POTENTIAL FATE OF G-NERVE CHEMICAL WARFARE AGENTS IN THE COASTAL WATERS OF THE ARABIAN-GULF

Wars, and the use of certain nerve chemical warfare agents in the Arab ian Gulf region triggered the inter est of environmental scientists on the probable fate of these chemical agents. In case of a massive rele ase, the main potential target might be the intakes of power desalinat ion plants located along the Gulf shorelines. In the present work, inf ormation derived from the limited open literature is extrapolated to p roject the possible fate of G-nerve agents in the marine environment b ased on the unique characteristics of the Arabian Gulf. Contamination of seawater with G-nerve agents can be naturally alleviated by degrada tion mainly through hydrolysis. Hydrolysis is found to be a relatively fast pathway for G-agents as compared to other processes such as biod egradation and photooxidation. In general, all the local environmental factors involved in the aquatic degradation of G-nerve agents in the Gulf environment, such as temperature, pH, salinity, divalent metal co ntent and turbulence, favor fast degradation. In case of massive relea ses of G-agents near the shoreline, turbulence resulting from tidal cy cles will control the dissolution/hydrolysis processes. The presence o f insoluble products will extend the toxicity of the insoluble agent. The estimated half-life of dissolved G-nerve agents, below saturation levels, should be in the order of a few hours in winter and less than one hour in hot summer.