HLSS522Wk3

Everything You Need To Know About Novichok

BY CARLOS COELHO AND KRISTYNA FOLTYNOVA

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

After the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s,

scientists who claim to have worked on its chemical

weapons program spoke publicly about a nerve

agent they had named Novichok -- Russian for "new

guy" or "newcomer."

Russia has never of�cially con�rmed its existence, but

those same scientists said Novichok nerve agents are the

deadliest ever made, with some variants possibly �ve to

eight times more potent than VX.

Toxicity Of Various Nerve Agents

Expressed as milligram-minute per

cubic meter (mg-min/m³)

55 15 1.9-3*7*

Sarin (also known as GB)

Note: LCt50 is an expression of the dose of vapor or aerosolized agent necessary to kill half of the exposed population.

LCt50

VX A-232 (one of Novichok's variants)

A-230 (one of Novichok's variants)

*Estimated value

Novichok is a nerve agent developed at the GosNIIOKHT

state chemical-research institute in Russia. It belongs to a

broad class of compounds called cholinesterase inhibitors,

which are used in a wide range of medicines and poisons.

There are several variants of Novichok, some of which are

believed to have been adapted for military use and were

speci�cally designed to escape detection by international

inspectors.

How It Works Novichok disrupts the mechanisms by which nerves

transfer messages to organs, by inhibiting chemicals in the

body that nerve cells use to regulate essential functions and

blocking neurotransmitters.

Healthy System

Muscle

Nerve ending

Nerves produce chemicals called neurotransmitters,

which are used to transmit a message.

The process of transmitting is stopped by enzymes that break down the neurotransmitters.The neurotransmitter binds

with a receptor to send an impulse to a muscle.

System Attacked By A Nerve Agent

Enzymes are blocked by a nerve agent and are not able to break down neurotransmitters.

Muscle

Nerve ending

Neurotransmitters keep sending impulses to muscles and cause

constant stimulation.

Nerve agents are usually colorless and tasteless liquids that

may evaporate to a gas. Though some Novichok agents are

solid, it is thought that its most common dispersal is by

means of an ultra�ne powder.

Novichok can enter the body by inhalation, ingestion, or

contact with the skin.

How Novichok Enters The Body

Inhalation Ingestion Skin contact

Symptoms

- Miosis: One of the �rst signs you’ve been affected is

miosis. This is when the pupils in your eyes shrink to tiny

dots.

- Sweating and wheezing

- Dif�culty breathing: The muscles around the heart and

lungs contract, which can cause respiratory and cardiac

arrest, leading to suffocation and heart failure.

- Convulsions: The nerve agents disrupt nerve signals to the

muscles, causing them to contract involuntarily.

- Involuntary urination and defecation

- Vomiting

For those lucky enough to survive, Novichok can cause

lasting nerve damage, as well as permanent damage to the

muscles and organs.

Signs And Symptoms Of A Nerve Agent

Note: Some or all symptoms may occur. Not all body organs are included in the illustration.

Digestive system: Nausea, abdominal

pain, vomiting, diarrhea

Skin: Profuse sweating

Nervous system: Headache, restlessness,

loss of consciousness, convulsions, coma

Eyes: Pupils constricted

Why Is It So Dif�cult To Detect?

Specialists in the matter claim Novichok agents were

designed to achieve four objectives:

- To be undetectable using standard 1970s and ‘80s NATO

chemical-detection equipment

- To defeat NATO chemical-protective gear

- To be safer to handle

- To circumvent the Chemical Weapons Convention’s list of

controlled precursors

Novichok is a "binary" chemical weapon, meaning it uses

two or more chemical precursors that are either nontoxic or

less toxic and become active only when mixed.

Though this makes Novichok safer to store, transport, and

dispose of, it makes it harder to detect, as the precursors can

be transported separately.

Another disadvantage is that careless preparation may

produce a nonoptimal agent. This is perhaps why some

presumed assassination attempts using Novichok have

failed.

Binary Weapon

When two chemicals (separated by rupture

disk) mix, a toxic substance is made.

Handling And Treatment

If you suspect you have been exposed to a nerve agent, you

should remove all clothing immediately and wash using

abundant amounts of soap and water. Then seek immediate

emergency medical attention.

Nerve-agent poisoning can be treated with atropine and

oxime. Even if the treatment is successful, victims can

suffer lasting damage.

Novichok Poisonings And Possible Cases

1995: Ivan Kivelidi and Zara Ismailova

The �rst use of Novichok may have been in 1995, when

Russian businessman Ivan Kivelidi and his secretary, Zara

Ismailova, were killed in Moscow. A poisonous substance

had been placed on Kivelidi’s telephone receiver in his

of�ce.

Authorities said at the time that they had been poisoned

with cadmium, a heavy metal, but Russian and foreign

media have since reported that it was almost certainly

Novichok.

2015: Emilian Gebrev

Bulgarian arms dealer Emilian Gebrev was hospitalized in

April 2015 after collapsing at a reception he was hosting in

So�a. His son and one of his company’s executives also fell

ill and were hospitalized.

At the time, doctors said Gebrev had been poisoned but were

unable to identify the substance used.

Reports of a possible Novichok link surfaced after the

investigative site Bellingcat claimed it had discovered that

a suspect in the Skripal poisoning had been in Bulgaria at

the time Gebrev fell ill.

2018: Sergei and Yulia Skripal

On March 4, 2018, Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia

were poisoned in Salisbury, England, with a Novichok nerve

agent.

Sergei Skripal had been convicted in 2006 by a Russian

court for "high treason in the form of espionage" on charges

that he had given the names of Russian agents in Europe to

Britain's MI6 during the 1990s. The West believes Skripal

was likely the target of a state-ordered execution.

Then-British Prime Minister Theresa May said in

Parliament, "Either this was a direct action by the Russian

state against our country, or the Russian government lost

control of its potentially catastrophically damaging nerve

agent and allowed it to get into the hands of others."

The British government accused Russia of attempted

murder and announced punitive measures that included

the expulsion of diplomats on March 12, 2018.

2018: Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess

On June 30, 2018, Charlie Rowley found a perfume bottle in

a trash can somewhere in Salisbury and gave it to his

girlfriend, Dawn Sturgess, who sprayed its contents on her

wrist. She fell ill within 15 minutes and died a few days

later. Rowley, who also came into contact with the poison,

survived. Rowley is reported to still be suffering from

serious health problems.

Police later said the pair had been poisoned with the same

nerve agent as the Skripals.

2020: Aleksei Navalny

On August 20, 2020, Russian opposition �gure Aleksei

Navalny fell violently ill during a �ight from Tomsk to

Moscow. After an emergency landing, he was taken to a

hospital in Omsk, where he was placed in an induced coma.

He was evacuated to the Charité hospital in Berlin two days

later.

On September 2, 2020, the German government said that it

had "unequivocal evidence" that Navalny had been

poisoned by a Novichok agent.

Navalny was discharged from the hospital on September 22,

2020. He is undergoing physical rehabilitation and says he

plans to return to Russia.

Written by Carlos Coelho

Developed and designed by Kristyna Foltynova

Edited by Grant Podelco and Dan Wisniewski

Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

Handbook of Chemical and Biological Warfare

Agents, Novichoks: The Dangerous Fourth

Generation of Chemical Weapons

If you're interested in Russia, you'll love Steve Gutterman's Week In Russia. The editor of RFE/RL's Russia Desk dissects some of the key developments over the previous week and offers some of the takeaways going forward. Every Friday, direct to your in-box. Click here to subscribe

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

November 23, 2020