Citation

Castelvecchi D. Nature 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1038/d41586-019-03686-y

PMID

33244185

Abstract

The group of nerve agents known as Novichoks are to be added to the Chemical Weapons Convention's list of controlled substances, in one of the first major changes to the treaty since it was agreed in the 1990s.

The compounds, developed by the Soviet Union during the cold war, came to prominence after they were used in a high-profile assassination attempt on a former Russian military officer, Sergei Skripal, in Salisbury, UK, in March last year.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is tasked with enforcing the treaty, announced the decision to explicitly ban Novichoks on 27 November as representatives from the 193 member states met in The Hague this week for a periodic review of the convention.

The member states agreed unanimously to classify Novichoks as chemical weapons, the OPCW said. The update to the treaty, which will come into effect in 180 days, was initially proposed by the United States, Canada and the Netherlands...

Language: en

Keywords

Policy; Chemistry