In an irony, Alcolac was found to be shipping
thiodiglycol (used mainly as an ingredient in ballpoint pen ink) not only to Iraq but also to Iran for its chemical weapons program.
Liquids [SE.sub.Total] [[sigma].sub.s,d] (mN [m.sup.-1]) (mN [m.sup.-1]) Water 72.80 21.80 Diiodomethane 53.00 35.00
Thiodiglycol 50.80 50.80 Ethylene glycol 47.70 30.90 1-Oktanol 27.50 27.50 T richloromethane 27.15 27.15 Dimethylformamide 37.10 29.00 Liquids [[sigma].sub.s,p] (mN [m.sup.-1]) Water 51.00 Diiodomethane 18.00
Thiodiglycol 0.00 Ethylene glycol 16.80 1-Oktanol 0.00 T richloromethane 0.00 Dimethylformamide 8.10 TABLE 4.
Central Command asserted that the vessel was transporting
thiodiglycol and thionyl chloride to Iran (ibid.).
The samples were diluted (1:30, by volume) with Li-S buffer (96.8% [H.sub.2]O, 1% LiCl, 1%
thiodiglycol, 0.7% HCl, 0.5% benzoic acid; pH 2.2; Beckman Coulter, Inc., Fullerton, CA).
Dr Alistair Hay of Leeds University was amazed that a licence was granted for the export of
thiodiglycol - one of the main chemicals used in the production of mustard gas.
Former Intertek chemist Alan Humason reported that Jeffus informed him of a way he could "lie" about data on a compound called
thiodiglycol, a byproduct of toxic sulphur mustard gas that remains in the ground around Rocky Mountain Arsenal, near Denver, Colorado.
The major hydrolysis product of sulfur mustard is
thiodiglycol (29, 37).
* Alcolac International, a Baltimore chemical manufacturer already linked to the illegal shipment of chemicals to Iran, shipped large quantities of
thiodiglycol (used to make mustard gas) as well as other chemical and biological ingredients, according to a 1989 story in The New York Times.
A chemical reaction leaves behind
thiodiglycol and a small amount of hydrochloric acid.
Thiodiglycol, which can be used to make either ballpoint pen ink or mustard gas, is one of many chemicals that have both commercial and military uses.
Canada, for example, is one of more than a dozen nations where
thiodiglycol is produced.
Other intended products of the LPP extension include phosphorus trichloride, a key nerve agent precursor, and thionyl chloride and sodium sulphide, both needed to produce the mustard gas precursor
thiodiglycol.
