Advice on assistance and protection from the Scientific Advisory Board of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons : Part 2. On preventing and treating health effects from acute, prolonged, and repeated nerve agent exposure, and the identification of medical countermeasures able to reduce or eliminate the longer term health effects of nerve agents

The Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has provided advice in relation to the Chemical Weapons Convention on assistance and protection. We present the SAB’s response to a request from the OPCW Director-General in 2014 for information on the best practices for preventing and treating the health effects from acute, prolonged, and repeated organophosphorus nerve agent (NA) exposure. The report summarises pre- and post-exposure treatments, and developments in decontaminants and adsorbing materials, that at the time of the advice, were available for NAs. The updated information provided could assist medics and emergency responders unfamiliar with treatment and decontamination options related to exposure to NAs. The SAB recommended that developments in research on medical countermeasures and decontaminants for NAs should be monitored by the OPCW, and used in assistance and protection training courses and workshops organised through its capacity building programmes.Peer reviewe

Advice from the Scientific Advisory Board of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on riot control agents in connection to the Chemical Weapons Convention

Compounds that cause powerful sensory irritation to humans were reviewed by the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in response to requests in 2014 and 2017 by the OPCW Director-General to advise which riot control agents (RCAs) might be subject to declaration under the Chemical Weapons Convention (the Convention). The chemical and toxicological properties of 60 chemicals identified from a survey by the OPCW of RCAs that had been researched or were available for purchase, and additional chemicals recognised by the SAB as having potential RCA applications, were considered. Only 17 of the 60 chemicals met the definition of a RCA under the Convention. These findings were provided to the States Parties of the Convention to inform the implementation of obligations pertaining to RCAs under this international chemical disarmament and non-proliferation treaty.Peer reviewe

advice from the scientific advisory board of the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons on isotopically labelled chemicals and stereoisomers in relation to the chemical weapons convention

AbstractThe Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is an international disarmament treaty that prohibits the development, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. This treaty has 193 States Parties (nations for which the treaty is binding) and entered into force in 1997. The CWC contains schedules of chemicals that have been associated with chemical warfare programmes. These scheduled chemicals must be declared by the States that possess them and are subject to verification by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW, the implementing body of the CWC). Isotopically labelled and stereoisomeric variants of the scheduled chemicals have presented ambiguities for interpretation of the requirements of treaty implementation, and advice was sought from the OPCW's Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) in 2016. The SAB recommended that isotopically labelled compounds or stereoisomers related to the parent compound specified in a schedule should be interpreted as belonging to the same schedule. This advice should benefit scientists and diplomats from the CWC's State Parties to help ensure a consistent approach to their declarations of scheduled chemicals (which in turn supports both the correctness and completeness of declarations under the CWC). Herein, isotopically labelled and stereoisomeric variants of CWC-scheduled chemicals are reviewed, and the impact of the SAB advice in influencing a change to national licensing in one of the State Parties is discussed. This outcome, an update to national licensing governing compliance to an international treaty, serves as an example of the effectiveness of science diplomacy within an international disarmament treaty

innovative technologies for chemical security

AbstractAdvances across the chemical and biological (life) sciences are increasingly enabled by ideas and tools from sectors outside these disciplines, with information and communication technologies playing a key role across 21st century scientific development. In the face of rapid technological change, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention ("the Convention"), seeks technological opportunities to strengthen capabilities in the field of chemical disarmament. The OPCW Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) in its review of developments in science and technology examined the potential uses of emerging technologies for the implementation of the Convention at a workshop entitled "Innovative Technologies for Chemical Security", held from 3 to 5 July 2017, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event, organized in cooperation with the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine of the United States of America, the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, and the Brazilian Chemical Society, was attended by 45 scientists and engineers from 22 countries. Their insights into the use of innovative technological tools and how they might benefit chemical disarmament and non-proliferation informed the SAB's report on developments in science and technology for the Fourth Review Conference of the Convention (to be held in November 2018), and are described herein, as are recommendations that the SAB submitted to the OPCW Director-General and the States Parties of the Convention. It is concluded that technologies exist or are under development that could be used for investigations, contingency, assistance and protection, reducing risks to inspectors, and enhancing sampling and analysis

Rôle des particules fines PM2,5 dans l'induction des pathologies respiratoires d'origine inflammatoire (comparaison avec les particules diesel)

PARIS7-Bibliothèque centrale (751132105) / SudocSudocFranceF

Incertitude et seuils de toxicité aiguë en situation accidentelle

National audienceThe prevention of atmospheric release of dangerous chemical compounds requires risk managers to identify acute toxicity threshold values to help them study toxic risks during the risk assessment process. This process is necessary for decreasing risk potential, preparing emergency plans and regulating land use around chemical plants. This article presents the methodological choices made by the French institute for industrial environment and risks (Ineris) in deriving acute toxicity threshold values and draws attention to the uncertainties generated during this process and the related calculation of effect distances. Threshold values are determined by 1% and 5% lethal concentrations. This study shows that the uncertainty related to lethal concentrations can cause substantial variability (> 60%) in these effect distances.Dans le cadre de la prévention des risques liés à des émissions accidentelles de substances chimiques dangereuses dans l'atmosphère, les gestionnaires de risque souhaitent disposer de valeurs seuils de toxicité aiguë. Ces valeurs toxicologiques sont utilisées pour évaluer le risque toxique dans le cadre des études de dangers. Les résultats de ces études permettent de réduire le risque à la source et d'élaborer des plans d'urgence. Ils contribuent aussi à la prise en compte des dangers dans le cadre de la maîtrise de l'urbanisation autour des installations classées pour la protection de l'environnement. Les plans de prévention des risques technologiques créés récemment, permettront d'agir sur l'urbanisation existante et future en délimitant, autour des installations à haut risque, des zones à l'intérieur desquelles des prescriptions pourront être imposées aux constructions et des zones où les constructions pourront être réglementées. Cet article a pour objectifs de présenter les choix scientifiques et méthodologiques de détermination des valeurs seuils réglementaires à partir des données de mortalité animales et de sensibiliser le lecteur aux incertitudes liées au calcul et à l'utilisation de ces valeurs pour la détermination des distances d'effets correspondantes. Cette étude montre notamment que cette variabilité peut être supérieure à 60 %

Fine urban atmospheric particulate matter modulates inflammatory gene and protein expression in human bronchial epithelial cells

International audienceAmbient particulate matter (PM) is known to induce inflammation in the respiratory tract of exposed subjects. The aim of the present study was to detect, in bronchial epithelial cells, candidate inflammatory genes exhibiting transcriptional modifications following urban PM2.5 exposure. Paris urban PM2.5 sampled either at a curbside or a background station in winter and in summer was tested in comparison with diesel exhaust particles (DEP) at 10 microg/cm(2) on human bronchial epithelial (16-HBE) cells (18 h of exposure). The gene profiling study performed using a 375 cDNA cytokine expression array highlighted the differential expression of certain genes, three of which were selected as genes of interest: the IL-1 alpha cytokine, the GRO-alpha chemokine, and amphiregulin, a ligand of the EGF receptor. Their increased expression was confirmed by RT-PCR and/or by Northern blotting in bronchial epithelial cells. In the culture medium of particle-treated cultures, increased release of GRO-alpha and amphiregulin was shown. The particle component responsible for protein release varied for the two genes. The organic extract seemed to be mainly involved in amphiregulin expression and secretion, whereas both the aqueous and organic extracts induced GRO-alpha release. In conclusion, in bronchial epithelial cells, Paris PM2.5 increased mRNA and protein expression of GRO-alpha and AR involved in the chemoattraction process and bronchial remodeling, respectively