APS X-rays reveal the real chemistry behind mercury mixed in mustard agent

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Argonnes Laura Skubal and University of Chicagos Matt Newville collaborated to determine how mercury behaves in mustard agent. The research at the Advanced Photon Sources GeoSoilEnviroCARS X-ray beamline could lead to environmentally safe disposal me ...
Argonne's Laura Skubal and University of Chicago's Matt Newville collaborated to determine how mercury behaves in mustard agent. The research at the Advanced Photon Source's GeoSoilEnviroCARS X-ray beamline could lead to environmentally safe disposal methods (Courtesy: Argonne National Laboratory)

The U.S government's effort to dispose of mustard agent from the 1940s by incinerating it was halted when workers discovered that hundreds of containers of the agent were contaminated with mercury. Researchers at Argonne and the University of Chicago used the Advanced Photon Source to determine how mercury behaves in simulant agent, a chemical that structurally resembles mustard but lacks its toxic properties. The goal is to find disposal methods that do not release toxic mercury to the environment.


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