newsforum / новостей contact / контакты search archive / поиск Welcome to the Green Cross / Global Green News Forum The Green Cross Legacy Programme, an initiative of Green Cross International and its national affiliates in Russia, Switzerland, and the United States, promotes the safe and environmentally-sound demilitarization of weapons of mass destruction. The goal of this News Forum is to provide readers with information about chemical weapons disarmament from a wide range of perspectives, to promote transparency and to encourage public involvement in the disarmament process. Any comments and suggestions should be sent to stephan.robinson@greencross.ch Proceedings of the 2008 Chemical National Dialogue meeting available Stephan Robinson 2009-04-07 The proceedings of the 10th Green Cross National Dialogue Forum on Russian chemical weapons destruction, held 28-29 October 2008 in Moscow, are now available online for download. more Proceedings of the 2008 Nuclear National Dialogue meeting available Stephan Robinson 2009-02-28 The English-language version of the proceedings of the 2nd Green Cross Nuclear National Dialogue meeting, held 21 & 22 April 2008 in St. Petersburg, is now available online. more Kambarka CWDF agent destruction status Stephan Robinson 2008-08-26 The following table gives the amount of Lewisite destroyed at the Kambarka CWDF (source: Kambarka Green Cross public outreach office). more Maradykovsky CWDF destruction status Stephan Robinson 2008-08-21 The following table gives the number of aviation bombs in process of neutralisation (column 2) and number of bombs where the neutralised reaction mass has been extracted from the bomb (column 3) (source: Mirny Green Cross public outreach office). more Proceedings of the 2007 Chemical National Dialogue meeting available Stephan Robinson 2008-06-06 The proceedings of the 9th Green Cross National Dialogue Forum on Russian chemical weapons destruction, held 31 October - 1 November 2007 in Moscow, are now available online for download. more Pine Bluff Arsenal Destroys First VX-Filled Landmine Today's THV, 05 May 2008 News item 2008-05-06 The Pine Bluff Arsenal has begun destroying VX nerve-agent landmines as it continues disposing of the post's stockpile of chemical weapons. more Experts Pitch CW Disarmament, Nonproliferation Plans By Chris Schneidmiller, Global Security Newswire, 10 April 2008 News item 2008-04-14 THE HAGUE — Experts who have been listening to diplomats speak for several days had their opportunity yesterday to point the way toward improved chemical weapons destruction and nonproliferation regimes (see GSN, April 3). more After Debate, Hard Work Begins at CWC Conference By Chris Schneidmiller, Global Security Newswire, 11 April 2008 News item 2008-04-14 THE HAGUE — The presence of U.S. and Iranian officials in one room proved less combustible than it has in the past this week at the second review conference for the Chemical Weapons Convention (see GSN, April 28, 2003). more U.S. Sarin Disposal Effort Slips Global Security Newswire, 7 April 2008 News item 2008-04-11 The U.S. Defense Department has fallen behind in completing a timetable to destroy 157 gallons of sarin nerve agent at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported Friday (see GSN, March 25). more Russia to Resume Destroying CW at Maradykovsky Global Security Newswire, 7 April 2008 Janina de Guzman 2008-04-11 Russia’s Maradykovsky facility is expected to resume chemical weapons destruction operations after receiving a formal go-ahead next week, Interfax reported Friday (see GSN, Jan. 25). more Pfirter Urges Treaty Holdouts to Act on CW Ban Global Security Newswire, 7 April 2008 Janina de Guzman 2008-04-11 Several nations must delink their larger security concerns from their reluctance to join the Chemical Weapons Convention, the multilateral treaty that bans the deadly weapons in all but 12 countries, the pact’s top official said Friday (see GSN, April 3). more Activists fear the Army's 1,000-mile shipments of neutralized VX wastewater may be endangering the public and environment By Lois R. Ember, 24 March 2008 News item 2008-04-11 Twice per week, three-truck convoys roll down the interstate highways of eight states carrying wastewater from the neutralization of VX nerve agent. more Russia Pursues Italian Chemical Weapons Disposal Aid Global Security Newswire, 14 March 2008 News item 2008-03-15 Russian lawmakers are considering legislation that to seal an agreement under which Italy would provide more than $560 million in chemical weapons disposal assistance to the former Cold War superpower, Interfax reported yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 1, 2007). more NEWS ANALYSIS: Chemical Weapons Parlay’s Outcome Uncertain By Oliver Meier News item 2008-03-08 During April 7-18, [2008] representatives of 183 states-parties of the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) will meet in The Hague for the second time to review the operation of the treaty and to find ways to adapt it for the future. Although there is likely to be broad agreement that the treaty has registered significant accomplishments in its first decade in operation, it is not clear if there is sufficient political will to tackle current diplomatic, technological, and economic challenges. Moreover, the meeting could be affected by tensions between developed and developing countries and between the United States and Iran that have hampered other multilateral talks. more Living With Danger, and Wondering How to Live Without It By Dan Barry, The New York Times, 25 February 2008 News item 2008-02-26 The employees pull up to the gate, show their identification cards to the armed security guards and continue on. They drive past wooded stretches and open fields, past the occasional frolicking deer, and park before buildings of almost requisite ugliness. Shift time. more Congress to Hold Defense Department to Chemical Weapons Disposal Schedule, U.S. Lawmaker Says Global Security Newswire, 20 February 2008 News item 2008-02-22 U.S. Senator Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) said Monday that Congress would work to ensure that the Defense Department meets the new 2017 deadline to eliminate its arsenal of chemical weapons, the Pueblo Chieftain reported (see GSN, Jan. 15). more Russia set to destroy chemical weapons by 2012 News item 2008-02-21 19/02/2008 (RIA Novosti) - Russia should be able to destroy all its stockpiles of chemical weapons by 2012, a first deputy prime minister said on Tuesday. more More Money Directed to Chemical Weapons Disposal Global Security Newswire, 5 February 2008 News item 2008-02-05 The U.S. Defense Department has increased its fiscal 2009 funding request by nearly $50 million to eliminate chemical weapons stored in Colorado and Kentucky, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported yesterday(see GSN, Jan. 15.). more Syrian Site Military, But Not Nuclear, Officials Say Global Security Newswire, 5 February 2008 News item 2008-02-05 more 76 percent of Newport's VX agent neutralized By Sue Loughlin, The Tribune-Star, 17 January 2008 News item 2008-01-22 About 76 percent of the chemical agent VX stored at Newport Chemical Depot has been chemically neutralized, and VX destruction could be completed as early as this summer, officials say. more India claims to have destroyed 93 % of its chemical weapons Associated Press of Pakistan, 20 January 2008 News item 2008-01-22 India has claimed to destroy its 93 per cent of chemical weapon stockpile and the remaining weapons will be eliminated by April 2009. more Seeking a swift solution: Nerve agent leak topic of community discussion Richmond Register (Kentucky), 16 January 2008 News item 2008-01-18 A crowd of about 45 stakeholders and community members gathered Tuesday to learn more about an upcoming project, "Operation Swift Solution," an effort to destroy three ton containers being stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot. A one-gallon liquid leak containing about 40 percent GB nerve agent spilled into a ton container holding pan in August [2007] and has since been supervised daily along with a continual extreme high-powered filter system in operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week. more GAO Report: Chemical Demilitarization: Additional Management Actions Needed to Meet Key Performance Goals of DOD's Chemical Demilitarization Program News item 2008-01-18 Destruction of the nation's remaining stockpile of chemical weapons in a safe, efficient, and timely manner is essential to meet Chemical Weapons Convention treaty obligations and to reduce the risk of a potential catastrophic event. The Department of Defense (DOD) established the Chemical Demilitarization Program to manage the destruction of the remaining stockpile. GAO was asked to evaluate the (1) progress DOD and the Army have made in addressing GAO's prior recommendations to strengthen program management, (2) reasonableness of schedule milestones, (3) reliability of cost estimates, and (4) effectiveness of efforts to provide monetary incentives to the systems contractors. more Proceedings of the 2007 Nuclear National Dialogue meeting available Stephan Robinson 2008-01-17 The English-language version of the proceedings of the 1st Green Cross Nuclear National Dialogue meeting, held 18-19 April 2007 in Moscow, is now available online. more More Money Needed to Meet CW Disposal Deadline, Experts