Arsenic and Old Mustard: Chemical Problems in the Destruction of Old Arsenical and `Mustard' Munitions

More than ten million `poison gas' shells, mortar bombs, etc., lie hidden in Europe, many of them relics from World War I. Some were fired and failed to detonate, others were abandoned in old ammunition dumps. Most retain their load of chemical warfare (CW) agents. They are turned up daily in the course of farming and construction. Many European nations have permanent departments concerned with their collection and destruction.
Old munitions, when discovered, are usually heavily corroded and difficult to identify. Is it a CW munition? Or an explosive? If CW, what agent does it contain? Once identified, one has to select a destruction method. Some of the methods that have been proposed are less than perfect, and are often complicated by the presence of extraneous chemicals, either mixed with the CW agents during manufacture or formed over decades in the ground.
Of particular interest are the insiders' reports on the German CW programmes of both World Wars, and the current status of Russian chemical armaments.

Inhalt

Preface. Structures of Prominent Arsenical and Mustard' Agents. IUPAC Names of Prominent Chemical Warfare Agents. Glossary of Agent Codes and Common Names. The Problem of Old Chemical Weapons which ContainMustard Gas' or Organoarsenic Compounds: An Overview; R.G. Manley. Destruction of Old Chemical Munitions; D. Froment. Recovered Old Arsenical and Mustard' Munitions in Germany: Technologies, Plans and Problems; H. Martens. Practical Actions of Russia on Preparations for Destruction of Stockpiled Lewisite andMustard'; S.V. Petrov, et al. Recovered Old Arsenical and Mustard' Munitions in Poland: Technologies, Plans and Problems; Z. Wertejuk, et al. Composition and Remediation of TarryMustard'; P.R. Norman. Kinetic and Toxicological Parameters of Mustard' (HD) Hydrolysis and Biodegradation; S.P. Harvey, et al. Arsenic in the Environment; W.R. Cullen. Biotransformation of Arsenic in Freshwater Organisms; S. Maeda. Investigations in Organoarsenic Chemistry; I. Haiduc, L. Silaghi-Dumitrescu. HPLC-ICP-MS Methods for the Determination of Inorganic and Organic Arsenic Compound; W. Goessler, et al. A Method for Mutual Disposal of Old Chemical Weapons; A.L. Chimishkyan. Destruction of Adamsite by Sodium; M. Sokolowski, E. Bilger. Electrochemical and Biological Approach to the Destruction of Lewisite andMustard'; A.M. Boronin, et al. Reductive Decomposition of Deposits in Old Mustard' Munitions; J.F. Bunnett. Use ofMustard' Aminolysis Products as Catalysts for Polyurethane Foam Production; A.L. Chimishkyan, et al. Breakdown of Sulfur Mustard' by Phase Transfer Catalysed HCl Elimination: A Potential Destruction Method forMustard' Stocks; E.-C. Koch. Old `Mustard' or Yperite Munitions: Methods for Destruction and Container Detoxification; Yperite Discussion Group. Old Arsenical Munitions: Methods for Destruction and Site Cleanup; Arsenicals Discussion Group. On the Handling of Recovered Munitions; Recovered Munitions Discussion Group. Appendices. Author Index. Subject Index.