As many as 21,000 fish, some of which were endangered, were killed due to “catastrophic failure” at a university research facility in&nbsp;California.

The Center for Aquatic Biology and Aquaculture, Davis, reported a loss of 21,000 fish this week. Officials believe that chlorine exposure, to which fish are sensitive, might have caused the death. However, it has not been revealed what kind of fish were killed.

The staff found the fish dead on Tuesday morning.

“It’s very distressing for all the staff. They had raised some of the fish on site from the time they were eggs,” Andy Fell, a university spokesperson, told The Guardian.

In a statement, the university said it is investigating what exactly killed the&nbsp;fish.

“We share the grief of the faculty, staff and students who worked to care for, study and conserve these animals,” the university said

“The people who conduct and support the research at this facility are conservationists, ecologists and veterinarians whose life work is devoted to understanding and supporting these species. We recognise that this loss is particularly devastating to our community,” it added.

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The university said that it is launching an independent probe and will evaluate potential risks at other university facilities.

“We know that many researchers, regulatory agencies, Native American tribes and other partners trust us to care for their aquatic species. We will work hard to earn that trust by conducting a thorough review of our facilities, holding ourselves accountable for what happened, and taking steps to prevent it from happening ever again,” the statement reads.

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The centre was studying bioenergetics — how cells transform energy — and environmental stressors on fish species including green and white sturgeon and endangered chinook salmon, both of which face challenges in the wild in California.

(With inputs from agencies)

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As many as 21,000 fish, some of which were endangered, were killed due to “catastrophic failure” at a university research facility in California. The Center for Aquatic Biology and Aquaculture, Davis, reported a loss of 21,000 fish this week.

As many as 21,000 fish, some of which were endangered, were killed due to “catastrophic failure” at a university research facility in California. The Center for Aquatic Biology and Aquaculture, Davis, reported a loss of 21,000 fish this week. Officials believe that chlorine exposure, to which fish are sensitive, might have caused the death. However, it has not been revealed what kind of fish were killed. The staff found the fish dead on Tuesday morning. “It’s very distressing for all the staff. They had raised some of the fish on site from the time they were eggs,” Andy Fell, a university spokesperson, told The Guardian. In a statement, the university said it is investigating what exactly killed the fish. “We share the grief of the faculty, staff and students who worked to care for, study and conserve these animals,” the university said “The people who conduct and support the research at this facility are conservationists, ecologists and veterinarians whose life work is devoted to understanding and supporting these species. We recognise that this loss is particularly devastating to our community,” it added. Also read | Study reveals how evolutionary change in voice box helped humans in speaking The university said that it is launching an independent probe and will evaluate potential risks at other university facilities. “We know that many researchers, regulatory agencies, Native American tribes and other partners trust us to care for their aquatic species. We will work hard to earn that trust by conducting a thorough review of our facilities, holding ourselves accountable for what happened, and taking steps to prevent it from happening ever again,” the statement reads. Also read | Low levels of pollution also cause major health damage, study finds The centre was studying bioenergetics — how cells transform energy — and environmental stressors on fish species including green and white sturgeon and endangered chinook salmon, both of which face challenges in the wild in California. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE

21,000 fish killed due to ‘catastrophic failure’ at California university

At least 13 people were killed and several wounded after chlorine gas leaked at a port in Jordan.

Chlorine gas leak at Jordan's port kills 13

The global chemical weapons watchdog has 'reasonable grounds to believe' that Syria's air force dropped a chlorine bomb on a residential neighbourhood in the rebel-controlled Idlib region in February 2018, a report released on Monday said.&nbsp;

There was no immediate comment from the Syrian government. Syria and its military ally Russia have consistently denied using chemical weapons during President Bashar al-Assad's decade-old conflict with rebel forces, saying any such attacks were staged by opponents to make Damascus look like the culprit.&nbsp;

The new report by the OPCW chemical weapons watchdog's investigative arm said no one was killed when the cylinder of chlorine gas, delivered in a barrel bomb, hit the Al Talil neighbourhood in the city of Saraqib in February 2018.&nbsp;

However, a dozen people were treated for symptoms consistent with chemical poisoning, including nausea, eye irritation, shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing, it said.&nbsp;