Say By Chris Schneidmiller, Global Security Newswire, 15 January 2008 News item 2008-01-15 The United States must add hundreds of millions of dollars to the construction budgets of two Defense Department facilities in order to meet a new congressional deadline to eliminate the nation’s chemical weapons stockpile, an expert said last week. more Tear Gas Use in Iraq Raises Treaty Questions Global Security Newswire, 10 January 2008 News item 2008-01-15 A U.S. security contractor’s use of a riot control gas in Iraq has raised questions regarding adherence to the Chemical Weapons Convention, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, Jan. 10). more Newport Depot Neutralizes 75 Percent of VX Agent Global Security Newswire, 10 January 2008 News item 2008-01-15 Three-quarters of the VX nerve agent stored at the Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana had been eliminated as of Tuesday, the U.S. Army announced (see GSN, Dec. 10, 2007). more Russia Meets Obligations to Destroy Chemical Weapons Itar-Tass, 18 December 2007 News item 2007-12-20 Russia has fulfilled its international obligations to destroy chemical weapons, the chairman of the governmental commission and the Russian president’s representative in the Volga Federal District, Alexander Konovalov, told a news conference on Tuesday. more U.S. to Spend $1.7M to Destroy Sarin Tanks Global Security Newswire, 10 December 2007 News item 2007-12-12 The U.S. Army expects next spring to use a mobile chemical weapons disposal system to destroy three bulk containers filled with the nerve agent sarin at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, the Associated Press reported Friday. One of the tanks leaked a gallon of sarin in August [2007]. more Army Fields Complaints about Lag in Chemical Leak Information Kentucky Lexington Herald, 7 December 2007 News item 2007-12-12 Army officials responded to public complaints Friday about the lag in information following the largest nerve agent leak ever detected at Kentucky's chemical weapons stockpile, but their proposed solution went largely unchallenged. more CWC Conference Boosts Treaty, Exposes Rifts By Oliver Meyer, Arms Control Association, December 2007 News item 2007-12-12 A Nov. 5-9 annual meeting of Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) states-parties approved a number of decisions to strengthen the treaty but also exposed some differing views among the 116 participating states. Those differences on issues related to the future of the 10-year-old global ban on chemical weapons also indicate that next year’s CWC review conference might proceed less than smoothly. more Half the Nation's Supply Destroyed Tri-City Herald, 12 December 2007 News item 2007-12-12 The U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency announced Tuesday that half the nation's 30,000-ton stockpile of chemical agent used in weapons has been destroyed. more Army Halts Dig Near University for World War I-Era Munitions The Examiner, 11 December 2007 News item 2007-12-12 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has halted its search for World War I chemical weapons at an excavation pit near American University while it assesses whether safety procedures are adequate for munitions that are being uncovered, officials said. more Blue Grass Army Depot Announces Schedule to Dispose of Chemical Weapon Kentucky Lexington Herald News item 2007-12-12 The disposal of 157 gallons of chemical agent at the Blue Grass Army Depot is scheduled to begin in March [2008], officials said Friday. more Destruction of binary chemical weapons done 30 November 2007 News item 2007-12-05 Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. — The U.S. Army Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Project has completed the final step in destroying the binary precursor chemicals DF and QL. more Former commander offers different view of ‘whistle blower’ Bill Robinson Register News Writer News item 2007-12-05 LEXINGTON — Is Donald Van Winkle a courageous individual taking on the military bureaucracy to ensure safe handling of chemical weapons at the Blue Grass Army Depot or is he a disgruntled worker, angry about being passed over for a promotion? more Umatilla depot begins working on nerve gas spray tanks Associated Press - November 24, 2007 News item 2007-11-29 Officials in Umatilla working through a stockpile of chemical weapons say they have begun destroying spray tanks containing VX nerve gas. more Blue Grass Chemical Weapon Whistleblower Hearing Tomorrow By: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) News item 2007-11-29 Current and Ex-Workers Testify on Safety, Preparedness and Culture of Reprisal. more Judge hears testimony in depot case Bill Robinson November 28, 2007 News item 2007-11-29 LEXINGTON — Donald Van Winkle, who claims his certification to work with chemical agents was revoked and he was forced out of his job at the Blue Grass Army Depot for reporting unsafe practices at the depot, started telling his story to a judge Tuesday. more Iraq Nears Chemical Weapons Treaty Accession Global Security Newswire, 26 November 2007 News item 2007-11-27 Iraqi leaders have approved legislation to enable the nation to accede to an international treaty banning the possession of chemical weapons. more U.S. Revises Rules for Controlled Chemicals Global Security Newswire, 26 November 2007 News item 2007-11-27 The U.S. Homeland Security Department published updated regulations Tuesday for facilities that produce, use, store or distribute substances that could be used in chemical weapons more Russia on schedule in chemical weapons elimination Itar-Tass News item 2007-11-26 IZHEVSK, November 16 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia is likely to eliminate its huge chemical weapon stockpiles on schedule, according to deputy head of the Federal agency for secure storage and elimination of chemical weapons Nikolai Khlebnikov. more Oregon chemical weapons depot disposal plan challenged AP Alert - Oregon (11-15-2007) News item 2007-11-15 PORTLAND (Ore.) Concerns about possible mercury contamination have led to a new lawsuit over plans to destroy an aging stockpile of mustard gas at a remote chemical weapons depot in Oregon. more Rosprom Considers Chemical Weapons Destruction Partnership With West Unjustified World News Connection (11-07-2007) News item 2007-11-13 Viktor Kholstov, deputy head of the Russian Federal Agency for Federal Property Management (Rosprom) [note: correct translation would read Federal Agency for Industry], told RIA Novosti that within the framework of the Global Partnership for Chemical Weapons Destruction, Western nations are planning on allocating just 6 billion rubles for destruction of chemical agent stockpiles in Russia in 2008. more Chemical Arms Disposal In Russia: Construction of critical chemical weapons destruction facility at Shchuch'ye is back on track October 22, 2007 Volume 85, Number 43 pp. 42-44, Lois R. Ember News item 2007-11-13 Russia has set a Herculean task for itself: destroy its massive chemical weapons stockpile by 2012, even though it has yet to destroy even a quarter of its arsenal. more Proceedings of the 2007 Nuclear National Dialogue meeting available Stephan Robinson 2007-11-09 The Russian-language version of the proceedings of the 1st Green Cross Nuclear National Dialogue meeting, held 18-19 April 2007 in Moscow, is now available online. more Citizens’ ongoing claims at Umatilla could affect destruction deadline Chemical Weapons Working Group, 30 Oct 07, Defense Environment Alert News item 2007-11-05 Citizen activists are charging that the Army has failed to follow the proper environmental requirements in preparing its Umatilla, OR, chemical weapons incinerator for the burning of VX nerve agent, adding to ongoing challenges at the facility that could potentially push the VX destruction campaign past its expected completion deadline of 2012, sources say. more Umatilla Chemical Depot starts destroying VX-filled M55 rockets Tri-City Herald, 30 Oct 07, Jeannine Koranda News item 2007-11-05 Crews at the Umatilla Chemical Depot incinerator Monday began destroying the site's second type of nerve agent -- VX-filled M55 rockets. more Alabama Department of Environmental Management cites, fines, ANCDF [Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility] for rules violations U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency, 30 Oct 07 News item 2007-11-05 The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) has notified the management team at the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (ANCDF) that a fine of $49,600 will be levied for seven permit violations. more Army Digging To Recover Old Gas Shells Washington Post, 30 Oct 07, Steve Vogel News item 2007-11-05 Operating under tight safety restrictions, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers yesterday began excavating what it calls the ‘last known burial pit’ of World War I chemical munitions in Northwest Washington's Spring Valley neighborhood. more House delegation backs McConnell's chem[ical] weapons deadline Chemical Weapons Working Group, 24 Oct 07, The Courier-Journal News item 2007-11-05 As the House deliberates on a fiscal 2008 spending blueprint for the Pentagon, Kentucky's delegation is unanimous in supporting a 2017 deadline for the destruction of chemical weapons at the Blue Grass Army Depot. more United Nations Secretary-General and