How fast does vx kill you

Since discovery, V-agents have been researched, produced and stockpiled by several countries. Most of those countries have now given up their offensive chemical weapons programs and are in the process of destroying their stockpiles and placing their means of production under international monitoring via the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons OPCW.

Under the CWC, VX and all nerve agents and their precursors that have no other legitimate industrial use are illegal to produce or procure. North Korea is one of only four countries that have not signed or acceded to the CWC. The North Korean government is believed to have a stockpile of chemical weapons , including V-series agents and can manufacture them in industrial quantities.

Festival of Social Science — Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire. Edition: Available editions United Kingdom. Become an author Sign up as a reader Sign in. Little protection against the deadly VX nerve agent. Martin Boland , Charles Darwin University. What is VX? It is thought that the women were directed by others and the Malaysian authorities are demanding an interview with a North Korean diplomat, Hyon Kwang Song, who is known to have been in the airport on the day of the assassination.

North Korea is denying them access and has even claimed that there is a conspiracy between Malaysia and South Korea and that the victim may not be Kim Jong-nam. Given that Malaysia is one of the few friends of North Korea the diplomatic meltdown resulting from this incident has caused concern, particularly given North Korean remarks on its nuclear capabilities in missives presented to the Malaysian authorities.

Three suspects remain in custody and seven more people are wanted by the police. This article is reproduced with permission from Chemistry World. The article was first published on February 24, Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue. See Subscription Options. Go Paperless with Digital.

His cult injured two other people in a separate incident. The cult leader became infamous for releasing a sarin gas in the Tokyo subway station in The attack killed 13 commuters and injured more than 1, VX is an oily liquid. It usually enters the body through skin contact.

Although it is considerably more dangerous when inhaled, the work involved in getting VX into an aerosol form is much more difficult for a potential assassin than spraying the liquid. The substance enters the body fairly quickly. Once in the body, the compound blocks the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, which is essential for the breakdown of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the synapses of the autonomic nervous system and in other parts of the nervous systems that control muscles.

As a result, the nerves are constantly being agitated. A victim's nose runs, eyes hurt and vision is impaired. They also have difficulty breathing, start salivating, get muscle cramps, sweat heavily, vomit, lose consciousness, stop breathing and die.

The production of VX is not very difficult for trained chemists with regular laboratory equipment. Exposure to VX can be treated with atropine, pralidoxime and diazepam. The substances block the poisonous effects of acetylcholine and work to relax over-stimulated muscles. Visit the new DW website Take a look at the beta version of dw. Go to the new dw. More info OK. Wrong language?