.<ref name=itv-20180724>{{cite news |url=http://www.itv.com/news/2018-07-24/charlie-rowley-novichok-amesbury/ |title=Exclusive: Novichok poisoning victim Charlie Rowley reveals perfume gift he gave to partner contained deadly nerve agent |last=Evelyn |first=Rupert |work=ITV News |date=24 July 2018 |access-date=25 July 2018}}</ref><ref name=guardian-20180724>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jul/24/novichok-victim-ill-within-15-minutes-says-partner-charlie-rowley |title=Novichok victim found substance disguised as perfume in sealed box |first1=Steven |last1=Morris |first2=Kevin |last2=Rawlinson |newspaper=The Guardian |date=24 July 2018 |access-date=25 July 2018}}</ref><ref name=bbc-20180724>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44947162 |title=Novichok: Victim found poison bottle in branded box |work=BBC News |date=24 July 2018 |access-date=25 July 2018}}</ref> Whilst Rowley survived, Sturgess died on 8 July. [[Metropolitan Police]] believe that the poisoning was not a targeted attack, but a result of the way the nerve agent was disposed of after the poisoning in Salisbury.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tobin |first=Olivia |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/novichok-poisoning-probe-police-say-there-is-no-doubt-novichok-victims-are-linked-and-charlie-rowley-a3928426.html |title=Novichok poisoning probe: Police say there is 'no doubt' Novichok victims are linked and Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess were innocent tragic victims |work=Evening Standard |date=5 September 2018 |access-date=5 September 2018}}</ref>

===Ocean disposal===
In 1972, the United States Congress banned the practice of disposing chemical weapons into the ocean. Thirty-two thousand [[ton]]s of nerve and mustard agents had already been dumped into the ocean waters off the United States by the U.S. Army, primarily as part of [[Operation CHASE]]. According to a 1998 report by William Brankowitz, a deputy project manager in the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency, the Army created at least 26 chemical weapons dump sites in the ocean off at least 11 states on both the west and east coasts. Due to poor records, they currently only know the rough whereabouts of half of them.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.epa.gov/region4/foiapgs/readingroom/camp_lejeune/trianadoc21a.pdf|title=Chemical Weapons Movement History Compilation|last=Brankowitz|first=William R.|date=27 April 1987|publisher=Office of the Program Manager for Chemical Munitions|location=Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland|name-list-style=vanc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130712223532/http://www.epa.gov/region4/foiapgs/readingroom/camp_lejeune/trianadoc21a.pdf|archive-date=2013-07-12|url-status=dead}}</ref>
  
There is currently a lack of scientific data regarding the ecological and health effects of this dumping. In the event of leakage, many nerve agents are soluble in water and would dissolve in a few days, while other substances like [[sulfur mustard]] could last longer. There have also been a few incidents of chemical weapons washing ashore or being accidentally retrieved, for example during dredging or [[Trawling|trawl fishing]] operations.<ref>{{cite report |id={{DTIC|ADA462443}} |last1=Bearden |first1=David M. |date=13 July 2006 |title=U.S. Disposal of Chemical Weapons in the Ocean: Background and Issues for Congress }}</ref>