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| Dangerous chemicals found at UN | Dangerous chemicals found at UN |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Several vials of potentially dangerous chemicals have been found at a United Nations building in New York. | Several vials of potentially dangerous chemicals have been found at a United Nations building in New York. |
| The material, said to include phosgene, is said to have been removed from Iraq during inspections of chemical facilities a decade ago. | |
| The UN said the vials had been found by inspectors as they cleared out an office near the UN's headquarters. | The UN said the vials had been found by inspectors as they cleared out an office near the UN's headquarters. |
| The material "could be potentially hazardous", a UN spokeswoman said, but did not pose any immediate risk. | The material "could be potentially hazardous", a UN spokeswoman said, but did not pose any immediate risk. |
| UN deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said the substances had been secured by experts at the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (Unmovic). | |
| The office area had been screened, she said, and no toxic vapours were found. | |
| Choking agent | |
| The metal and glass vials, stored in a sealed plastic bag, were discovered in the process of emptying Unmovic's office building in Manhattan. | |
| "The only information we have of the contents of that bag is from an inventory of a 1996 inspection which indicates that one of the items may contain phosgene, an old generation chemical warfare agent," Ms Okabe said. | |
| The US authorities have been called in to assist with the safe removal of the material. | |
| Phosgene, a yellow-green gas smelling of swimming pools or newly-mown hay, was widely used during World War I as a choking agent. The Russian military has also claimed that it has been used in Chechnya. | |
| Unmovic's inspectors were withdrawn from Iraq in March 2003 and in June this year the UN decided to end its mandate. |