Who invented vx

Initial reports from the Malaysian authorities suggested that he had been pricked with at least one needle loaded with poison or sprayed in the face with a liquid. But this was not apparent in the grainy CCTV footage and attention quickly turned to what poison may have been to be so quick acting. Suggestions were made that some form of cyanide may have been used or more speculatively ricin.

The media in Japan suggested tetrodotoxin as the agent. Ten milligrams is enough to kill a person through skin contact although it can also kill through inhalation. One of the women involved in the attack subsequently fell ill too. However, a more sophisticated attack may have taken place. That would explain how they could have handled the cloths with impunity. The Malaysian authorities made several arrests, while other suspects have fled.

Watch Live. VX nerve agent: What is it, where did it come from and what does it do to you? By Bethany Minelle, News Reporter. Fill 2 Copy 11 Created with Sketch. Saturday 25 February , UK. Why you can trust Sky News. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player More on Malaysia.

Related Topics: Malaysia North Korea. Related Topics Malaysia North Korea. Development of "G" nerve gases continued throughout the 's, until in the early 's a slightly different breed was discovered. Soviet scientists had predicted the activity of this class of compounds, and several chemical companies and independent scientists had discovered their potency, but it was a British scientist, Dr.

Ghosh, who developed the "V" agents. These new chemicals worked in a similar way, with similar effects, but their low volatility leads to persistence in the atmosphere, which is the key to their desirability. The US began full-scale production of VX in The US army was involved in several controlled and accidental releases of VX gas. Iraq was reported to have produced more than 50 tonnes. The US and Russia are the only countries that have admitted owning VX stockpiles, but more countries are believed to hold it.

The US destroyed a small portion of its stockpile under the Chemical Weapons Convention and there have been moves for Russia to follow suit. Months before killing about a dozen commuters and severely injuring dozens more in Tokyo with sarin, another kind of nerve gas, in March , the Aum Shinrikyo Truth cult tried VX on at least three victims, killing one, whom cult members believed was a police informant.

North Korea claims it has never had a chemical weapons programme.