Chlorine is not an internationally banned toxin, but the use of any chemical substance in armed conflict is banned under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, the implementation of which is overseen by the OPCW watchdog based in The Hague.&nbsp;

A crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators by Assad in 2011 mushroomed into civil war, with Russia and Iran supporting his government and the United States, Turkey and some Arab adversaries of Damascus backing some of the many rebel groups. &nbsp;

In April 2020, the OPCW's Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) concluded that Syrian warplanes and a helicopter had dropped bombs containing chlorine and sarin nerve gas on a village in Syria's Hama region in March 2017.&nbsp;

The latest report by the IIT also implicated Syrian government forces. It concluded that "there were reasonable grounds to believe that at least one cylinder filled with chlorine was dropped from a helicopter of the Syrian Arab Air Forces, belonging to the Tiger Forces."&nbsp;

The Tiger Forces are an elite Syrian military unit generally used in offensive operations in the war, which has largely subsided with Assad having wrested back most territory with crucial Russian and Iranian support.&nbsp;

"All elements indicated the presence of Tiger Forces in the vicinity of Saraqib. They found that a helicopter was just flying above the bombed area at the moment of the gas release," a summary of the OPCW report said.&nbsp;

It said that samples collected from the scene were examined and other possible means of chlorine contamination considered, but the OPCW team said nothing was found to indicate that the incident was staged by Assad's adversaries.&nbsp;

The team identified individuals believed to be involved in the alleged attack but did not release them.&nbsp;

Between 2015 and 2017, a joint United Nations-OPCW team known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) found that Syrian government troops had used the nerve agent sarin and chlorine barrel bombs on several occasions, while Islamic State militants were found to have used mustard gas.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

The global chemical weapons watchdog has 'reasonable grounds to believe' that Syria's air force dropped a chlorine bomb on a residential neighbourhood in the rebel-controlled Idlib region in February 2018, a report released on Monday said.

The global chemical weapons watchdog has 'reasonable grounds to believe' that Syria's air force dropped a chlorine bomb on a residential neighbourhood in the rebel-controlled Idlib region in February 2018, a report released on Monday said. There was no immediate comment from the Syrian government. Syria and its military ally Russia have consistently denied using chemical weapons during President Bashar al-Assad's decade-old conflict with rebel forces, saying any such attacks were staged by opponents to make Damascus look like the culprit. The new report by the OPCW chemical weapons watchdog's investigative arm said no one was killed when the cylinder of chlorine gas, delivered in a barrel bomb, hit the Al Talil neighbourhood in the city of Saraqib in February 2018. However, a dozen people were treated for symptoms consistent with chemical poisoning, including nausea, eye irritation, shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing, it said. Chlorine is not an internationally banned toxin, but the use of any chemical substance in armed conflict is banned under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, the implementation of which is overseen by the OPCW watchdog based in The Hague. A crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators by Assad in 2011 mushroomed into civil war, with Russia and Iran supporting his government and the United States, Turkey and some Arab adversaries of Damascus backing some of the many rebel groups. In April 2020, the OPCW's Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) concluded that Syrian warplanes and a helicopter had dropped bombs containing chlorine and sarin nerve gas on a village in Syria's Hama region in March 2017. The latest report by the IIT also implicated Syrian government forces. It concluded that "there were reasonable grounds to believe that at least one cylinder filled with chlorine was dropped from a helicopter of the Syrian Arab Air Forces, belonging to the Tiger Forces." The Tiger Forces are an elite Syrian military unit generally used in offensive operations in the war, which has largely subsided with Assad having wrested back most territory with crucial Russian and Iranian support. "All elements indicated the presence of Tiger Forces in the vicinity of Saraqib. They found that a helicopter was just flying above the bombed area at the moment of the gas release," a summary of the OPCW report said. It said that samples collected from the scene were examined and other possible means of chlorine contamination considered, but the OPCW team said nothing was found to indicate that the incident was staged by Assad's adversaries. The team identified individuals believed to be involved in the alleged attack but did not release them. Between 2015 and 2017, a joint United Nations-OPCW team known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) found that Syrian government troops had used the nerve agent sarin and chlorine barrel bombs on several occasions, while Islamic State militants were found to have used mustard gas. (With inputs from agencies)

Syrian air force may have dropped chlorine bomb on town in rebel area in 2018, says watchdog 

The world's chemical weapons watchdog said Friday that chlorine was used against the rebel-held Syrian town of Douma in 2018, in a long-awaited final report on the deadly attack.

