Deliberate chemical incidents, defined here as those in which there is intent to do harm, present special challenges to responders in terms of identifying the substance used and maintaining public calm and trust, even when the public is not immediately threatened.
5.1 Attempted Assassination
On March 4, 2018, former Soviet/Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury, UK. Although the Skripals may initially have appeared to be suffering an opioid overdose in that they were lethargic and talking incoherently when conscious, within a few days, testing by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) had determined that the targets had been poisoned by a novichok nerve agent,17 a realization that may have saved the lives of the Skripals and a responding officer.
Investigation of the incident revealed that nine sites within Salisbury required specialized nerve agent decontamination; three of these were in the city center. Clean-up work at each site involved testing, removal of potentially contaminated items, chemical cleaning and retesting. The work was overseen by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and supported by DSTL, Public Health England, the Department for Health and Social Care, the Home Office, and the Ministry of Defence (MOD). Presciently, Ian Boyd, DEFRA’s Chief Scientific Adviser and chair of the decontamination assurance group overseeing the work, said “Meticulous work is required and we expect it will be a number of months before all sites are fully reopened.”18 In fact, even with the help of hundreds of specialist military personnel, it was nearly a year later and at a cost of ~£12million that all Salisbury city sites were finally declared safe.18,19
Then, in July of that same year, a couple was poisoned in the nearby town of Amesbury. They had found a bottle of perfume in the trash that had been laced with the novichok agent. One of the couple died as a result.20 This second poisoning added significantly to the resources needed for clean-up efforts, and to the unrest of the public in the area.
This deliberate event illustrates the need for access to and coordination with highly specialized sampling and decontamination personnel and law enforcement/intelligence officials during the response to an event.
Footnotes
17. Rudd, A. (2018, March 9). Oral statement to Parliament, Home Secretary statement on the incident in Salisbury. Gov.uk.
18. Gov.uk. (2018, April 17). Clean-up work underway in Salisbury in next phase of recovery. Gov.uk.
19. Wilkinson, M. (2019, August 28). Poison bill: Novichuk nerve agent attack in Salisbury cost taxpayers a staggering 30million. The Sun. ; Gov.uk. (2018, April 17). Clean-up work underway in Salisbury in next phase of recovery.
20. Corera, G. (2020, March 4). Salisbury poisoning: What did the attack mean for the UK and Russia? BBC News Services.