Arms Control Association, April 2008
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A collection of articles, essays and interviews on tackling the threats posed by chemical weapons.

OPCW, Chemical Disarmament Quarterly, September 2007
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A Quarterly publication by OPCW discussing Albania's destruction of its chemical weapons stockpile, implementation of the CWC, and assistance and protection of chemical weapons.

NTI Global Newswire, July, 2007
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There was an explosion in mid-July at a facility in Syria as technicians attempted to mount it on to a Scud missile, killing 15 Syrian soldiers and dozens of Iranian engineers, the New York Post reported today (see GSN, Aug. 13). The July 23 detonation reportedly released deadly chemical agents into the air at a factory about 50 miles from the Turkish border. The facility, located near a chemical storage site, was being used to refit ballistic missiles with chemical warheads, according to Jane’s Defense Weekly (Clemente Lisi, New York Post, Sept. 19).

United Nations, October 3, 2007
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Ukraine is prepared to host an international conference aimed at generating support for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) as part of ongoing efforts to stem the spread of weapons of mass destruction, the country’s Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today.

Alex Bollfrass, Arms Control Association, July/August 2007
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Almost two decades after the end of the Iran-Iraq War, the conflict’s chemical weapons legacy lingers in the streets of Ramadi and in courtrooms throughout the world. Iranian, Kurdish, and U.S. victims of Iraq’s chemical weapons are seeking judicial redress. At the same time, the Iraqi special tribunal has sentenced three key perpetrators to death.

Alex Bollfrass, Arms Control Association, July/August 2007
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Vowing to take sole responsibility for destroying its chemical weapons, Libya has annulled its contract with the United States. The Libyan government cancelled the agreement, effective June 14, because of dissatisfaction with its provisions on liability, financing, and facility ownership.

Chemical Disarmament Quarterly, OPCW, March 2007
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The entire volume of the Chemical Disarmament Quarterly for March 2007 discussing a variety of topics including the chlorine gas attacks in Iraq, CWC training for Iraqi officials, and an update on the Universality Action Plan.

Jonathan B. Tucker, Arms Control Association, January 2007
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The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which bans the development, production, stockpiling, transfer, and use of chemical arms, is the first treaty to prohibit an entire category of “weapons of mass destruction” under strict international verification. Serving the dual goals of disarmament and nonproliferation, the CWC aims to eliminate existing chemical weapons stockpiles and production capacities and to prevent their acquisition in the future.

National Research Council , The National Academic Press, 2006
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In 2002, the Army asked for proposals for a full-scale pilot plant to destroy chemical weapons at the Pueblo Chemical Depot and, in 2003, for a similar plant for the Blue Grass Army Depot. In both cases, the initial designs proved to be too costly, and redesigns were requested. At the same time, the Army asked the NRC to form committees to review and assess these proposals. This report focuses on the technical aspects, maturity, and schedule for the proposed full intermediate design for the Blue Grass facility, less the supercritical water oxidation process, which was reviewed in a previous report.

David M. Bearden, CRS Report for Congress, May 24, 2006
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The U.S. Armed Forces disposed of chemical weapons in the ocean from World War I through 1970. At that time, it was thought that the vastness of ocean waters would absorb chemical agents that may leak from these weapons. However, public concerns about human health and environmental risks, and the economic effects of potential damage to marine resources, led to a statutory prohibition on the disposal of chemical weapons in the ocean in 1972. For many years, there was little attention to weapons that had been dumped offshore prior to this prohibition. However, the U.S. Army completed a report in 2001 indicating that the past disposal of chemical weapons in the ocean had been more common and widespread geographically than previously acknowledged. The Army cataloged 74 instances of disposal through1970, including32 instances off U.S. shores and 42 instances off foreign shores. The disclosure of these records has renewed public concern about lingering risks from chemical weapons still in the ocean today.

Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN) Washington, DC April 20, 2006
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The United States was granted an extension “in principle” of the April 29, 2007 Phase 4 deadline for destruction of all its declared Category 1 Chemical Weapons (CW) by the Eighth Conference of the States Parties in October 2003 (C-8/DEC.15). It was understood at the time of adoption of this decision that a proposal for a specific revised deadline would be submitted to the Executive Council by the United States not later than April 29,2006, in accordance with Part IV (A), paragraphs 24 and 25 of the CWC’s Verification Annex. The United States hereby requests an extension of the 100% deadline to April 29, 2012.

Sergey Oznobistchev and Alexander Saveliev, Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission, 2006
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After the end of World War II, research and development of chemical weapons was under way intensely in many countries, including the USSR and the USA. With the refining of toxic agents, new means of their use in combat action were being developed intensely. At the same time, scientists and world public opinion expressed increasing alarm at expanded preparations for chemical and biological war, and the continued build-up of the stocks of these weapons by the leading world powers. As a result, on September 3, 1992, the Conference on Disarmament adopted in Geneva the text of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (CWC).