Today an article in USA Today reported that the Department of Defense is planning to transport CW to and from destruction sites in order to speed up the process and meet the 2017 deadline for complete CW stockpile destruction set by Congress. This is already later than the deadline of 2012 mandated by the CWC.

In order for the nerve agents and mustard gas to be transported across state lines, Congress will need to change the laws that prohibit transport of such agents. The plan is being met with opposition by concerned citizen and watchdog groups.

This week the Pine bluff Arsenal announced that it had finished destroying all VX-filled land mines. This marks the complete destruction of all nerve agent at the facility, and the final phase of CW disposal will focus on containers of mustard gas.

Pine Bluff Arsenal Completes Destruction Of Nerve Agent – The Morning News
The final nerve agent-filled land mine has been destroyed at the Pine Bluff Arsenal, moving the site a step closer to eliminating stockpiled chemical weapons, officials said Monday …

Ark. military arsenal finishes weapons destruction – The Associated Press – Forbes.com
A simple message in white paint adorned the last VX nerve-agent land mine that rolled through a conveyor belt on its way to incineration at the Pine Bluff Arsenal – “LONG TIME COMING.” …

All Explosives Destroyed At Pine Bluff Arsenal – TodaysTHV.com
The Pine Bluff Arsenal says it has finished destroying chemical weapons. Officials held a news conference Monday morning announcing they destroyed their last land mine last Friday. The arsenal has destroyed more than …

Also, Yemen showed its commitment to the CWC and held a course on chemical weapons, the CWC, the OPCW and the role of Yemen’s national authority in implementing the convention.

Finally, Iran released a statement calling on the international community to pressure the U.S. and other major powers to fulfill their obligations in CW disarmament. The statement was released in commemoration of Iran’s National Day Against Chemical/Biological Weapons.

The Colorado State Health Department is ordering the Department of Defense to speed up the destruction of mustard gas at the Pueblo Chemical Weapons Destruction Depot. The Pentagon says that limited funding is the reason for slow destruction timelines.

On June 17, 2008 Russia opened its new Leonidovka chemical weapons destruction facility. The Director General of the OPCW, Rogelio Pfirter was on hand for the official opening of the facility, and the event was well-covered in the international media.

Russia steps up destruction of chemical weapons – Reuters
Russia will open a new facility on Tuesday to continue destroying its formidable arsenal of chemical weapons, the world’s biggest, as part of its drive to eliminate all such weapons by 2012 …

Russia destroys more chemical arms – RussiaToday
Russia has taken a key step towards destroying all its chemical weapons, with the opening of another site to neutralise arms. The country is already ahead …

OPCW to prevent chemical weapons from falling to terrorists – ITAR-TASS
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will not cease to exist after the whole reported stock of chemical weapons in the world will have been destroyed …

Russia opens 4th chemical weapons destruction plant – Associated Press – International Herald Tribune
Russia opened a fourth plant Tuesday to destroy its chemical weapons stockpiles, which are the largest in the world. The destruction facility, near the site of one of Russia’s seven …

New chemical weapons destruction plant operational by August – RussiaToday
A new facility for destroying chemical weapons in Russia’s Penza region is expected to be operational by August. The new facility is part of Russia’s international obligation to …

From the US:

Wildlife refuge reopens after chemical weapons cleanup – Brighton Standard-Blade
The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge will re-open Saturday, June 14, after a seven-month closure. The refuge closed in late October after traces of the chemical weapons agent Lewisite were found …

Ala. chemical weapons worker dies of heart attack – The Associated Press
A worker at an incinerator that destroys chemical weapons for the Army died of an apparent heart attack he suffered while working, a coroner said …

Chemical Weapons Incinerator Employee Dies on Job – The Anniston Star – RedOrbit.com
A subcontractor working at the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility died while on duty Wednesday afternoon. The cause of death for the employee, …

Employee dies at Anniston Army Depot, cause unknown – The Associated Press – al.com
An employee at the Anniston Army Depot incinerator died while on duty Wednesday but the death was not job-related, spokesmen said …

Worker dies at chemical weapons plant in Alabama – The Associated Press
Officials say a worker has died at an Army facility where chemical weapons are destroyed in northeastern Alabama. The laboratory worker at the …

From Russia:

Ukraine concerned over Russia’s chemical disposal plant – RIA Novosti
Ukraine is concerned over a Russian chemical weapons disposal plant currently being constructed 70 km (43 miles) away from its …

Construction of Chemical Weapons Disposal Facility Launched in Russia – ITAR-TASS – RedOrbit.com
The foundation stone of Europe’s largest plant for the destruction of chemical weapons will be laid near the town of Pochep in Bryansk Region on Tuesday [10 June], the spokesperson for the information centre for chemical disarmament …

Russia and Ukraine Close to Scandal Over CWD Plant – Russia-InfoCenter
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Russia considers that Ukraine unreasonably makes a fuss about construction of an object for chemical weapon …