OPCW Director-General Agree to Promote Mutually Beneficial Cooperation Organisaton for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, 25 Oct 07 News item 2007-11-05 The UN Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-moon and the Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Mr. Rogelio Pfirter have agreed to strengthen the existing cooperation between their two Organisations in order to promote the international community's goals in the field of international peace and security. more U.S. Army Accused of Hiding Chemical Weapons Information Environment News Service, 23 Oct 07 News item 2007-11-05 Citizen groups trying to stop the U.S. Army from shipping waste from deadly VX nerve agent from Indiana across eight states to Port Arthur, Texas say sources who wish to remain anonymous told the groups that the Army had withheld crucial information from the public and a federal judge during a hearing on the shipments last July. more PCI netted 120 million yen by padding bills The Daily Yomiuri Online, 22 Oct 07, The Yomiuri Shimbun News item 2007-11-05 A consultancy firm engaged in a government project to dispose of chemical weapons abandoned in China by the Imperial Japanese Army allegedly received 120 million yen from state coffers by padding bills, it has been learned. more Mock disaster to hit Army depot Richmond Register, 22 Oct 07, Ronica Shannon News item 2007-11-05 Several local emergency response agencies, schools and hospitals will be on high alert Wednesday, no matter which way the wind blows. There will be a mock disaster at the Blue Grass Army Depot Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. more Chemical Weapons' Convention Deadline of 2012 For Destruction Of Remaining Chemical Weapons Stockpiles 'Enormous Challenge' U.N. General Assembly, 19 Oct 07 News item 2007-11-05 Even If Known Stocks Destroyed, States outside Treaty Could Develop Chemical Weapons, Weaken Determination to Eliminate Weapons of Mass Destruction. more Chemical weapons residue creates toxic waste nightmare New Scientist, Sec. Technology, Vol. 196, Issue. 2628, p 32 (3 Nov 2007) Debora MacKenzie, Brussels News item 2007-11-05 Chemical weapons residue creates toxic waste nightmare - Scrambling to meet a 2012 destruction deadline, Russia and the US, which account for over 95 per cent of the world's chemical weapons stockpile, are creating thousands of tonnes of a toxic residue that they are having trouble disposing of. more U.S. CWD: Veolia halfway done with VX waste disposal News item 2007-10-10 About half of the neutralized nerve agent from the Newport CWDF has been transported and incinerated at Veolia. more Hawaii chemical arms disposal costing $4.6M News item 2007-10-10 A Colorado company said it has been awarded a contract for up to $4.6 million to destroy 71 recovered chemical weapons at Schofield Barracks. more Chemical Weapons Disposal in the US 29 September 07 Associated Press News item 2007-10-01 Port Arthur, Texas residents fight against nerve agent disposal. more Corps Hunts for War Remnants 29 September 2007, Michael Newsom News item 2007-10-01 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is combing the nation's terrain for unused mortar rounds, bullets and grenades, and they're searching abandoned World War II training grounds in South Mississippi. more Senate Passes Chemical Weapons Measure By Associated Press, 19 September 2007 News item 2007-09-20 The Senate has approved an amendment that would give the Army 10 years to destroy chemical weapons stored at Richmond, Ky., and Pueblo, Colo. more Mixed Results on Destroying Russian WMDs Associated Press, 28 August 2007 News item 2007-08-29 Sen. Richard Lugar and former Sen. Sam Nunn are in Russia this week to celebrate the United States' 15-year effort to help Russia destroy or lock up its vast arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. But along with the program's successes, there have been notable setbacks. more Russia is in Full Compliance with the International Chemical Weapons Convention - Kiriyenko World News Connection, 28 August 2007 News item 2007-08-28 To date, Russia has fully complied with international conventions on chemical weapons, said Sergei Kiriyenko, the head of the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom) who earlier chaired the Russian government's commission for chemical weapons destruction. more Groups Appeal to Lawmakers to Stop Nerve Agent Waste Shipments Environment News Service, 22 August 2007 News item 2007-08-27 Environmental health and justice groups in Texas, joined by the national Chemical Weapons Working Group coalition, today asked Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee, a Texas Democrat, for help in challenging the U.S. Army's shipment of VX nerve agent hydrolysate from Newport, Indiana to Port Arthur, Texas to be incinerated. more Russia Will Destroy Only Its Own Chemical Weapons - General RIA Novosti, 24 August 2007 News item 2007-08-27 Russia will not accept proposals to destroy chemical weapons decommissioned by other countries on its territory, a senior military official said Friday. more First VX Shipments in 2 Months Arrive in Port Arthur 8 August 2007 News item 2007-08-13 Four new shipments of VX nerve agent residue arrived early this morning at the Veolia plant in Jefferson County. Last week a federal judge in Indiana ruled the Army could continue the shipments until he makes a final ruling. Environmental activists are suing the Army and Veolia to prevent the residue from coming to Southeast Texas for incineration. The plant manager is confident the judge will allow the work to continue. more Russia to Scrap 45 Percent of Its Chemical Weapons by 2010 Kommersant, 10 August 2007 News item 2007-08-10 Russia will destroy 45 percent of its chemical weapons stockpile by the end of 2009, a senior official vowed Thursday. 18,500 tons of chemical weapons will be destroyed by this time to comply with Russia’s commitments on chemical weapons disarmament. more US, Russia still have large chemical weapons stockpiles AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE ENGLISH WIRE, 07 August 2007 News item 2007-08-07 GENEVA, Aug 7, 2007 (AFP) - The United States and Russia have to destroy large amounts of their huge chemical weapons stockpiles to fall in line with a decade-old international ban, a senior disarmament official said Tuesday. more Washington Group keeps Army contract to destroy Anniston chemicals Birmingham Business Journal, 07 August 2007 News item 2007-08-07 Washington Group International, which is based in Idaho and has an office in Birmingham, will continue its contract with the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency to destroy chemical weapons and to close its operations in Anniston, as well as two other facilities in Oregon and Arkansas. more Russia, U.S. face challenge on chemical weapons Reuters, 7 August 2007 News item 2007-08-07 GENEVA, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Russia and the United States will need to make major efforts to reach a 2012 deadline for destroying their huge stockpiles of chemical weapons, the head of a treaty verification body said on Tuesday. more House Votes Funds for Hawaii Ocean Chemical Weapons Clean-Up Freedom to report real news, 7 August 2007 News item 2007-08-07 Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. House voted on August 4, 2007, to appropriate $18 million recommended by Rep. Neil Abercrombie as part of the $459.6 billion 2008 Defense Appropriation Bill. The funds will allow work to begin on cleaning up tons of chemical munitions dumped offshore of Oahu at the end of World War II, and for military research and testing, including critical studies into the possible effects of naval sonar systems on whales and dolphins and the development of electronic systems to detect the presence of marine mammals in naval training areas. more Court Denies Motion to halt Newport Hydrolysate Shipments Press Release, US Army Chemical Materials Agency, 6 August 2007 News item 2007-08-06 ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – A U.S. District Court Judge Friday denied a motion by plaintiffs for a preliminary injunction to halt caustic waste water shipments from the destruction of the nerve agent VX at an Army plant in Indiana to Texas. more Federal Judge Backs Shipment of VX Waste Global Security Newswire, 6 August 2007 News item 2007-08-06 A federal judge said Friday he would not order the U.S. Army to halt shipments between Indiana and Texas of wastewater produced by the chemical neutralization of VX nerve agent, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, July 27). more Army reports progress in destroying [chemical] munitions 31 July 2007 News item 2007-08-01 "Workers at the Anniston Army Depot report they made a sizable dent last week in destroying the facility's chemical weapons stockpile. Officials said employees incinerated more than 34 hundred VX nerve gas artillery shells and more than two thousand gallons of liquid VX. Since they began this phase in mid June, about 13 thousand VX filled 155 millimeter shells and about 8 thousand gallons of liquid VX were destroyed." more Depot authority delegation to seek information on status of the base The Pueblo Chieftain, 28 July 2007 News item 2007-07-31 The following article informs on first discussions regarding the use of the Pueblo stockpile area upon completion of stockpile destruction. more