More than 40 percent of the known global stockpile of chemical warfare materials has been destroyed, the monitoring agency for Chemical Weapons Convention announced today (see GSN, April 8, 2008).
(Feb. 20) -
Workers examine Russian chemical munitions slated for destruction (OPCW photo).
A total of 29,741 metric tons of Category 1 chemical agents, materials that have essentially no applications other than as chemical weapons, had been verifiably destroyed as of Jan. 31, according to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. That is 42.8 percent of the more than 71,000 metric tons of banned materials once held by the six states that have declared stockpiles under the treaty -- Albania, Libya, India, Russia, the United States and an anonymous state widely known to be South Korea.
That figure does not encompass chemical weapons abandoned by Japan in China at the end of World War II.
Another 915 metric tons of Category 2 chemical weapons, which do have commercial applications and
are considered less threatening to the treaty, have been eliminated.
Russia by the end of last month had destroyed 11,960 metric tons of Category 1 chemical warfare materials, 29.8 percent of its world's-largest stockpile. Three disposal plants are operating and the facility at Shchuchye is scheduled to begin tests using live chemical agent on March 5, according to a press release taken from OPCW Director General Rogelio Pfirter's statement Tuesday to the agency's Executive Council
The United States has finished off 16,126 metric tons of material, 58 percent of the nation's stockpile. Disposal is complete or under way at all but two U.S. chemical weapons storage sites.
India has eliminated 98.2 percent of its stockpile and operations are expected to be completed by April 29.
Albania and a nation believed to be South Korea have already completed elimination of their stockpiles.
Libya has not yet started work on its small stockpile.
China and Japan recently finished a trial excavation of weapons from one site but have not built any destruction facilities or eliminated any weapons (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons release, Feb. 20).