Chemical Weapons News – May 19

Top level scrutiny for Marrangaroo Army Base – Lithgow Mercury
A high level international team will visit Lithgow today to monitor the progress on the decontamination program at the Marrangaroo Army Base. Since early this year a group of specialist contractors commissioned by the Defence Department has been working at Marrangaroo to identify and clear chemical warfare residue buried…

60 Percent Milestone Reached – The U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency
The U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency (CMA) officials announced the destruction of 60 percent of the U.S. declared stockpile under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). This milestone was achieved Saturday, April 25…

While Pueblo waits, U.S. destroys 60% of chemical stockpile – Bea Karnes – KOAA.com
The U.S. has now destroyed 60% of our stockpile of chemical weapons, dating back to World War I. At the Pueblo Chemical Depot, construction in underway on a plant to destroy the stockpile held there…

Versar CEO Chairs Opening Sessions at the 12th Annual Chemical Weapons Demilitarization Conference – TradingMarkets.com
Versar, Inc. today announced that Dr. Ted Prociv, President and CEO of Versar, Inc. will chair the opening sessions of the 12th annual Chemical Weapons Demilitarization Conference (CWD 2009) to be held May 19, 2009 in Stratford-on-Avon, in the United Kingdom…

Reappointment to the Chemical Weapons Convention National Authority Advisory Committee – Wired-gov.net
Mike O’Brien, Minister of State for Energy & Climate Change, today confirmed the reappointment of Dr Tony Bastock as chairman of the CWC National Authority Advisory Committee, for a further four years…

N. K disappointment in fight against chemical weapons: world body – The Korea Herald
The top world body on the use of chemical weapons expressed disappointment Friday at North Korea, which remains one of only two Asian countries that refuse to join an International treaty banning such arms, according to Yonhap News. The Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) also appealed to Pyongyang…

Refusal to burn weapons looking smarter all the time – Kentucky.com
Consider where chemical weapons are being burned, then where they have been or will be neutralized through a more environmentally benign process…

Tamils call on Rudd to condemn Sri Lanka – News.com.au
Protesters at Sydney’s Martin Place said demonstrations would continue until peace was brought to the Tamil people. Tamil spokesman Adrian Francis said chemical weapons were being used against Tamils…

Chemical industry to work for more safety – Jonathan Lynn – Reuters
Chemicals producers and governments agreed on Friday to step up efforts to push for greater safety in chemicals from lead in paint to microscopic substances. But non-governmental organizations (NGOs) said unless the industry and governments come up with more money, agreed targets for cleaning up chemicals by 2020 were unlikely to be met…

Chemical Demilitarization in Kentucky to Continue Past 2017 – Global Security Newswire
The U.S. Defense Department yesterday said it would need until 2021 to finish off chemical weapons stored in Kentucky, despite the congressional mandate that operations be finished four years earlier…

Weapons at Depot now last to go – Kentucky.com
The Pentagon says a chemical weapons storage site in Kentucky will be the nation’s lone stockpile to miss a 2017 deadline imposed by Congress for destroying the deadly munitions. Although Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond holds just 2 percent of the World War II-era rockets set to be eliminated under an international treaty…

Tooele depot’s safety record stellar – Amy Joi O’Donoghue – Deseret News
It wasn’t the mustard or nerve agent at the Deseret Chemical Depot that sickened the employees but the toxic potato salad served at a catered summer picnic to celebrate safety in the workplace…

Chemical waste to be treated here – Peter Strescino – The Pueblo Chieftain
Army representatives said Thursday that waste products from the destruction of chemical weapons will be biologically treated on-site at the Pueblo Chemical Depot. Money added to the defense budget allows for the process, said Jean Reed, Army deputy assistant for chemical demilitarization…

Utah gets closer to eliminating huge chemical-weapon stash – Judy Fahys – The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah continues to play its quiet — though enormous — role in world arms control, the Utah Solid and Hazardous Waste Board heard Thursday. Martin Gray, who oversees the Department of Environmental Quality group that keeps tabs on the facilities, said the United States and Russia account for 28,000 tons of chemical weapons…