Report proposes waste disposal guidelines for Arsenal Arkansas News Bureau, 27 July 2007 News item 2007-07-30 WASHINGTON - Experts assembled by the National Academies of Science recommended Thursday that the Army more efficiently complete the destruction of its chemical weapons stockpile by disposing of some waste away from sites like the Pine Bluff Arsenal. more Army admits fault after lawsuit Richmond Register, 27 July 2007 News item 2007-07-30 INDIANAPOLIS— Army officials recently have admitted to unsafe practices after being sued by several plaintiffs, including Berea’s Chemical Weapon Working Group (CWWG). more Abandoned Chemical Weapons Pose Continual Threat National Defense Magazine, August 2007 News item 2007-07-23 TACOMA, Wash. — Hidden chemical weapons are scattered across the globe, in rivers, bays, lakes and oceans, and buried in the ground at current and former military bases. more No immediate decision coming to block VX shipments Associated Press, 19 July 2007 News item 2007-07-20 INDIANAPOLIS — An attorney for a company hired by the Army to incinerate nerve agent waste argued Wednesday that environmentalists raised unsound concerns in trying to block truck shipments of the waste from western Indiana’s Newport Chemical Deport. more VX Waste Shipments Questioned in Court Hearing Global Security Newswire (17 July 2007) News item 2007-07-18 Waste produced by chemical neutralization of VX nerve agent might still contain trace amounts of the deadly chemical, U.S. Army officials said yesterday at a court hearing on whether to halt shipments of the material, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, July 11). more VX Federal Court Case Continues Indianapolis Star (17 July 2007) Stephan Robinson 2007-07-18 Environmental and community groups from across the country hoping to stop the U.S. Army from shipping chemical weapons waste from Indiana to Texas continue their federal court fight today in Indianapolis. more Nunn-Lugar Update June 2007 Press Release of Senator Lugar, 17 July 2007 News item 2007-07-18 U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar today announced the following progress in the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program for June 2007: more Hearing Held on Bid to Block Nerve Agent Waste Shipments WISH-TV News at 8, 16 July 2007 News item 2007-07-17 INDIANAPOLIS - Over 100 tankers filled with the byproducts of the deadly nerve agent VX have been shipped from Newport, Indiana to Port Arthur, Texas for incineration. Now, several watchdog groups are in federal court trying to stop the shipment of the remaining 300 plus loads. more Judge to Hear Suit over VX Waste Indianapolis Star, 16 July 2007 News item 2007-07-16 INDIANAPOLIS -- Opponents of the Army's shipments of nerve agent waste from Indiana to Texas will ask a federal judge today to order a halt to the trucks, arguing the liquid waste poses an imminent threat to public health and is more toxic than the Army claims. more Albania destroys chemical weapons, thanks US on support BBC International Reports, 12 July 2007 News item 2007-07-12 Tirana, 11 July (ATA) - Deputy Minister of Defence Petrit Karabina stated on Wednesday [11 July 2007] that "the Republic of Albania managed to destroy weapons and chemical agents, so dangerous to the population, keeping the environment safe." more Sens. Allard, Salazar Push Funding Boost, Hard Deadline for Weapons Destruction at Pueblo Chemical Depot US Federal News, 11 July 2007 News item 2007-07-12 PUEBLO, Colo., July 11 -- The office of Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., issued the following news release: more Umatilla Chemical Depot Destroys Last Sarin Weapons Global Security Newswire, 10 July 2007 News item 2007-07-10 The Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon on Sunday finished disposal of its stockpile of weapons containing the nerve agent sarin, the U.S. Army reported (see GSN, July 5). more Umatilla Moves Last Sarin Weapons for Disposal Global Security Newswire, 5 July 2007 News item 2007-07-05 Workers at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon have moved the last load of sarin-filled munitions to the site’s chemical agent disposal plant for incineration, the U.S. Army said Tuesday (see GSN, June 22). more Army Official Responds to Allegations Richmond Register, 3 July 2007 News item 2007-07-05 Recent anonymous negative claims about the Chemical Materials Agency’s (CMA) inventory system was combated Tuesday by a representative of the CMA, which is a department of the U.S. Army. more Mustard Samples Shipped from PB Arsenal for Analysis Fox 16, 29 June 2007 News item 2007-07-03 WHITE HALL, Ark. (AP) - A small amount of mustard agent has been shipped from the Pine Bluff Arsenal to a laboratory for analysis, according to an arsenal news release. more Draft Budget Allocates 75 Billion Rubles For Chemical Weapons Disposal In 2008-2010 World News Connection, 29-06-2007 News item 2007-06-29 MOSCOW. June 29 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian draft budget for 2008-2010 includes an allocation in excess of 75 billion Russian rubles for chemical weapons disposal. more Foreign states give Russia less than promised for chemical weapons disposal – MP BBC International Reports, text from Interfax-AVN website News item 2007-06-28 Moscow, 25 June: As of the beginning of this year, foreign financial assistance accounted for less than 10 per cent of the budget funding allocated to the federal target programme (FTP) for disposing of the chemical weapons stock in the Russian Federation, State Duma deputy Nikolay Bezborodov has told Interfax-AVN. more African Nations Discuss Joining Chemical Treaty Global Security News, 27 June 2007 News item 2007-06-28 Diplomats from four African nations met last week to discuss joining the Chemical Weapons Convention, according to a release (see GSN, Oct. 17, 2006). more Aberdeen CW Disposal Site Officially Closed Global Security Newswire - 26 June 2007 News item 2007-06-27 The state of Maryland has officially approved the closure of the Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility, which has already been demolished, the U.S. Army announced yesterday (see GSN, March 14). more Special Report: Unnerving - Are Residents Right to Worry about Destruction of Chemical Weapons at Port Arthur Plant? The Examiner, by Jerry Jordon, 22-28 June 2007 News item 2007-06-27 NEWPORT, IND. — Much of the United States’ own weapons of mass destruction are stored in a bunker north of Terre Haute, md., at the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency’s Newport Chemical Depot. And since May 5, 2005, in compliance with an international treaty requiring its destruction, the chemical weapon known as VX Nerve Agent has been carefully deconstructed into a caustic liquid through intense agitation and heat. more U.S. Hits Chemical Agent Disposal Mark Global Security Newswire (Chris Schneidmiller), 21 June 2007 News item 2007-06-22 WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army announced today that it has eliminated 45 percent of the nation’s chemical weapons agent several months before an international treaty deadline. more Army Agrees to Temporarily Stop Shipment of Nerve Agent Waste to Port Arthur,Texas Chemical Weapons Working Group, 18 June 2007 News item 2007-06-18 Army's Voluntary Stand Down on VX Hydrolysate Transportation in Effect until Preliminary Injunction Hearing Date Agreed To and Hearing Is Completed more Destruction Timeline Extended Richmond Register, 12 June 2007 News item 2007-06-14 The Department of Defense recently approved a new weapons destruction schedule that allows for a six-year operations period, opposed to the original time lapse of about 22 months. The extension was proposed late last year, but the official approval was made April 3 and announced Monday at a meeting of the Chemical Destruction Community Advisory Board (CDCAB) meeting conducted at Eastern Kentucky University. more Russia to continue chemical weapons destruction News item 2007-05-28 THE HAGUE, May 23 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia will continue the destruction of chemical weapons from late June of this year, upon completing the prophylactic [i.e. maintenance] work at the facilities, Viktor Kholstov, the deputy head of the Federal Industrial Agency, told Itar-Tass. more Chemical weapons watchdog urges destruction of all chemical arms stockpiles Agence France Presse English wire (9 May 2007) News item 2007-05-19 THE HAGUE, May 9, 2007 (AFP) - The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) used its 10th anniversary Wednesday to call on all countries to sign the convention it monitors. more Photo Display On Destruction Of Russian Chemical Weapons Opens In The Hague World News Connection (9 May 2007) News item 2007-05-19 THE HAGUE, May 9 (Itar-Tass) - A photo exhibition devoted to the destruction of Russia's arsenals of chemical weapons opened Tuesday night at the headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). more Proceedings of the 2006 Green Cross National Dialogue meeting Stephan Robinson 2007-05-14 The proceedings of the 8th Green Cross National Dialogue Forum on Russian chemical weapons destruction, held 1-2 November 2006 in Moscow, are now available online. more Lawsuit Filed Against VX Waste Transport Global Security Newswire, 7 May 2007 News item 2007-05-09 Residents of Indiana and Texas today filed a federal lawsuit intended