The report by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was based on a visit by inspectors to the site of the attack which witnesses said killed 43 people.

Western powers led by the United States blamed the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the incident and unleashed air strikes on military installations in response.

The Hague-based watchdog said two cylinders likely containing chlorine smashed into a housing block in the town.

The OPCW report said that there were "reasonable grounds that the use of a toxic chemical as a weapon has taken place on 7 April 2018. This toxic chemical contained reactive chlorine."

It said however that it found no evidence of the use of nerve agents in Douma, which had been previously alleged by some parties in the conflict.

The findings confirmed an interim OPCW report released last July saying that traces of chlorine were found.

The report does not place blame because it was not in the OPCW's remit at the time, although the watchdog has since been given powers to investigate responsibility for all chemical attacks in Syria back to 2014.

'Staged provocation'

Russia, which backs Assad, rejected the report and said the attack was "staged" by Syrian rescue volunteers known as the White Helmets.

"In spite of all the evidence presented by Russia, Syria, and even British journalists that the Douma incident is no more than 'White helmets' staged provocation, Technical Secretariat of OPCW states in today's report that chlorine was used in Douma as a chemical weapon," the Russian Embassy in The Hague tweeted.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, however, said Syria should now honour its 2013 vow to destroy all its chemical weapons, made after 1,400 people were killed in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta in what the UN said was an attack using the nerve agent sarin.

"Confirmed today by @OPCW - chemical weapons WERE used in Douma, Syria in April 2018. The Assad regime must cease, declare and destroy its chemical weapon programme. We remain committed to seeking justice for the victims," Hunt tweeted.

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian echoed the comments, calling for "the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime to end and for the perpetrators of such acts to be punished".

A team of OPCW inspectors took more than 100 samples from seven sites in Douma when they gained access to the town after being denied access for several weeks.

The OPCW said it reached its conclusions based on "witnesses' testimonies, environmental and biomedical samples analysis results, toxicological and ballistic analyses from experts".

The report said "two yellow industrial cylinders dedicated for pressurised gas" were found, one of which had landed on top of the housing block and crashed through it.

It said it was "possible that the cylinders were the source of the substances containing reactive chlorine."&nbsp;

'Strewn on the floor'

The OPCW said witnesses told the team there were "43 decedents related to the alleged chemical incident, most of whom were seen in videos and photos strewn on the floor of multiple levels of an apartment building and in front of the same building."

The videos "indicate exposure to an inhalational irritant or toxic substance" and show burns to the eyes and foaming from the mouth, although it could not directly link those to any specific substance.

The watchdog also rejected claims by the Syrian regime that the gas came from an alleged rebel chemical weapons facility and storehouse in the area.

"From the analysis of the information gathered during the on-site visits to the warehouse and facility suspected of producing chemical weapons, there was no indication of either facility being involved in their manufacture," it said.

The report will now go to the UN Security Council.

The OPCW has been at the forefront of investigating chemical attacks during the eight-year Syrian civil war, with investigators previously confirming the use of "chlorine, sulphur mustard, and sarin as chemical weapons" in other incidents.

But the watchdog is now riven by political divisions between Russia and the West, particularly over its new powers to attribute blame.

A nerve agent attack on a Russian ex-spy in the English city of Salisbury in 2018, which the West blamed on Moscow, has further poisoned relations.

The world's chemical weapons watchdog said Friday that chlorine was used against the rebel-held Syrian town of Douma in 2018, in a long-awaited final report on the deadly attack.

