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SCIENCE
Taming toxic waste
Queen's University researchers neutralize chemical weapons
Last Updated: Thursday, May 22, 2008 | 9:04 AM ET
By George Binks CBC News
 Queens University researchers Stan Brown (left) and Alexei Neverov, specialists in catalytic chemistry, have developed a method of safely destroying toxic agents such as chemical weapons and pesticides. (Stephen Wild) |
Deleting e-mails and recycling newspapers are most people's biggest concerns when it comes to getting rid of waste. But what if you're a world leader and have a stash of forbidden deadly chemicals on hand? Or what if terrorists suddenly swoop down and let loose with toxic nerve agents? Who you gonna call?
Well, Queen's University researchers Stan Brown and Alexei Neverov, specialists in catalytic chemistry, may be just the pair.
The two have developed a method for rapidly and safely destroying toxic agents, ranging from chemical weapons to pesticides.
The two didn't start out with a grand plan to rid the world of dangerous poisons, explains Brown. "We were just doing basic research and never envisioned where it would go."
What the two have developed is a solution that can neutralize organophosphorus nerve agents with names like Tabun, Soman and VX. They can't reveal the solution's composition, but it has an alcohol base using methanol, ethanol and propanol, metal ions that act as the catalytic entity, as well as other materials to control the solution conditions.
"The materials are non-toxic and off the shelf," says Brown.
When the solution comes into contact with the nerve gas or certain pesticides, it neutralizes them so they're no longer toxic.
"It's a chemical reaction that transforms them from a lethal form of organophosphate to a non-lethal form," Brown explains.
The solution can be sprayed via a handheld or a machine-driven sprayer, sprayed on and sucked up by a vacuum, or dispensed in a huge dishwasher type device that a vehicle like a tank can be driven into.
Right now, Brown's and Neverov's concoction has been tested by an independent European defence organization, and it managed to decompose three of the most lethal chemical weapons in less than 30 seconds. Testing on contaminated surfaces showed almost complete decontamination of the agents in 10 minutes.
Nerve agents an international concern
While nerve agents might not seem at the top of many countries' fears, in fact they are a big concern. Post 9/11, countries are jittery about the next big threat. One chemical- weapon attack in particular is still fresh in many people's memories — the Tokyo subway attack of 1995, in which terrorists used the deadly nerve agent sarin to kill 12 people and make 5,500 others ill.
Nerve agents can kill quickly, and just one milligram per person is a lethal dose. To put that into perspective, a 26-ounce bottle of some nerve agents (740 millilitres or roughly the equivalent of two pop cans) is enough to kill 700,000 people.
"The agent penetrates the skin or is breathed in and stops the nerve action, killing a person with respiratory paralysis," Brown says.
Cleaning up
At the moment, these types of chemical weapons are possessed legally by the military in the United States, Russia and some former Soviet Union countries.
The Chemical Weapons Convention treaty was formulated in 1992, and all of the approximately 170 signatory nations agreed to get rid of their stockpiles and not make any more. That treaty called for the destruction of stockpiles by all of the signatory nations by 2007, which was extended to 2012. (The United States now says it can't accomplish this until 2021.)
Right now, there are ways to get rid of the material but they use water and caustic agents such as lye or bleach that can damage or destroy the contaminated equipment or facilities.
"These methods are less efficient than ours and they cause degradation of the object you're trying to clean," Neverov says. "Because ours is neutral, you can wash the surface and use it right away. For instance, some contaminated electronics can be immersed in the solution, rinsed off and used immediately."
This provides a non-toxic green alternative to present decontamination practices.
"The United States has something like 25 tonnes of this material, so getting rid of this isn't very easy. With present decontamination methods, after the agents have been decomposed chemically, the waste has to be shipped to a special facility for incineration and a lot of people don't like these trains coming through with this material," says Brown.
Right now, there are plans to commercialize the discovery with the help of PARTEQ Innovations — an organization within Queen's University. The next big step is finding a partner to turn Brown's and Neverov's research findings into a marketable product.
Davis Hill, the commercial development manager for PARTEQ, says the non-for profit agency is already being contacted by people who want to clean up sites where pesticides have been dumped.
"There are still a lot of dangerous chemical warfare agents out there, but certain pesticides are equally toxic in large quantities," Hill says. "They're actually available more readily than chemical warfare agents are, and we need ways to be prepared for on-purpose attacks or accidental spills of these agents."