to stop the transport of VX nerve agent disposal waste, the Chemical Weapons Working Group said in a press release. more U.K., France Add Support for Russian CW Disposal Global Security Newswire, 7 May 2007 News item 2007-05-09 France and the United Kingdom are working together to provide additional support for constructing Russia’s chemical weapons disposal site at Shchuchye, Interfax reported yesterday. more Chairman Klomp Steps Down from Chem Demil Commission The Pueblo Chieftain, 3 May 2007 News item 2007-05-07 After nine years of helping to represent the community in dealings with the Defense Department and its plans to destroy the chemical weapons stockpile at the Pueblo Chemical Depot, John Klomp said Wednesday night he believed the process had acquired enough momentum and it was time for him to do other things. more Ivanov: Foreign Aid to Provide 10-15% of Funds to Scrap Chemical Arsenal Interfax, 4 May 2007 News item 2007-05-07 First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov visited Bryansk region yesterday to familiarize himself with progress made in the federal program to destroy Russia's chemical weapons. more Pipe Decontamination Completed at the Former Newport VX Production Facility U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency Press Release, 3 May 2007 News item 2007-05-07 On April 21, the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency (CMA) successfully completed decontamination of thousands of feet of piping from the former Newport VX production facility. This completes the processing of all contaminated materiel removed from the former production facility demolition. more Nerve Agent Wastewater Disposal Sets Off Legal War The Enterprise, 4 May 2007 News item 2007-05-07 A coalition of groups trying to stop VX nerve agent wastewater shipments to Port Arthur is alleging the U.S. Army overpaid the company destroying the material because the government knows it is more dangerous than it claims. more Progress or Problems at CW Destruction Site? Daniel Arnaudo, Arms Control Today, May 2007 News item 2007-05-07 U.S. officials say they are close to signing an agreement with the Russian government to complete the building of a major chemical weapons destruction facility that has been plagued by construction delays. more Russia Needs [the] Chemical Weapons Convention and Will Adhere to It - Deputy Premier BBC, International, 3 May 2007 News item 2007-05-04 Bryansk, 3 May: Russia will strictly adhere to its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention. The moratorium on the CFE [Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty], which the president proposed [at his annual address to parliament on 26 April 2007], is a different matter, Russia will not implement its obligations until the treaty is ratified by other countries, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov said today replying to an ITAR-TASS question. more Judge orders review of weapons incineration The Oregonian, 18 April 2007 News item 2007-04-24 After a 10-year court battle, a judge on Tuesday told Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality it must reassess whether a chemical weapons incinerator is good enough and safe enough to destroy 2,300 tons of mustard gas stored at Umatilla Chemical Depot. more Weapons Incinerator Cited for Violations The Montgomery Advertiser (23 April 2007) News item 2007-04-24 The Alabama Department of Environmental Management has cited Anniston's chemical weapons incinerator for 12 violations of its operating permits and ADEM rules. The state agency will consider the incinerator's history of violations and other factors in determining whether to issue an order and any fines. more Russia disposes 8,456 tonnes or 20% of chemical weapons 9 days ahead of plan Itar-Tass, 20 April 2007 News item 2007-04-24 Russia has disposed of 8,456 tonnes of especially dangerous chemical agents. Twenty-eight kilograms of lewisite were disposed at the Kambarka chemical disarmament facility in Udmurtia, and the last of 4,007 tonnes of air bombs was decontaminated in Maradykovo in the Kirov region. more Veolia Begins Treatment of VX Wastewater Port Arthur News, 17 April 2007 News item 2007-04-24 Sixteen-thousand gallons of a former nerve gas agent have made their way to Port Arthur and the process of incineration has begun. The first of many convoys from Indiana carrying the caustic wastewater arrived shortly after midnight Tuesday at Veolia Environmental Services, where the material will be incinerated as part of an international treaty to destroy chemical weapons. more Weapons Disposal Discussion Heats Up Public Forum Richmond Register, 20 April 2007 News item 2007-04-24 Burn them? Ship them? Neutralize them? The questions that first surfaced in Madison County in the early 1980s about destruction of chemical weapons at the Blue Grass Army Depot remain on the table today. more Army Signs Contract to Burn Indiana VX By-Product In Texas Chemical Weapons Working Group (10 April 2007) News item 2007-04-11 Nerve Agent Waste Previously Rejected by Ohio and New Jersey Now Going to Texas, while Indiana Residents Say "Do It Right--Treat it On-Site" more Mobile Disposal Facility Planned to Deactivate Abandoned Chemical Weapons in China The Asahi Shimbun (09 April 2007) News item 2007-04-11 Japan and China will introduce a mobile facility to deactivate thousands of chemical weapons the Imperial Japanese Army abandoned in China at the end of World War II, sources said. more Texas Firm Will Treat Neutralized Nerve Agent Lois R. Ember (10 April 2007) News item 2007-04-11 Environmental groups plan to sue to halt Army shipment of caustic waste through eight states. more OPCW Expects to Sign Verification Agreement with Russia Itar-Tass (03-30-2007) News item 2007-04-02 WASHINGTON, March 30 (Itar-Tass) - The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) expects to next month reach an agreement with Russia on the verification of destroyed chemical weapons at the Maradykovsky facility in the Kirov region, the director general of the OPCW said at Global Green USA's annual Legacy Forum in Washington on Thursday. more Fradkov Approves Chemical Weapons Disposal Accord with Germany Russia & CIS Military Newswire, Sec. Newswire (03-14-2007) News item 2007-03-16 MOSCOW. March 14 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov has signed an instruction authorizing the Foreign Ministry to sign a Russian-German agreement on the disposal of Russia's chemical weapons stockpiles. more Army Set to Meet Year-End Burn Goal for Chemical Weapons Toole Transcript Bulletin (13 March 2007); Suzanne Ashe News item 2007-03-16 more Army Neutralizes 1,623 Tons of Mustard Agent, Meets Requirements for Aberdeen [Maryland] Chemical Agent Disposal Facility Closure US Army Press Release (13 March 2007); Heather McDowell News item 2007-03-16 more Army's Chemical Material Agency Reaches Destruction Milestone US Federal News (5 March 2007) News item 2007-03-06 This article announces the destruction of 50% of the US CW stockpile and gives a concise overview on the US CWD Programme. more U.S. Eliminates New Funding for Russian CW Disposal By Chris Schneidmiller - Global Security Newswire (1 March 2007) News item 2007-03-02 WASHINGTON — The next two budgets for the U.S. Cooperative Threat Reduction program now include no funding to finish constructing a chemical weapons disposal facility in Russia (see GSN, Nov. 2, 2006). more Russian Parliament to Ratify Protocol to CTR Umbrella Agreement News item 2007-02-27 MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted Wednesday [21 February 2007] a protocol to a document that facilitates large-scale cooperation between the United States and Russia on nuclear nonproliferation for ratification by the lower house of parliament. more Gates Seeks Chem Demil Budget Boost The Pueblo Chieftan (John Norton) News item 2007-02-16 The secretary of defense has revised his budget request for weapons destruction programs in Pueblo and Kentucky, asking for another $54 million in the 2008 federal budget. more Half of The Weapons Stored at Umatilla Depot Destroyed The Oregonian (15 February 2007, Andy Dworkin) News item 2007-02-16 more U.S. Seeks New Chemical Weapons Waste Disposal Plan Global Security Newswire, 2 February 2007 News item 2007-02-03 The U.S. Army is seeking a new plan for disposing of waste produced by chemical weapons neutralization at the Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana, following DuPont’s announcement that it would not perform the work, the Associated Press reported today. “We’re back to square one and we’ve returned to reviewing all the options available. That includes disposal either on or off site,” said Greg Mahall, spokesman for the Army Chemical Materials Agency. more Sentry Dies at Russian Chemical Weapons Plant: Posioning Ruled Out BBC International Reports (31 January 2007) News item 2007-01-31 KIROV (RIA Novosti) - An investigation has been launched into the death of a serviceman belonging to a regiment guarding the Maradykovskiy [Maradykovo] plant for the destruction of chemical weapons in Kirov Region. The conscript was found dead on the morning of 28 January, but his death is not linked to poisoning by chemical weapons, the head of the regional directorate for convention [Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction] problems, Mikhail Manin, told RIA-Novosti on Wednesday [31 January]. more