The world's chemical weapons watchdog said Friday that chlorine was used against the rebel-held Syrian town of Douma in 2018, in a long-awaited final report on the deadly attack. The report by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was based on a visit by inspectors to the site of the attack which witnesses said killed 43 people. Western powers led by the United States blamed the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the incident and unleashed air strikes on military installations in response. The Hague-based watchdog said two cylinders likely containing chlorine smashed into a housing block in the town. The OPCW report said that there were "reasonable grounds that the use of a toxic chemical as a weapon has taken place on 7 April 2018. This toxic chemical contained reactive chlorine." It said however that it found no evidence of the use of nerve agents in Douma, which had been previously alleged by some parties in the conflict. The findings confirmed an interim OPCW report released last July saying that traces of chlorine were found. The report does not place blame because it was not in the OPCW's remit at the time, although the watchdog has since been given powers to investigate responsibility for all chemical attacks in Syria back to 2014. 'Staged provocation' Russia, which backs Assad, rejected the report and said the attack was "staged" by Syrian rescue volunteers known as the White Helmets. "In spite of all the evidence presented by Russia, Syria, and even British journalists that the Douma incident is no more than 'White helmets' staged provocation, Technical Secretariat of OPCW states in today's report that chlorine was used in Douma as a chemical weapon," the Russian Embassy in The Hague tweeted. British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, however, said Syria should now honour its 2013 vow to destroy all its chemical weapons, made after 1,400 people were killed in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta in what the UN said was an attack using the nerve agent sarin. "Confirmed today by @OPCW - chemical weapons WERE used in Douma, Syria in April 2018. The Assad regime must cease, declare and destroy its chemical weapon programme. We remain committed to seeking justice for the victims," Hunt tweeted. France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian echoed the comments, calling for "the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime to end and for the perpetrators of such acts to be punished". A team of OPCW inspectors took more than 100 samples from seven sites in Douma when they gained access to the town after being denied access for several weeks. The OPCW said it reached its conclusions based on "witnesses' testimonies, environmental and biomedical samples analysis results, toxicological and ballistic analyses from experts". The report said "two yellow industrial cylinders dedicated for pressurised gas" were found, one of which had landed on top of the housing block and crashed through it. It said it was "possible that the cylinders were the source of the substances containing reactive chlorine." 'Strewn on the floor' The OPCW said witnesses told the team there were "43 decedents related to the alleged chemical incident, most of whom were seen in videos and photos strewn on the floor of multiple levels of an apartment building and in front of the same building." The videos "indicate exposure to an inhalational irritant or toxic substance" and show burns to the eyes and foaming from the mouth, although it could not directly link those to any specific substance. The watchdog also rejected claims by the Syrian regime that the gas came from an alleged rebel chemical weapons facility and storehouse in the area. "From the analysis of the information gathered during the on-site visits to the warehouse and facility suspected of producing chemical weapons, there was no indication of either facility being involved in their manufacture," it said. The report will now go to the UN Security Council. The OPCW has been at the forefront of investigating chemical attacks during the eight-year Syrian civil war, with investigators previously confirming the use of "chlorine, sulphur mustard, and sarin as chemical weapons" in other incidents. But the watchdog is now riven by political divisions between Russia and the West, particularly over its new powers to attribute blame. A nerve agent attack on a Russian ex-spy in the English city of Salisbury in 2018, which the West blamed on Moscow, has further poisoned relations.

Chlorine used in attack on Syria's Douma: Watchdog

Banned chlorine munitions were likely dropped on a Syrian neighbourhood in February, an international body on chemical weapons said on Wednesday after laboratory tests confirmed the presence of the toxic chemical.

In its latest report on the systematic use of banned munitions in Syria's civil war, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) did not say which party was behind the attack on Saraqib, which lies in rebel-held territory in the province of Idlib.

But witnesses told OPCW investigators that the munitions were dropped in barrel bombs from a helicopter, a report released by the OPCW showed. Only Syrian government forces are known to have helicopters.

The report by the OPCW's fact-finding mission for Syria "determined that chlorine was released from cylinders by mechanical impact in the Al Talil neighbourhood of Saraqib."

About 11 people were treated after the attack on February&nbsp4&nbspfor mild and moderate symptoms of toxic chemical exposure, including breathing difficulties, vomiting and unconsciousness, the report said.

Samples taken from the soil, canisters and impact sites tested positive for other chemicals, bearing the "markers of the Syrian regime," said Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a biological and chemical weapons expert working in Syria.

