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. Front Matter....Pages i-xviii The Problem of Old Chemical Weapons Which Contain “Mustard Gas” or Organoarsenic Compounds: An Overview....Pages 1-16 Destruction of Old Chemical Munitions....Pages 17-32 Recovered Old Arsenical and ‘Mustard’ Munitions in Germany....Pages 33-78 Practical Actions of Russia on Preparations for Destruction of Stockpiled Lewisite and ‘Mustard’....Pages 79-90 Recovered Old Arsenical and ‘Mustard’ Munitions in Poland....Pages 91-104 Composition and Remediation of Tarry ‘Mustard’....Pages 105-114 Kinetic and Toxicological Parameters of ‘Mustard’ (HD) Hydrolysis and Biodegradation....Pages 115-122 Arsenic in the Environment....Pages 123-134 Biotransformation of Arsenic in Freshwater Organisms....Pages 135-148 Investigations in Organoarsenic Chemistry....Pages 149-150 HPLC-ICP-MS Methods for the Determination of Inorganic and Organic Arsenic Compound....Pages 151-154 A Method for Mutual Disposal of Old Chemical Weapons....Pages 155-156 Destruction of Adamsite by Sodium....Pages 157-158 Electrochemical and Biological Approach to the Destruction of Lewisite and ‘Mustard’....Pages 159-162 Reductive Decomposition of Deposits in Old ‘Mustard’ Munitions....Pages 163-164 Use of ‘Mustard’ Aminolysis Products as Catalysts for Polyurethane Foam Production....Pages 165-168 Breakdown of Sulfur ‘Mustard’ by Phase Transfer Catalysed HCl Elimination....Pages 169-174 Old ‘Mustard’ or Yperite Munitions: Methods for Destruction and Container Detoxification....Pages 175-176 Old Arsenical Munitions: Methods for Destruction and Site Cleanup....Pages 177-183 On the Handling of Recovered Munitions....Pages 185-188 Back Matter....Pages 189-200 Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Chemical Problems Associated with Old Arsenical and `Mustard' Munitions, Lódz, Poland, 17-19 March 1996 Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Chemical Problems Associated with Old Arsenical and `Mustard' Munitions, Lodz, Poland, 17-19 March 1996