Precursor Chemical News

US Ship 'Cape Ray' Neutralizes Syrian Sarin

All 581 metric tonnes of a precursor chemical for sarin gas that were removed from the Syrian Arab Republic and trans-loaded onto the U.S. Maritime Vessel Cape Ray in early July, have been destroyed with neutralisation technology aboard the ship while sailing in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea, informs the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The precursor chemicals - methylphosphonyl difluoride, or DF - were neutralised with two Field Deployable Hydrolysis Systems (FDHS) that were installed on the Cape Ray for the purpose of destroying the most dangerous chemicals in Syria’s stockpile. The FDHS units mix the chemicals with fresh water and reagents and then heat the mixture, which reduces the toxicity of the chemicals by at least 99.9 percent.