The samples tested positive for precursors needed to make the nerve agent sarin, he said.

"These chemicals were detected in previous sarin attacks, Khan Sheikhoun, East Ghouta and no doubt Douma," Bretton-Gordon said.

The OPCW is also investigating a suspected chemical attack on April 7 in the Douma enclave near Damascus, which prompted missile strikes by the United States, France and Britain. Those findings are expected by the end of the month.

The conclusions on the Saraqib attack are based on the presence of two cylinders, which were determined as previously containing chlorine, witness testimony and environmental samples confirming "the unusual presence of chlorine", it said.

A joint OPCW-UN&nbspmechanism for Syria has previously concluded the Syrian government has used both sarin nerve agent and chlorine, killing and injuring hundreds of civilians. Rebels were found to have used sulphur mustard once on a small scale.

Reuters reported in January that tests found "markers" in samples taken at three attack sites between 2013 and 2017 from chemicals from the Syrian government stockpile.

The lab tests linked Ghouta and two other nerve agent attack sites, in the towns of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib governorate on April 4, 2017 and Khan al-Assal, Aleppo, in March 2013, to the stockpile handed over to the agency for destruction in 2014.

The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has denied using chemical weapons and instead has blamed rebels for staging attacks to falsely implicate his forces in the atrocities.

The mechanism was disbanded in November following a Russian veto at the UN&nbspSecurity Council, a move which ratcheted up tension between Moscow and Western powers over chemical weapons use in Syria.

The OPCW is also investigating a suspected chemical attack on April 7 in the Douma enclave near Damascus

Banned chlorine munitions were likely dropped on a Syrian neighbourhood in February, an international body on chemical weapons said on Wednesday after laboratory tests confirmed the presence of the toxic chemical. In its latest report on the systematic use of banned munitions in Syria's civil war, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) did not say which party was behind the attack on Saraqib, which lies in rebel-held territory in the province of Idlib. But witnesses told OPCW investigators that the munitions were dropped in barrel bombs from a helicopter, a report released by the OPCW showed. Only Syrian government forces are known to have helicopters. The report by the OPCW's fact-finding mission for Syria "determined that chlorine was released from cylinders by mechanical impact in the Al Talil neighbourhood of Saraqib." About 11 people were treated after the attack on February&nbsp4&nbspfor mild and moderate symptoms of toxic chemical exposure, including breathing difficulties, vomiting and unconsciousness, the report said. Samples taken from the soil, canisters and impact sites tested positive for other chemicals, bearing the "markers of the Syrian regime," said Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a biological and chemical weapons expert working in Syria. The samples tested positive for precursors needed to make the nerve agent sarin, he said. "These chemicals were detected in previous sarin attacks, Khan Sheikhoun, East Ghouta and no doubt Douma," Bretton-Gordon said. The OPCW is also investigating a suspected chemical attack on April 7 in the Douma enclave near Damascus, which prompted missile strikes by the United States, France and Britain. Those findings are expected by the end of the month. The conclusions on the Saraqib attack are based on the presence of two cylinders, which were determined as previously containing chlorine, witness testimony and environmental samples confirming "the unusual presence of chlorine", it said. A joint OPCW-UN&nbspmechanism for Syria has previously concluded the Syrian government has used both sarin nerve agent and chlorine, killing and injuring hundreds of civilians. Rebels were found to have used sulphur mustard once on a small scale. Reuters reported in January that tests found "markers" in samples taken at three attack sites between 2013 and 2017 from chemicals from the Syrian government stockpile. The lab tests linked Ghouta and two other nerve agent attack sites, in the towns of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib governorate on April 4, 2017 and Khan al-Assal, Aleppo, in March 2013, to the stockpile handed over to the agency for destruction in 2014. The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has denied using chemical weapons and instead has blamed rebels for staging attacks to falsely implicate his forces in the atrocities. The mechanism was disbanded in November following a Russian veto at the UN&nbspSecurity Council, a move which ratcheted up tension between Moscow and Western powers over chemical weapons use in Syria.

Chlorine likely used in February attack in Idlib, Syria: OPCW

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