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But the chemical also has a useful application as a component of weed killers, insecticides and fertilizers, making its safe storage and transport critically important for industry.
Jonathan Nitschke, of Cambridge University in Great Britain and a lead author of a study in the June 26th issue of the journal Science, reported that a team of British and Finnish scientists have created a "container molecule" capable of rendering the chemical harmless indefinitely until a signal agent -- benzene -- is applied to release it.
"It is foreseeable that our technique might be used to clean up a white phosphorous spill, either as part of an industrial accident or in a war zone," said Nitschke.
Untreated, white phosphorous can "inflict grievous harm" and "poses a major environmental hazard," Nitschke wrote in Science.
He said the discovery can be extended to the transport other hazardous chemicals.
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Jonathan Nitschke, of Cambridge University in Great Britain and a lead author of a study in the June 26th issue of the journal Science, reported that a team of British and Finnish scientists have created a "container molecule" capable of rendering the chemical harmless indefinitely until a signal agent -- benzene -- is applied to release it.
"It is foreseeable that our technique might be used to clean up a white phosphorous spill, either as part of an industrial accident or in a war zone," said Nitschke.
Untreated, white phosphorous can "inflict grievous harm" and "poses a major environmental hazard," Nitschke wrote in Science.
He said the discovery can be extended to the transport other hazardous chemicals.
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