Russia Disposes More Than 19% of Its Chemical Weapons Stock World News Connection (23 January 2007) News item 2007-01-30 MOSCOW. Jan 23 (Interfax-AVN) - Stockpiles of chemical weapons are disposed of as planned in 2007, according to the Federal Industry Agency. "As of Monday Russia has disposed of 3,623 tonnes of blistering toxic agents, and detoxified 4,005 tonnes of neuroparalytic toxic agents, which amount to over 19% of the overall stock of chemical weapons," deputy head of the Russian Industry Agency Viktor Kholstov told Interfax-AVN on Tuesday. more DuPont Pulls Out of Controversial Plan to Treat Nerve Agent Waste Defense Environment Alert (Vol. 15, No. 1, 9 January 2007) News item 2007-01-30 DuPont announced Jan. 5 (2007) that it has pulled out of a long-time, controversial plan to treat nerve agent waste from the Army's Newport, IN, facility at a plant in Deepwater, NJ, where it then planned to subsequently dispose of the treated waste in the Delaware River. The decision comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by environmental groups that sought to halt the Army's transport and treatment plan for the agent waste. more U.S. Department of Defense Extends Chemical Demilitarization Schedule to 2023, Despite Higher Costs Defense Environment Alert (Vol. 15, No. 2, 23 January 2007) News item 2007-01-30 The U.S. Defense Department (DOD) earlier this month formally certified its plan to stretch out the cost and schedule for destruction of stockpiled chemical weapons at sites in Kentucky and Colorado, despite conceding that total costs will be higher under the plan and that storage facilities for the weapons remain a terrorist "threat target" identified by the U.S. government. more Chemical Weapons Deadlines Extended Caitlin Harrington (Arms Control Today, January/February 2007) News item 2007-01-30 A Dec. 5-8 meeting in The Hague of members of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) granted the United States and Russia a five-year extension to a 2007 deadline for destroying their chemical weapons stockpiles. Both countries, however, will likely need more time. more Chemical Weapons Disposal Is Critical To National Security By Lois R. Ember, Chemical and Engineering News, 18 Jabuary 2007 News item 2007-01-19 A senior Pentagon official has certified that disposal of the chemical weapons stored at Pueblo, Colo., and Blue Grass, Ky., is "essential to national security." more Pueblo Depot Costs Up Sharply: The Pentagon Says It Will Cost $3.6 Billion, and Won't Be Done Before 2020 By Erin Emery, Denver Post, 12 January 2007 News item 2007-01-16 The Pentagon now estimates it will cost $3.6 billion to destroy a stockpile of mustard agent weapons stored at Pueblo Chemical Depot, an increase of $1.6 billion from earlier estimates. Under current projections, the stockpile of 780,078 munitions at Pueblo isn't scheduled to be destroyed until 2020 and a stockpile held at Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky won't be destroyed until 2023. more Russia To Increase Chemical Weapons Disposal Capacity World News Connection, 10 January 2007 News item 2007-01-12 Russia is increasing the capacity of enterprises involved in scrapping chemical weapons, the press service of the Federal Industry Agency (Rosprom) said. more Maradykovo Chemical Weapons Disposal Plant Meets Fed Program Terms World News Connections, 10 January 2007 News item 2007-01-12 The stable operation of the chemical weapons disposal plant in Maradykovo enables Russia to meet international commitments and terms of the federal programme for the disposal of the chemical weapons stock, chief of the department for conversion problems of the Kirov regional government Mikhail Manin told Itar-Tass on Wednesday. more Kentucky Ready to Fight to Get Weapons Out The Chicago Tribune, 9 January 2007 News item 2007-01-12 For more than 60 years, some of the world's most dangerous weapons have been stored in earth-covered igloos, just a gust of wind away from putting thousands of students at Eastern Kentucky University at risk. more Nerve-Agent Plan Dumped: DuPont Will Not Be Helping the Army Dispose of 4 Million Gallons of Watered-Down VX in the Delaware. By Troy Graham, Philadelphia Inquirer, 6 January 2007 News item 2007-01-12 Under heavy pressure, DuPont Co. yesterday dropped out of an Army plan to dispose of caustic wastewater from the destruction of the deadly VX nerve agent in South Jersey. more Umatilla Depot Destroys Last of Large Sarin-Filled Projectiles Tri-City Herald, 3 January 2007 News item 2007-01-12 Crews at the Umatilla Chemical Depot incinerator destroyed the last 8-inch sarin-filled projectile this morning. more Groups Challenge Chemical Byproduct Shipping Centre Daily, 22 December 2006 News item 2007-01-03 Environmental and other watchdog groups in Kentucky and three other states have filed a federal lawsuit to try to stop the U.S. Army from trucking the byproduct of a deadly chemical weapon to New Jersey, where it would be treated and dumped into the Delaware River. more Kholstov Stresses Importance of International Aid at CWC Conference World News Connection, 3 January 2007 News item 2007-01-03 Excerpt of speech by Viktor Kholstov, deputy head of Russian Industry Agency, at 11th Session of Conference of States Party to Chemical Weapons Convention: "Russia Is Staying on Schedule" more Link to the Latest News from the Eleventh Session of the Conference of the States Parties Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons News item 2007-01-03 This is a link to OPCW's official documents page from the Eleventh Session of the COnference of the States Parties that took place in The Hague, 5-8 December 2006. more Putin signs law ratifying RF-France chemical weapons dumping agreement Itar-Tass (30 December 2006) News item 2007-01-02 MOSCOW, December 30 (Itar-Tass) -- President Vladimir Putin signed the federal law ratifying the Russian-French intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the disposal of chemical weapons in Russia, the presidential press service said. The State Duma approved the law on December 22, 2006, and the Federation Council approved it on December 27, 2006. more Russia Positive About Results Of OPCW Conference World News Connection (18 December 2006) News item 2006-12-18 Russia positively assesses the results of the 11th session of conference of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) member states in the Hague. more Inspectors visit Russia chemical weapons disposal facility News item 2006-12-14 KIROV, December 14 (Itar-Tass) -- A group of international inspectors from the Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons arrived at a facility for disposal of war gases in the settlement of Maradykovo, Kirov region, on Thursday [14 December 2006]. more Nations Get CW Treaty Extensions By Chris Schneidmiller, Global Security Newswire News item 2006-12-11 This article lists the new, extended destruction deadlines for CW possessor states as granted by the 11th Conference of State Parties of the OPCW. more Pentagon Reviews Pricey Weapon Disposal Program Reuters, 5 December 2006 News item 2006-12-06 The Pentagon is reviewing a program to dispose of chemical weapons stockpiled in Colorado and Kentucky whose costs have soared over 72 percent to $7.96 billion, U.S. defense officials said on Tuesday. more Anniston Rockets Could Catch Fire Global Security Newswire, 1 December 2006 News item 2006-12-01 Some rockets set for disposal beginning Monday at the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Alabama are likely to catch fire during the destruction process, The Anniston Star reported today. more Czech Repuplic Allots Another Two Million to Russian Arms Disposal Czech News Agency, 29 November 2006) News item 2006-12-01 Czech Ambassador to Britain Jan Winkler handed over another two million crowns which the Czech Republic has earmarked for the disposal of Russian chemical weapons to the British Defence Ministry in London today. more Concerns Raised Over Incineration Casper Star Tribune, 20 November 2006 News item 2006-11-21 Utah environmentalists are concerned that a decision giving the Desert Chemical Depot more time to incinerate mustard gas is a license to put more toxins into the air. more Chemical Weapons' Disposal Delayed - U.S. Won't Be Rid of Arms Until 2023 USA Today, Peter Eisler, 21 November 2006 News item 2006-11-21 The Pentagon has extended its timeline to destroy its aging chemical weapons arsenal until 2023, despite concerns by Congress and watchdog groups that the stockpiles raise the risk of an accident or theft by terrorists. more Scheduled Facility Maintenance Requires Additional Time News Release, CMA: Anniston Chemical Activity, 23 October 2006 News item 2006-10-26 ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala.– Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (ANCDF) managers overseeing planned maintenance here report regular chemical munition disposal operations will not resume until late this month or early November. more Plan to Treat VX Byproduct Put on Hold By Trish Graber, The Gloucester County Times, 20 October 2006 News item 2006-10-23 The Army's plan to ship the neutralized byproduct of a deadly nerve agent to Salem County and dump it in the Delaware River has been blocked pending a federal review. more Law Takes Aim at Army for Dumping By John M.R. Bull, The Daily Press, 18 October 2006 News item 2006-10-23 Congress to military: Inspect, test and clean up the chemical weapons dumped into the sea. more Further Study of Chemicals Expected Health Analysis in Spring Valley By Susan Levine, The Washington Post, 12 October 2006 News item 2006-10-18 The Johns Hopkins University professor heading a review of the health hazards linked to World War I-era munitions in Spring Valley says more assessment of the Northwest neighborhood likely will be needed to determine whether the materials affected residents' well-being. more Army Completes Binary Chemical Treatment: Project Brings U.S. Closer to Completing Treaty Requirements Press Release, U.S Army Chemical Materials Agency, 12 October 2006 News item 2006-10-18 PINE BLUFF ARSENAL, Ark. – The U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency has completed operations at the Binary Destruction Facility here. more Depot Plans Drill Thursday Press Release, U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency: Umatilla Chemical Depot, 16 October 2006 News item 2006-10-18 Umatilla Chemical Depot, Hermiston, Ore. – A quarterly emergency preparedness drill at the Umatilla Chemical Depot is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 19. more 8th RUSSIAN NATIONAL DIALOGUE on Status and Perspectives of Russian Implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and Global Chemical Weapons Demilitarization By Cristian Ion, Global Green USA Press Release, 18 October 2006 News item 2006-10-18 Renaissance Hotel, Moscow, Russia, 1-2 November 2006; Co-organized by Green Cross Russia, Green Cross Switzerland, and Global Green USA A key international agreement for the control and demilitarization of weapons of mass destruction, the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) today includes 180 member states, six of which have declared stocks of chemical weapons. Russia, which holds the world’s largest stockpile, has been a State Party to the Convention since 5 November 1997; this conference will mark the ninth anniversary of Russia’s CWC ratification. more Green Cross International and Affiliates Organize Roundtable on Developing a Comprehensive Global Biosecurity Regime By Cristian Ion, Global Green Press Release, 13 October 2006 News item 2006-10-18 United Nations/Geneva Director-General To Host Event on November 8th; BWC 6th Review Conference President To Provide Keynote Green Cross International, and three of its national affiliates, Green Cross Switzerland, Green Cross Russia, and Global Green USA, will host an all-day roundtable discussion on “Developing a Comprehensive Biosecurity Regime.” The event is sponsored by the United Nations Office at Geneva Director-General, Mr. Sergei Ordzhonikidze, and will take place in the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland on Wednesday, November 8, 2006. The President of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) Sixth Review Conference, Mr. Masood Khan of Pakistan, will provide a keynote address. more Green Cross International and Partners Organize Roundtable on Italy's Role in the Global Partnership and Nonproliferation of WMD in Russia and the Former Soviet Union By Cristian Ion, Global Green Press Release, 12 October 2006 News item 2006-10-18 Italian Senate President Will Host Event in Italian Senate, October 19th October 12, 2006, Washington, DC – Green Cross International, and its affiliates, Green Cross Italy, Green Cross Switzerland, Green Cross Russia, and Global Green USA, in collaboration with the Monterey Institute Center for Nonproliferation Studies and the International Affairs Institute, will host a roundtable discussion on “Current Global Partnership Initiatives and Italian Programs: Submarine Dismantlement, Chemical Weapons Destruction, and Plutonium Disposition in Russia.” The event is sponsored by the Italian Senate President, Mr. Franco Marini, and will take place in the Italian Senate, Rome, Italy on October 19, 2006 between 9:00 AM and 1:30 PM. more Over 3,000 Bombs Processed at Russian Chemical Weapons Destruction Plant Itar-Tass, 22 September 2006 News item 2006-09-29 Detoxification of 3,068 aerial bombs containing VX gas is under way at a chemical weapons destruction facility in the village of Maradykovo (Kirov Region). The first line of the facility was commissioned two weeks ago. more Japan Collects 418 Shells of Wartime Chemical Weapons in China Kyodo News, 27 September 2006 News item 2006-09-29 The Japanese government has collected 418 shells believed to be of wartime chemical weapons abandoned by the Imperial Japanese Army in Dunhua in China's Jilin Province, the Cabinet Office said Wednesday. more U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency Destroys Half of Total Number of Munitions in National Stockpile U.S. Chemical Materials Agency, 30 August 2006 News item 2006-09-13 The U.S. Army announced today the destruction of 50 percent of the number of munitions in its declared chemical stockpile. more U.S. Mulls Options For Dismantling Libyan Chemical Weapons By Michael Sirak, Defense Daily International, 4 July 2006 News item 2006-09-13 The United States is formulating plans for dismantling large quantities of Libyan chemical weapons and expects to have options in hand next month for top-level discussion. more Weapons Destruction Plant Opened Associated Press (Judith Ingram) News item 2006-09-11 Maradykovsky, Kirov Region -- Engineers covered in head-to-toe protective gear Friday inserted neutralizing chemicals into bombs filled with a deadly nerve agent, officially starting the work of the country's third chemical weapons destruction plant. more Work Begins on Chemical Demilitarization Plant Pueblo Chieftain Online, 8 September 2006 News item 2006-09-08 Acres of once empty prairie slowly are being transformed as the northeastern portion of the Pueblo Chemical Depot is being prepared for a $1.7 billion weapons destruction program, which at its peak will employ more than 1,000 people. more Russia Takes Another Step Forward In WMD Threat Reduction Global Green USA Welcomes Start-up of New Russian Chemical Weapons Destruction Facility, Urges Safety and Transparency News item 2006-09-07 September 7, Washington, DC – Global Green USA, the U.S. affiliate of Mikhail Gorbachev’s Green Cross International, welcomes the official opening of the Russian Federal Agency for Industry’s third major facility for the destruction of its chemical weapons arsenal and urges safety and transparency as destruction gets underway. The facility, located near Maradikovsky in the Kirov Oblast (300 miles NE of Moscow), is the first to destroy nerve agents. more Russia: First Stage of Chemical-Weapons-Disposal Facility Accepted Itar-Tass, 5 September 2006 News item 2006-09-06 A state commission today accepted the first stage of a chemical-weapons-disposal facility in the village of Maradykovskiy, Kirov Region. more Nuclear Weapons Safeguarding Improved in Russia ITAR-TASS, 5 September 2006 News item 2006-09-05 The Russian Defense Ministry will complete within two-three years the modernization of safeguarding systems of nuclear weapons facilities, the chief of the ministry's 12th Directorate, Lieutenant-General Vladimir Verkhovtsev, said in an interview with the military daily Krasnaya Zvezda published on Tuesday. more Russia Chemical Weapons Disposal Facility To Be Launched Sept 8 World News Connection News item 2006-08-30 The starting complex of the first stage of the chemical weapons disposal facility in the Maradykovo settlement (the Kirov region) will be put into operation on September 8, head of the Conventional Problems Department of the regional government Mikhail Manin told Itar-Tass on Tuesday. more Canada Contributes to Russia’s Chemical Weapons Destruction Program OPCW Press Release, 16 August 2006 News item 2006-08-16 Canada will contribute 100 million Canadian dollars (C$) towards the construction of a chemical weapons destruction facility at Kizner, in the Russian Federation. According to a recent announcement made by the Canadian Government this is part of Canada’s $1-billion commitment over 10 years to the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, launched by the G8 in 2002 under Canada’s leadership. more Chemical Weapons Treaty Model for World Security by Ramesh Thakur, Canberra Times, 14 August 2006 News item 2006-08-14 Recent events from the Middle East to north-east Asia have once again highlighted the unsatisfactory state of affairs with respect to the toolkit available to the international community for responding to the challenge of weapons of mass destruction. The "international community" is encountering great difficulty in deciding on the best response to the nuclear challenges from Iran and North Korea. When crossed, each set of "red lines" is shown up as empty bluffs. more A Look at U.S. and Russia Efforts to Destroy Chemical Weapons The Associated Press, 12 August 2006 News item 2006-08-14 In all, 178 nations pledged to get rid of more than 71,331 metric tons of chemical weapons under terms of the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention. The U.S. and Russia hold by far the largest chemical stocks, and say technical problems will keep them from getting the job done by a deadline of April 29, 2007. more Utah Incinerator to Help Destroy Chemical Weapons The Associated Press, 13 August 2006 News item 2006-08-14 It will take six years of continuous burning for the Army to finish destroying its largest stockpile of chemical weapons. An Army