Chloropicrin: US accuses Russia of using ‘chemical weapon’ in Ukraine War

May 7, 2024

GS Paper III Science and Technology

Context

The U.S. State Department in its factsheet accused Russia of having used chemical weapons against Ukrainian forces which is a gross violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

US accuses Russia of using ‘chemical weapon’ in Ukraine

Russia used chemical agent chloropicrin in Ukraine along with the “riot control agents (tear gas) as a method of warfare in Ukraine.
Sanctions: USA announced fresh sanctions against Moscow’s military and industrial capabilities which targets nearly 300 entities in Russia, China, and other countries

What is Chloropicrin?

Chloropicrin

About: Chloropicrin is a C-nitro compound that is nitromethane in which all three hydrogens are replaced by chlorines.
- It is a synthetic C-nitro, one-carbon, and organochlorine compound that is a strong lachrymator (tears-inducing agent, popular examples: pepper spray, and bromoacetone).
Common names: Nitrochloroform, Dolochlor,Picfume
Appearance: Colorless to faintly yellow oily liquid.
Composed of: It involves a chemical reaction between sodium hypochlorite ( bleach) and nitromethane (a common industrial solvent).
- It can also be made by combining chloroform with nitric acid, which yields chloropicrin and water.

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Application:
- Agriculture: It is used in agriculture as a soil fumigant particularly for strawberry crops.
- Antimicrobial agent: It is employed as a herbicide and nematicide and has a role as a fumigant insecticide and an antifungal agrochemical.
- Chemical warfare agent: Chloropicrin is an irritant with characteristics of a tear gas having an intensely irritating odor, thus used as a riot control agent.
As a weapon of warfare: It was first used as a poison gas in the First World War, by both the Allied and the Central Powers and was stockpiled during World War II.
- It induces vomiting, which prompts soldiers to remove their masks, when they would inhale more of the gas, or other gaseous agents dispersed in the air.
Exposure: Chloropicrin can be absorbed systemically through inhalation, ingestion, and the skin. It is a severe irritant, and can cause immediate, severe inflammation of the eyes, nose and throat, and significant injuries to the upper and lower respiratory tract.
- It is also known to be highly toxic and carcinogenic.

Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)

Entered into force: On 29 April 1997
About: It is the world’s first multilateral disarmament agreement to provide for the elimination of an entire category of weapons of mass destruction within a fixed time frame.
Membership: 193 States Parties to the Convention
Implementing Organ: The Convention led to the birth of an international chemical weapons disarmament regime headed by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Mandate:
- To end the development, production, stockpiling, transfer and use of chemical weapons
- To prevent their re-emergence
- To ensure the elimination of existing stocks of such weapons
- To make the world safe from the threat of chemical warfare.
Recognition: The 2013 Nobel Prize for Peace was awarded to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons.

Also Read: North Korea’s Biological Weapons Programme

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