Chemical agent found in offices
United Nations weapons inspectors discovered a potentially hazardous chemical warfare agent taken from an Iraqi chemical weapons facility 11 years ago and mistakenly stored in their offices in Midtown Manhattan, officials said.
The material -- identified in inventory files as phosgene, a substance used in World War I weapons -- was discovered Aug. 24. It was not identified until Wednesday because it was marked simply with an inventory number, and officials had to check their vast archives, said spokesman Ewen Buchanan.
U.N. and U.S. officials said no one was in danger. Phosgene gas and liquid can damage the skin, eyes, nose, throat and lungs.
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