| Popis: |
The use of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) in wars and conflicts, in the past and not so long ago, caused significant damage to the human population, not only in the form of deaths and long-term consequences for human health, but also for the entire ecosystem. Although a certain amount of chemical warfare agents still exists in the environment, the long-term impact of these agents on the environment and materials is still unclear. As some of these agents degrade over the time, their degradation products can be highly toxic and can affect especially on marine ecosystems. The main negative characteristic of this compounds is their extreme environmental persistence, which depends not only on their physicochemical properties, but also on their reactivity with various substances in the environment. Potential fate pathways for CWAs in the environment include volatilization, sorption, hydrolysis, photolysis, and microbial degradation. This paper provides an overview of previous research related to the impact of CWAs and their degradation products on the environment. |
