Chemical Weapons News – March 11

Destroying a Toxic Threat – The Moscow Times
By Rogelio Pfirter
The Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force in April 1997 and is the first multilateral treaty that bans an entire class of weapons of mass destruction…

Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov Meets with Rogelio Pfirter, Director General of the Technical Secretariat of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) – ISRIA
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov received on March 10 the Director General of the Technical Secretariat of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Rogelio Pfirter…

5 Years After It Halted Weapons Programs, Libya Sees the U.S. as Ungrateful – The New York Times
When Libya gave up its nuclear and chemical weapons programs in late 2003, President George W. Bush pointed to the decision as a victory in Washington’s so-called war on terror…

Latest MoD investigation reveals more areas of mustard gas contamination – Teesdale Mercury
MORE areas of chemical warfare contamination have been discovered on Bowes Moor and experts, who say there are no health risks, have issued advice on how people can stay safe…

Newport Chemical Depot seeks cleanup equipment – Chron
Officials at the Newport Chemical Depot in western Indiana are asking state officials for permission to install a large hot-air dryer to clean materials that may have come into contact with deadly nerve agent or the waste that remained after its destruction…

Newport Depot Seeks Permission to Dry CW Destruction Materials – Global Security Newswire
The Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana is seeking state approval to systematically evaporate liquid residue from protective suits, valves and other gear involved in the destruction of the facility’s VX nerve agent stockpile…

Newport Chemical Depot cleaning materials that may have come in contact with VX – Terre Haute News
All of the VX is gone, but now the Newport Chemical Depot in Vermillion County is working to clean up materials that may have come into contact with either the nerve agent or the solution…

UH submersibles still looking for main cache of dumped weapons – Honolulu Advertiser
The University of Hawaii today said it has found “hundreds” of dumped munitions four to six miles south of Pearl Harbor as it continues to search for and test the waters and sediment around tons of chemical weapons…

FNC to Discuss Amendments to Federal Draft Laws on Tuesday – Khaleej Times
The Federal National Council (FNC) will discuss next Tuesday, draft amendments to some provisions of the federal law which bans updating, producing and storing chemical weapons in the UAE…

Russia Destroys Chemical Arms – Prensa Latina
Russia has fulfilled its commitment with the UN’s Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons by destroying 12,000 tons of chemical arms before March 1st…

‘Swift Solution’ could conclude by end of the month – The Richmond Register
The waste from three steel containers stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot has safely arrived at its disposal location at Veolia Environmental Services near Port Arthur, Texas…

Report Underscores Importance of Expanding Nunn-Lugar – American Chronicle
Today the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released a report on the future of the Nunn-Lugar Program. U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar hailed the report as a “critically important set of recommendations that should guide the Obama Administration´s efforts…

New Russian Chemical Weapons Site Begins Operations – Global Security Newswire
Russia has begun to operate a U.S.-backed chemical weapons disposal facility near the Ural Mountains, the environmental organization Global Green USA announced yesterday…