The Compound Syria Supposedly Used as Chemical Warfare

There are a number of different gasses that have been used in chemical warfare, but the most likely culprit in the case of the recent Syrian civil war conflict is Sarin. Sarin is a potent nerve agent (a phosphorus containing molecule that inhibits nerves from communicating to organs), and is fairly easy to synthesize as it only requires two reactants, one of which is isopropyl alcohol, and the other methylphosphonyl difluoride.  These reactants are combined when the nerve gas is released since this molecule is unstable in the P-F bond. The toxicity of this compound reaches about 500 times that of cyanide. The molecule was originally synthesized in 1938 by a German company in sight to produce an insecticide, but proved to be more useful in chemical warfare after the German army began testing in 1939.

What makes the use of chemical warfare, subject to such serious allegations? They are weapons of mass destruction that are cheaper, less destructive on the environment, and selective on anyone without a gas mask. So a regime, such as the Syrian army, can use it to eliminate it's citizens, while their army wears protective gas masks. And, as a nuclear blast would demolish a city, a chemical bomb leaves the buildings intact, but with a high death toll. These weapons aren't used to fight a war, but to exterminate an entire population within the desired vicinity. This is why chemical warfare has been banned.

Monocrotophos: A Deadly Insecticide

A recent incident in India has left 23 children dead as a result of cooking oil contaminated with monocrotophos. Being as this was a free meal by government, aimed to keep 120 million children well fed and nourished, this turns some heads.

This molecule has been used as an insecticide, but has since been banned in Canada and the US, along with a number of other countries. They have failed to keep a ban on such pesticides due to the issue of having to feed so many hungry mouths, and needing a high crop output. In the countries where it is still legally used as a pesticide it is required to dilute it to 16% by volume of water. But in this case there was no dilution, indicating that there was direct contact with the poison after the oil processing.

This then becomes a question of who is responsible for insuring this doesn't happen again? One option is to enforce the correct usage and safety for this material, but considering the large illiteracy of the population, and difficulty in setting up an enforcement task, this poses much difficulty.

My opinion in how to prevent something like this from happening again is to enforce limitations on the manufacturer of the insecticide, the ones who enticed the Indian government into lifting the ban with their low price point. To either enforce a ban on synthesizing the compound all together, or to impose a concentration restriction, making the manufacturer dilute before the product is sold

Ricin: A Potent Poison

Now I don't really talk about anything on this site that deals with anything biochemistry related, but I will make this an exception due to the state of current events. Ricin might be a word that you have heard recently in the new, about the poising attempt on President Obama by an Elvis impersonator.  For those who don't know what Ricin is, it is a protein originating from the same plant that gives you castor oil. It's job in the body is a nasty one, as it inhibits protein synthesis (which is pretty much everything important in a cell), more specifically it acts upon the ribosome (a small organelle which synthesizes proteins). It's categorization of inhibitor is a Ribosome Inactivating Protein, which cynically has the acronym RIP.  Although this is a very deadly poison (a gram worth to kill), there does exist an antidote, but the survivors will have major organ damage and will have a shortened life expectancy.

Source:
Wikipedia