Sheer luck no one else affected by VX, chemist says

KOTA KINABALU — The potent substance that was used in the assassination of North Korean Kim Jong-nam was so powerful that it could have easily killed others although it was only sheer luck that it affected the intended target, a chemist said.

Organic Chemistry professor Steven Langford said that only a very small amount of VX nerve agent was needed to be lethal and it was likely that antidotes was used as a pre-treatment to avoid killing the user, or they had a specific applicator to avoid dangerous exposure.

“(It) is likely to be a fortunate fluke given its potency (that others were not killed).The answer might be in the applicator used and the need for only a small amount to be effective,” he said when asked by Malay Mail Online why the dangerous “chemical weapon” had not affected others in the vicinity.

Dr Langford, who is Monash Malaysia’s School of Science Head, said that amount of VX nerve agent was so small —  1/5th of a drop of liquid —  that in fact it would be hard to detect with the naked eye.

Dr Lanford said that despite the potency of the nerve gas, it has a simple molecular make up and could be prepared in a “well-controlled environment”.

“It is likely most countries monitor the purchase and import of chemicals needed to prepare this sort of substance. It has a very simple molecular structure — and that’s the scary thing. 

“Anyone skilled in the art of organic synthesis could make the VX if they had the right reagents in the right environment.  But that is true of most poisons, including complex toxins such as batrachotoxin from the poison dart frog, which have a complex molecular structure. All things considered, it would have to be made in a well-controlled environment,” he said in an email response.

However, he also said it was unlikely that there was poisonous traces of the same substance left in Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 — the scene of the murder.

“It is a very small and water soluble compound as a result of its chemical structure, so it can be easily transferred. Its liquid at room temperature, but its vapour pressure is such that it is unlikely enough gaseous VX is produced to be harmful from a small sample,” he said.

Earlier on Friday (Feb 24), Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said that the chemical weapon VX nerve agent was used to kill the estranged brother of North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un and that investigators were trying to determine how the powerful neurotoxin was brought into Malaysia.

The toxin is classified as a weapon of mass destruction according to international conventions. Restrictions on its production and storage make the substance rare and available only to highly-militarised states.

Jong-nam was attacked by two women at the KLIA2 on Feb 13 while waiting for a flight to Macau. He died on the way to hospital.

Dr Langford said that “VX” was highly absorbed into the skin, or if ingested or inhaled and if the latter, is known to lead to the nervous system effectively.  Other similar agents include Sarin, a well-reported nerve gas. 

The Star online portal had earlier reported former USM toxicologist Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad saying that there is no antidote for high dosages of the VX agent but small exposures would cause diarrhoea and vomiting.

He also said that the two women who attacked Jong-nam — Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, 28, and Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25 — would not have been able to utilise the substance with their bare hands or even normal gloves as VX can be absorbed through the skin and causes severe poisoning.

“The women who put the chemical on his face must have guarded themselves well and must have contained the liquid well until the point they had to put it on his face.”

The IGP said that one of the women had suffered the effects of the nerve gas and was vomiting.

Experts from the Atomic Energy Department was instructed to sweep all locations in KLIA2 where the suspects were reported to have been “to see if radioactive” materials was still present. MALAY MAIL ONLINE