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Articles on Chemical weapons

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Jordanian forensics experts inspect the site of a chlorine gas explosion in the Port of Aqaba in June 2022. Khalil Mazraawi/AFP via Getty Images

Chlorine is a highly useful chemical that’s also extremely dangerous − here’s what to know about staying safe around it

Chlorine is a widely used industrial chemical that’s frequently a factor in toxic accidents and workplace injuries. A pharmaceutical expert explains why it’s so hazardous.
Activists in Newark, N.J., offer tours that teach visitors about the city’s legacy of industrial pollution and environmental racism. Charles Rotkin/Corbis via Getty Images

The importance of shining a light on hidden toxic histories

Societies celebrate heroes and commemorate tragedies. But why is there so little public acknowledgment of environmental disasters?
Technicians working to destroy the United States’ chemical weapons stockpile at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot on June 8, 2023, in Pueblo, Colo. AAP Photo/David Zalubowski

Is the US being hypocritical in taking years to destroy its chemical weapons, while condemning other nations for their own chemical weapons programs? A political philosopher weighs in

When it comes to chemical weapons, American condemnation, even if hypocritical, is still valuable.
Royal Canadian Air Force personnel load non-lethal and lethal aid at CFB Trenton, Ont., on March 7, 2022. The cargo was bound for Ukraine via Poland. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Ukraine war shows grim conventions on ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ ways to kill — and what makes a war crime

The laws of war and what is considered acceptable and unacceptable weaponry suggest there’s a right and wrong way to kill. It’s unlikely any of the victims of war would appreciate the distinction.
Members of the Maryland Air National Guard arrange medical supplies for shipment from the Strategic National Stockpile. Master Sgt. Christopher Schepers/Maryland Air National Guard

Coronavirus: Strategic National Stockpile was ready, but not for this

The paradox of the stockpile is that it’s meant to protect against future threats, but is limited by today’s imagination about what those threats might be.
Benny Marty/Shutterstock.com

US and Iran have a long, troubled history

Some of the major events in US-Iran relations highlight the differences between the nations’ views, but others presented real opportunities for reconciliation.
In 2014, this boy was affected by what activists say was a gas attack on the Syrian town of Telminnes; the most recent chemical attack was reported in late November, 2018 REUTERS/Amer Alfaj

Syria may be using chemical weapons against its citizens again – here’s how international law has changed to help countries intervene

For decades, international law did not allow one country to attack another that was using chemical weapons on its own people without UN approval. That’s changed, which means trouble for Syria.
Chemical weapons in civilian attacks;: Novichok decontamination work in the area where Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found poisoned and unconscious in Salisbury, UK. Shutterstock/Amani A

It’s the right time to review the world’s chemical weapons convention

The use of chemical weapons has shifted from the battlefield to attacks on civilian targets. Time to rethink the convention that prohibits their use.
In this file photo taken on on Oct. 4, 1987, a Soviet army officer presents ammunition rigged with chemical agents during a visit by Western diplomats and journalists to a chemical weapons research facility in Shikhany, Saratov region, Russia. The facility in Shikhany led the efforts to develop Soviet chemical weapons, including Novichok-class nerve agents. John Thor Dahlburg/ AP Photo

What is Novichok? A neurotoxicologist explains

Novichok are a set of molecules that are some of the most deadly nerve agents ever developed. They are almost impossible to detect and clean up.

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