Novichok used in Wiltshire "could stay active for 50 years" | Kingdom News

The nerve agent that killed a Wiltshire woman could last 50 years remaining in a container, said Britain's top anti-terrorism official

Neil Basu said at the time. 39, a public meeting in Amesbury that no forensic connection had been established. established between the Novichok who poisoned Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley, and the one that led to the collapse of the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia – and it was possible that one scientific link is never established

commissioner at the Metropolitan Police who runs the anti-terrorist police network, said that he believed that it was implausible there was no connection between the two incidents .

He said that it was possible that the pair had picked up a Novichok container at the time of the Skripal attack in March, but had only now open it. He admits that there could even be several novichok containers – but it was impossible to know.

Basu also said for the first time that a "special" area of ​​Queen Elizabeth Gardens in Salisbury, rather than the entire park, was in the center. He said it would be several weeks or even months before the investigation is over.

The Deputy Commissioner said that he hoped that Rowley, who had now regained consciousness at the hospital, would be able to tell them where they had found the container. and the detectives were in the hospital waiting to talk to him.

Basu also gave more details on the attack on the Skripals. "They had no idea that they were targeted," he said. "They did not know that they had been contaminated."

He reiterated that the police believed that the place where they had been poisoned was their gateway.

Basu also said that he did not believe that there was a lot of novichok in Salisbury. He said that he did not believe that Sturgess and Rowley were targeted.

"I think they are the most unlucky people of all time," he added.

Novichok refers to group of neurotoxic agents developed by the Soviet Union in the 70s and 80s to escape international restrictions on chemical weapons. Like other neurotoxic agents, they are organophosphorus compounds, but the chemicals used to manufacture them as well as their final structures are considered clbadified in the United Kingdom, the United States and in other countries.

The most potent substances are considered more deadly than VX, the deadliest familiar neurological agents, which include sarin, tabun and soman.

While novichok agents function in the same way, mbadively stimulating muscles and glands, a chemical weapons expert stated that the agents did not degrade rapidly in the environment and had additional toxicity that was not well understood. The treatment for exposure to Novichok would be the same as for other nerve agents, namely atropine, diazepam and potentially the drugs called oximes.

The chemical structures of novichok agents were made public in 2008 by Vil Mirzayanov, a former Russian scientist living in United States, but the structures have never been publicly confirmed. It is thought that they can be manufactured in various forms, including in the form of dusty aerosols

Novichoks are known as binary agents because they only become lethal after mixing two components otherwise. harmless. According to Mirzayanov, they are 10 to 100 times more toxic than conventional neurotoxic agents.

While the laboratories used for police chemical weapons incidents have databases on nerve agents, few Russians the chemicals needed to make them.

Photography: Matt Cardy / Getty Images Europe

He gave an extraordinary insight into the difficulty of looking for novichok. He said it took 40 minutes for experts – all volunteers – to change to protective gear and 40 minutes to "undress". They worked in 40C (104F) inside the two main properties that were under investigation and could only work 15 minutes at a time, compared to six hours in March. This meant that they could only perform one, two, or three burrs at each session. Their blood was tested as they left.

Paul Cosford, the medical director of Public Health England, said the novichok was in liquid form. He said that it took effect between three and twelve hours after the exposure, suggesting that they could have come into contact with the nerve agent in the early hours of Saturday, June 30th.

Asked about the duration of the novichok, Cosford said: was on the outside, exposed to the elements, he is carried away and it is safe. All that remains of Mars would not be there now.

"If it's in a closed container, it takes a long time before it becomes inactive."

Basu was asked what would happen if she was in a landfill site now. He said, "If it were sealed in a container in a landfill, it would be safe indeed because it would not be touched by anyone. It would probably last, said scientists, for 50 years. "

A member of the audience suggested that the authorities had not looked for the novichok before the last incident." Basu replied, "I understand your point and I know you're really concerned about that. . "

He added:" We have not found the container. You are absolutely right not to know what it looks like. "

A spokesman for the Salisbury District Hospital confirmed that Rowley had regained consciousness.

Lorna Wilkinson, director of nursing at the hospital, said, "Although this is good news, we are not out yet.Charlie [Rowley] is still very sick and will continue to … needing specialized care, 24 hours a day. "

The news came when the chief medical advisor of England sent warnings to the inhabitants of the area.

Lady Sally Davies warned parents living in Salisbury and Amesbury in Wiltshire to make sure their children did not pick up any items and also told residents to stand away from thrown objects which may contain liquid or gel.

Sturgess and his partner, Rowley, came into contact with it before collapsing. Sturgess died in the hospital Sunday.

Davies said, "I would like to point out to everyone in the Salisbury and Amesbury area that no one, adult or child, should pick up foreign bodies that may contain liquid or gel, for their own safety

"In practice, this means not picking up containers, syringes, needles, cosmetics or similar objects made from materials such as metal, plastic or glbad.

"This is especially important because families are getting ready for their children's summer holidays, so I ask that people be very vigilant, let's be clear: do not pick up anything until you have escaped. "

While the main theory that follows the police is that Sturgess and Rowley have handled a contaminated object, another possibility considered is just one of them. so and pbaded to each other, maybe as they held hands.

The survey was extended to another site, 40 miles from Salisbury.

A car was seized on a residential street in Swindon Monday night after Sturgess's death. Soldiers wearing gloves and gas masks were seen wrapping a white plastic Audi, loading it onto a truck and carrying it off.

It is believed that the car belonged to an ambulance attendant who attended Rowley's address when he and Sturgess collapsed. It is understood that paramedics are fit and healthy.

The couple became ill on June 30 at Rowley's in Amesbury, 32 miles (51 km) south of Swindon. Police opened an investigation into a murder after Sturgess' death at the hospital on Sunday night.

The Audi is at least the third vehicle to have been seized since then. On Sunday night, duty personnel wearing protective gloves and a respirator towed a red van from a road to Durrington, near Amesbury. Rowley is believed to have traveled in the van shortly before collapsing.

A bus that the couple caught from Salisbury to Amesbury was also seized and tested at the Porton Down government laboratory, but was declared free from Novichok. been devastating. Dawn will always be remembered as a sweet and generous soul. It would do just about anything for anyone and those who knew Dawn would know she would gladly give her last dime to someone in need.

"She had the biggest heart and she will be sorely missed by her immediate and extended family. Our thoughts and prayers are also with Charlie and his family and we wish Charlie a speedy recovery. "