Citation

Riches JR, Read RW, Black RM, Cooper NJ, Timperley CM. J. Anal. Toxicol. 2012; 36(9): 647-656.

Affiliation

Detection Department, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 0JQ, UK.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Preston Publications)

DOI

10.1093/jat/bks078

PMID

23002178

Abstract

On October 26, 2002, Russian Special Forces deployed a chemical aerosol against Chechen terrorists to rescue hostages in the Dubrovka theatre. Its use confirmed Russian military interest in chemicals with effects on personnel and caused 125 deaths through a combination of the aerosol and inadequate medical care. This study provides evidence from liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis of extracts of clothing from two British survivors, and urine from a third survivor, that the aerosol comprised a mixture of two anaesthetics-carfentanil and remifentanil-whose relative proportions this study was unable to identify. Carfentanil and remifentanil were found on a shirt sample and a metabolite called norcarfentanil was found in a urine sample. This metabolite probably originated from carfentanil.

Language: en