Fire at the regional trade union council building in Odessa, Ukraine Photo: Barcroft Media
In the midst of the Ukrainian crisis, tactics reminiscent of
the Cold War began emerging—ones that trace back to the KGB laboratories half a
century ago. From guns that spray hydrogen cyanide to assassination attempts
with “Agent Orange,” it seems that the use of chemicals as weapons (not to be
confused with chemical weapons) is still on the Soviet agenda. On May 2nd
32 people died due to a fire in the trade unions building in Odessa, which were
occupied by pro-Russian protesters. The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
expressed outrage and immediately accused Ukrainian authorities for
responsibility of this scandal: however, as investigations progressed, a well-known
agent came into the picture—chloroform. Large traces of chloroform were found
in the ashes of the building coupled with open exits, unscathed parts of the
building and positions of the bodies that did not show signs of escape or struggle
puzzled authorities.
But why chloroform? Chloroform (CHCl3) is easily
synthesized and dangerous depending on levels of exposure. It is a colorless
liquid with a pleasant scent, and sweet taste (one of the discoverers that chemist
Samuel Guthrie enjoyed was its “cherry like taste”) and occasionally took shots
of the liquid. Chloroform can be easily synthesized by combining two common
household items – bleach and acetone. In an exothermic reaction the two will
form a heavy liquid where a simple decanting will yield a substantial amount of
chloroform. Before chloroform was known to cause kidney and liver damage, it
was used as an anesthetic, administered by breathing in more than 10000ppm of
air. On its own chloroform is not a significant threat, but using it to
incapacitate people in this situation is deadly.
Ukraine has asked Israel to help in the investigation: thus
far, authorities from both sides of the crisis have been detained and further
chemical analyses will reveal the truth. However, all eyes are on Russia with
suspicion: more on the story to follow as the investigation furthers.
Blogger:
Michael (Mykola) Schur
Chemical Engineering student at Calvin College
@Mykola_Shchur
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