From China:

Drills begin to ensure safe Olympics – China Daily
The potentially fatal chemical agent rendered some 30 victims unconscious. About 400 people acting as audience members evacuated the venue within three …

From Ireland:

Safety fears over cyanide disposal plan – Herald.ie
A plan to destroy 15kg of a lethal chemical in the Wicklow Mountains has sparked public safety fears. South Dublin County Council has confirmed the waste hydrogen cyanide will be destroyed by explosion later this …

Army Lauds Progress on Chemical Weapons Disposal – Global Security Newswire
The U.S. military says it has destroyed more than half of its stockpile of chemical warfare agents without harming communities near the disposal sites, the Associated Press reported today …

A look at chemical weapons destruction in the US – The Associated Press
Percentages of the chemical weapons stockpiles that have been destroyed either by incineration or chemical neutralization at five active sites in the United …

VX agent disposal resumes at depot – East Oregonian
The Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility began processing VX nerve agent Monday morning following a two-and-a-half week break after a smoke incident on …

Army: US chemical weapons incineration on track – The Associated Press
When the Army began building incinerators to destroy tons of deadly chemical weapons, many feared the worst …

Emergency Drill Tests Response – The Pueblo Cheiftan – RedOrbit.com
A school bus accident is bad enough but add to the mix a tanker truck full of hazardous chemicals well outside of the city but in an area with large numbers of workers and …

Russia Gets Rid of Chemical Weapons – Russia-InfoCenter
Following the international obligations regarding presence of chemical weapons in the country, Russia has utilized 10.5 out of 40 tons of the poisoning …

Russia Destroys 10500 Tonnes of Chemical Weapons – Interfax – RedOrbit.com
During the third stage of the chemical weapons destruction programme, Russia has destroyed 10500 tonnes of toxic substances, the head of the …

Russia Destroys Over 10000 Tonnes of Toxic Agents – Interfax – RedOrbit.com
June 3 (Interfax-AVN) – Russia has destroyed 10500 tonnes of toxic agents in a third phase of the program to eliminate chemical weapons, Valery Kashin, …

Western Financial Assistance With Chemical Weapons Minimal: Kapashin – Interfax – RedOrbit.com
Under the Chemical Weapons Convention, which Russia has signed, the country was to destroy 1% (400 tonnes) of its chemical weapons by April 2003 and 20% …

Russia destroys over 25% of its chemical weapons – RIA Novosti
Russia has destroyed over 25% of its chemical weapons arsenal, or 10500 metric tons, a senior military official said on …

Russia Destroyed ¼ of Chemical – Kommersant
Of 40000 tons of chemical agents, 10500 have been destroyed during the third stage of the chemical weapon destruction. With funding provided, Russia will be …

Russia Destroys a Quarter of Its Chemical Weapons – DefenseNews
Russia has destroyed more than a quarter of its chemical weapons stocks, in line with international treaties, a top disarmament official was quoted by Russian news agencies …

Russia says it’s cut chemical stockpile – United Press International
Russian officials said Tuesday the country has destroyed more than a quarter of its chemical weapons arsenal, amounting to 10,500 tons of material …

Federation Council to Ratify Deal on Russian-Italian Cooperation in Chemical Weapons Disposal – Interfax – RedOrbit.com
The Russian Federation Council will consider a bill ratifying an agreement between the Russian and Italian governments on cooperation in the disposal of Russian chemical weapons …

In the past week the U.S. Chemical Weapons destruction effort has made several headlines. Here is the rundown:

The Anniston CW disposal site reached a milestone by completing the destruction of all the VX-filled artillery shells stored there. Overall this means that 50% of the Anniston stockpile has been destroyed and complete destruction is expected in 2013.

The Newport disposal site has passed the 90% destruction mark. Plans are now being made for cleanup and dismantling of buildings to facilitate the site’s closure in 2011.

Complete destruction of CW agents at the Pine Bluff Arsenal is expected in 2012, and the facility is looking to the future when its mission will be transitioned to meet current wartime demands.

News was not as good from the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility. It was shut down May 14 for repairs, but is expected to be functional again in early June. There also was a mustard agent leak detected at the facility, but it was contained inside the storage structures.

Work was suspended at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal after low levels of Lewisite agent were detected in the air at the facility.

Finally, there was a report on the construction of the Pueblo Chemical Depot. Construction may be underway, but the current time lines are well outside of the 2012 destruction deadline mandated by the CWC. The facility should be completed by 2013 and operational by 2015.

Here is the Chemical Weapons news of the week.

From China:   “China hopes to destroy Japanese abandoned chemical weapon soon”

“China launches 5-day chemical weapons training course”

From Japan: “5 company officials arrested in Japan’s scandal over WWII weapons removal in China”

From South Africa: “Chemical attack ‘threat to 2010′”