A major chemical weapons disposal facility formally opened today in Shchuchye, Russia, marking a significant milestone in the continuing global effort to eliminate the arsenals of chemical warfare materials, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 27).
"The path to peace and prosperity for both Russia and the United States depends on how we resolve the threats posed by the arsenals built to fight World War III," Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) said at the site's opening ceremony. "Thankfully that confrontation never came. But today we must ensure that the weapons are never used, and never fall into the hands of those who would do harm to us or others."
Lugar and former Senator Sam Nunn established the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, which provided more than $1 billion for the project that is set to eliminate 14 percent of the Russian chemical stockpile.
Over several years, the plant would is expected to drain VX, sarin and other deadly agents from more than 2 million munitions transported by rail from a storage site roughly 10 miles away. The chemicals would be neutralized and converted into bitumen salt mass, a less dangerous solid waste, and then placed in barrels and transferred to concrete storage bunkers.
The Chemical Weapons Convention requires that Russia and the United States complete demilitarization of banned materials by April 2012. The U.S. Defense Department has acknowledged it cannot meet that deadline, while there is some skepticism -- from Lugar and others -- about Moscow's pledges to do so. Roughly 30 percent of the Russian arsenal has already been eliminated, according to the Russian Munitions Agency.
"In this context, Shchuchye is the most important facility allowing us to fulfill this task," according to Russian Industry Minister Viktor Kristnko. The plant is expected to begin disposal at a rate of 850 metric tons of agent per year, but to double the rate of work at the end of 2009 when a second facility begins operations (Jim Heintz, Associated Press/Washington Post, May 29).
Nunn, co-chairman of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, hailed the plant's completion.
"When I visited the Shchuchye chemical weapons storage facility in 2002 with Senator Richard Lugar, I was reminded how vulnerable the storage facility has been and of the potential risk of chemical weapon shells being sold or stolen," he said in a statement. "A single shell holds tens of thousands of lethal doses of nerve agent, which demonstrates the importance of securing and destroying these deadly weapons as soon as possible. These chemical weapons, including VX nerve gas, will now be drained and destroyed, moving the destruction of dangerous chemical weapons forward in a significant way."
Nunn added: “The United States and Russia have been working together at Shchuchye for more than a decade, but this critical work has been delayed on both sides by technology disputes, bureaucratic roadblocks and a lack of funding. I am pleased that these hurdles have been overcome, and I commend Senator Lugar and other key leaders who have worked tirelessly to reach this important milestone" (Nuclear Treat Initiative release, May 29).
[Editor's Note: Sam Nunn is co-chairman and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative. NTI is the sole sponsor of Global Security Newswire, which is published independently by the National Journal Group.]