Chloropicrin : Chemical Weapon
The U.S. State Department accused Russia of using chemical agent chloropicrin in Ukraine which is a violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
- Chloropicrin is a chemical compound which is also known as nitrochloroform. It is used both as a warfare agent and pesticide. It is a colourless to yellow oily liquid.
- It is used broadly as a fungicide, herbicide, insecticide, nematicide and antimicrobial.
- It is an irritant with characteristics of a tear gas. It has an intensely irritating odour and can be absorbed through inhalation, ingestion and the skin.
- It was first made for use as a poison gas in the First World War, by both the Allied and the Central Powers.
- It’s manufactured in a chemical reaction involving sodium hypochlorite (which in dilute form is called bleach) and nitromethane (a common industrial solvent).
- It can also be made by combining chloroform with nitric acid, which yields chloropicrin and water.
- Chloropicrin has documented irritating and tears-inducing effects on humans, and is also known to be highly toxic and carcinogenic and also induce vomiting.
Chemical Weapons Convention: It is a multilateral treatythat bans chemical weapons and requires their destruction within a specified period of time. It entered into force on April 29, 1997.
