Toxicology chemical warfare research

In this report, the Subcommittee on Chronic Reference Doses for Selected Chemical-Warfare Agents of the National Research Council s (NRC s) Committee on Toxicology reviews the scientific validity of the Army s interim values for the six chemical-warfare agents—GA, GB, GD, VX, sulfur mustard, and lewisite. The NRC report is intended to be useful to the Army in making site-specific cleanup decisions. 

National Research Council (NRC), Committee on Toxicology, Subcommittee on Chronic Reference Dose for Chemical Warfare Agents (1999). Review of the US Army s Health Risk Assessment for Oral Exposure to Six Chemical Warfare Agents. National Academy Press, Washington, DC. 

NRC (National Research Cormcil) (2003). Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals. Suhcommittee on Chronic Reference Doses for Selected Chemical-Warfare Agents, Committee on Toxicology, Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, Commission on Life Sciences, National Research Cormcil. National Academy Press, Washington, DC. 

For the development of new chemical weapons (CWs), a number of criteria are necessary a research base including scientists and equipment, access to information, chemical and arms industries, and of course financial support. It is noteworthy that the development of CWs is possible not only for states but also for terrorists. It is necessary to stress that the intention of this chapter is not to describe new CWs or chemical warfare agents (CWAs) but to comment on a number of trends in toxicology with the aim that these chemicals may be proposed for inclusion in the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) verification mechanisms. However, the text of the CWC is comprehensive and covers practically all chemicals that may be misused as CWs. 

Gearhart, J.M. et al. (2005). Cross validation studies for routes of sarin (GB) exposure in the guinea pig preliminary results. Low Level Chemical Warfare Agent Toxicology Research Program FY04 Report and Analysis. AFRL-HE-WP-TR-2005-0054. 

McNamara, B. P. 1960 Research In Toxicology Division on Effects of CS4030 In animals. Chemical Warfare Laboratories Special Pub. 2-28. 

Many ChE inhibitors act at the catalytic site of the enzyme, forming enzyme-inhibitor complexes that are slow to hydrolyze. The use of ChE inhibitors as insecticides and as chemical warfare agents, their toxicity to humans, and their impact on wildlife have made them important to toxicology researchers, public health and environmental health officials. 

NRC (National Research Council) (1995). Guidelines for chemical warfare agents in military drinking water. Committee on Toxicology, National Research Council, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., p. 80. 

Jung, B.J. and T.-M. Shih. 2006. The effects of repeated low-dose nerve agent exposure on extracellular neurotransmitter levels and electroencephalography. In Low Level Chemical Warfare Agent Toxicology Research Program EY()5 Report and Analysis. AFRL/HEPC AFRL-HE-WP-TR-2006-0073. 

National Research Council Committee on Toxicology Guidelines for Chemical Warfare Agents in Military Field Drinking Water, National Academies Press Washington, DC, 1995 Vol. 10 pp 19-28. 

All those present at the meeting were senior scientists, born between 1900 and 1915, with extensive expertise in psychology, pharmacology, toxicology, biochemistry, and experimental patholc, and all had served on various advisory committees in the past. What distinguished them from others equally qualified was their intricate web of connections to Porton. Some had worked there in the past or had acted as expert advisers others had used Porton s laboratory facilities as a platform to launch their own research institutes in the postwar period. Almost all had served as members of the CDAB and its subcommittees, and thus possessed the necessary security clearance. What qualified them was not so much their knowledge and interest in questions of medical ethics, but their scientific expertise, professional standing, and loyalty to Britain s chemical warfare corps. 

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