|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
 |
    |
|
|
|||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Russia: Moscow Refuses to Identify Deadly Theater Gas All but two of the hostages killed in a Moscow theater died from the gas that was used to incapacitate the Chechen separatists who had taken the building, a senior Russian health official said yesterday. Russian officials would not identify the gas; some experts are saying it might violate the Chemical Weapons Convention. More than 115 hostages died “from the effects of the gas exposure,” said Andrei Seltsovsky, head of the Moscow health department. About 650 former hostages remained hospitalized yesterday, 45 of whom were in critical condition. The gas was described as an incapacitating agent, used as an anesthesia, by Yevgeny Yevdokimov, chief anesthetist in Moscow (Glasser/Baker, Washington Post, Oct. 28). Seltovsky said he did not know the name of the gas. Russian authorities have been criticized for not releasing information on the gas, which was pumped in through the theater’s ventilation system early Saturday morning. Russian officials turned away a request for information on the gas from the U.S. Embassy. Chemical Speculation Lev Fedorov, president of the Russian Union for Chemical Safety, said the chemical agent used in the raid was apparently a Valium-based military gas, developed during the Soviet era. Vil Mirzayanov, a former colleague of Fedorov at the State Scientific and Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology, said the Soviet Union had altered the molecular structure of the incapacitating agent BZ, and it proved effective as an anesthetic. Mirzayanov suggested the gas used in the raid was an anesthetic. The gas used in Saturday’s assault might violate the Chemical Weapons Convention but conflict with the treaty is unclear, some experts said. The treaty bans the use of all lethal gasses. It allows incapacitating gasses for domestic law enforcement, but the effects must diminish quickly. Because the gas was pumped into the theater, without regard to dosage for children, the sick or the elderly, the move violates the intent of the convention, Mirzayanov said. Fedorov disagreed, saying that other countries research similar agents (Steven Myers, New York Times, Oct. 28). The gas might have been a version of sleeping gas Adamsite, and the refusal to identify it could be because undeclared stocks of the gas would be in violation of the convention, the Financial Times reported (Andrew Jack, Oct. 28, Financial Times). Treaty Implications Amy Smithson, a chemical weapons expert at the Henry L. Stimson arms research organization in Washington, said there many questions remained regarding Russia’s compliance with the chemical treaty. “This is kind of like pornography, you know it when you see it,” Smithson said. “There are going to be people on both sides who will argue that the treaty does not prohibit it. But how it was used, I think, is going to make it a huge debate.” Federov said Russian officials would probably never disclose the nature of the chemical. “We are never going to know exactly what chemical it was because in this country the state is more important than the people,” he said (Glasser/Baker, Washington Post). The fact that the hostages had been weakened by stress and hunger made the gas much more deadly, health officials said. Fedorov agreed with this assessment. “This weapon was developed to be used on healthy men who serve in the army,” he said. “It was used here on some of the so-called risk groups — women, children, people with liver and kidney problems” (Myers, New York Times). Russia Will Not Disclose Gas Officials have come under criticism as well for not disclosing the agent to doctors who treated the hostages. The doctors were themselves confused, according to a hospitalized former hostage. “Some of the doctors were telling us it was nerve gas, some were saying it was tear gas,” said a freed hostage identified only as Natasha (Susan Glasser, Washington Post, Oct. 28). None of the victims suffered symptoms associated with lethal — and therefore prohibited — chemical weapons. Yevdokimov described the gas a “psychotropic.” “It is safe if used as a general anesthetic, but large doses can affect basic functions of the organism, causing unconsciousness, respiratory and blood circulation problems,” he said. A British doctor said the effect of anesthesia varies based on the subject. “The range of human reaction to any anesthetic is very great,” said David Scott, an anesthesiologist at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. “If, for example, 50 percent of the people in the auditorium were put to sleep, you would expect another 40 percent to be unaffected and 10 percent would die” (McGrory/Hartley, London Times, Oct. 28). Russian authorities, meanwhile, are investigating a link between the Chechen militants and the al-Qaeda terrorist group. “There were definitely Arab terrorists in the building with links to al-Qaeda,” a senior Western diplomat said. “The Russians will now want to know how much help the Chechens received from [Osama] bin Laden’s organization” (Lab/Aris, London Sunday Telegraph, Oct. 27). For further information, see: Pentagon Executive Summary of CWC OPCW List of Other Chemical Conventions Federation of American Scientists List of Chemical Weapon Agents
| ||||||||||
Back to top