contractor plans to fire up the incinerator as early as Thursday to burn through 6,208 tons of gooey mustard agent - time has turned much of it to sludge - that fills 124,627 shells and bulk storage tanks. more China Weapons Cleanup Requires Five More Years The Associated Press, 12 August 2006 News item 2006-08-14 Efforts to recover and dispose of hundreds of thousands of chemical weapons abandoned in China by the Imperial army at the end of World War II will take five years longer than planned, a Japanese official said Friday. more Center for Diseases Control Approves Revised DuPont Plan for VX: Critics Unmoved by Development Delaware Online, 28 July 2006 News item 2006-08-08 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave a green light Thursday to a revised plan to truck wastes from a government nerve agent disposal plant in Indiana to DuPont's treatment plant in Deepwater, N.J., near the foot of the Delaware Memorial Bridge. more China Forms Bureau to Handle Chemical Weapons Left by Japan BBC International Reports (Asia), 5 August 2006 News item 2006-08-07 The Chinese government has set up a "leading group for handling the issue of chemical weapons abandoned by Japan", which is a trans-departmental operating mechanism for handling chemical weapons abandoned in China by Japan; and the Foreign Ministry's office for handling the issue of chemical weapons abandoned in China by Japan has also become a stand-alone departmental and bureau-level organ. Given the consistently frosty state of Sino-Japanese relations at this exceptional juncture, it will indeed be a rare accomplishment if China and Japan are able to translate the handling of abandoned chemical weapons into a turning point in the improvement of bilateral relations. more Russia Chemical Weapons Disposal Facility under Permanent Control Itar-Tass, 28 July 2006 News item 2006-07-28 Inspectors of the International Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons have begun permanent monitoring of the activities at a facility for destruction of chemical weapons that is being built in the settlement of Maradykovo in the Kirov region, a senior regional administration official, Mikhail Manin, said. more The United Kingdom Contributes to Russia’s Chemical Weapons Destruction Programme OPCW Press Release News item 2006-07-26 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has announced that it will contribute a substantial amount of funds towards the operationalisation of the chemical weapons destruction facility at Kizner, in the Russian Federation. more Japanese Chemical Weapons Recovered in China Agence France Presse News item 2006-07-26 Experts from China and Japan on Wednesday began to recover more than 600 chemical weapons left by retreating Japanese troops during World War II, state media said. more Expert Anticipates Little Change at BWC Conference Chris Schneidmiller, Global Security Newswire News item 2006-07-12 This year’s review conference for the Biological Weapons Convention could end with no significant action, extending a deadlock that began four years ago when the United States ended efforts to negotiate a verification system for the treaty, one expert said here Tuesday [July 4]. more Outlook Good for U.S.-Russian Plutonium Disposition, Energy Department Official Says Chris Schneidmiller, Global Security Newswire News item 2006-07-12 There is a “sense of optimism” about plans to eliminate weapon-grade plutonium in Russia and the United States, a senior U.S. Energy Department official said this week, without mentioning legislative moves in Washington that could strip the program of all funding. more G-8 Nations Tout Progress on WMD Work in Russia Chris Schneidmiller, Global Security Newswire News item 2006-07-06 The number of Russian submarines carrying nuclear fuel continues to dwindle as a multinational effort presses forward to deny terrorists access to former Soviet weapons of mass destruction, representatives from several countries said [Tuesday 4 July 2006]. more Progress Made Against Roadblocks to the Nunn-Lugar Program Senator Richard Lugar Press Release News item 2006-06-20 Progress has been made on two administrative issues that have challenged the Nunn-Lugar program throughout its nearly 15-year history. Russian and U.S. officials signed a 7-year extension of the Nunn-Lugar umbrella agreement. This agreement is necessary so that legal, tax and other disputes do not derail the program's work of destroying nuclear, biological and chemical weapons in the former Soviet Union. Failure to reach agreement would have stopped the work of the Nunn-Lugar program. more U.S., Russia Reach Deal On Securing Soviet WMD Peter Eisler, USA Today, 16 June 2006 News item 2006-06-16 U.S. and Russian officials have agreed on terms for a seven-year extension of programs that provide U.S. money and expertise to secure and destroy Soviet-era caches of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. more [Blue Grass] Open House to Educate about Chemical Weapon Destruction Ronica Shannon, Richmond Register, 11 June 2006 News item 2006-06-12 The community will have a chance to learn about the chemical weapon destruction process at Wednesday’s [14 June 2006] open house of the new Blue Grass Chemical Stockpile Outreach Office at 1000 Gibson Bay Dr. Suite 2. more Army's Toxic Ties to DuPont May Grow Jeff Montgomery, Delaware Online, 11 June 2006 News item 2006-06-12 A shake-up in the nation's chemical-weapons destruction program could send more toxic military waste shipments to a DuPont Co. treatment plant in New Jersey, adding to the plant's daily discharges into the Delaware River. more Mustard Agent Sampling Project Begins U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency Press Release, 6 June 2006 News item 2006-06-10 The U.S. Army and EG&G Defense Materials, Inc, today began a major, unprecedented joint project to sample the contents of Deseret Chemical Depot’s (DCD’s) stockpile of bulk containers filled with mustard blister agent. more U.S. Disposal of Chemical Weapons in the Ocean: Background and Issues for Congress CRS Report, 24 May 2006 News item 2006-06-10 The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report on the U.S. Disposal of Chemical Weapons in the Ocean. Full report can be found at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33432.pdf more Russia: Vessels Possibly Containing Chemical Weapons Found on Baltic Seabed World News Connection (8 June 2006) News item 2006-06-09 KALININGRAD, June 8 (Itar-Tass) -- Four ships sunk after the Second World War were discovered on the Baltic seabed. The ships that have not yet been surveyed may contain chemical weapons, Vadim Paka, the deputy director of the Shirshov Oceanology Institute for Atlantics in Kaliningrad, told Itar-Tass on Thursday. more Waste Handling Error at Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility U.S. Chemical Materials Agency Press Release, 6 June 2006 News item 2006-06-09 Monday afternoon, June 5, a cart of low level agent contaminated waste was mistakenly taken out of the Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (ABCDF) Ton Container Cleanout (TCC) Building. The waste remained on site just outside the building for less than an hour when plant workers recognized their error and directed the fork-lift driver to take the cart back inside the TCC building. more OSHA Recommends ‘VPP Star Status’ for Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility Safety and Health Commitment U.S. Chemical Materials Agency Press Release, 8 June 2006 News item 2006-06-09 An Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) review team has unanimously recommended the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (UMCDF) for OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) “Star” status because of its exemplary performance and commitment to safety and health. Final approval of the recommendation is expected from OSHA later this year. more U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency Realigns Stockpile Elimination Program U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency Press Release, 7 June 2006 News item 2006-06-09 Col. Jesse L. Barber became the first project manager for the U.S. Army’s Chemical Materials Agency’s (CMA) newly formed Chemical Stockpile Elimination Program (CSE) during a May 30th ceremony at the Chemical Demilitarization Training Facility in Edgewood, Md. more Russia: Maradykovskiy Chemical Weapons Disposal Facility Meeting Deadline World News Connection, 1 June 2006 News item 2006-06-01 The international commission, which inspected the Maradykovsky chemical weapons disposal facility, located in the Kirov region, has arrived at a conclusion that the facility will meet the in-service deadline, the Kirov region administration press center said. more Russian Chemical Weapons Destruction Programme Said On Schedule ITAR-TASS, 17 May 2006 News item 2006-05-31 Kirov, 17 May: Russia is sticking to the schedule for putting facilities for destroying stockpiles of chemical weapons into operation. Under the federal programme, the destruction of nerve agents at the facility in the village of Maradykovo in Kirov Region will begin in the second half of this year. more Scientific Survey of Weapons at Sea Underway KHON 2 News, 31 May 2006 News item 2006-05-31 Scientists are converging on Oahu's leeward coast to study the impact of weapons the army dumped in the ocean decades ago, in response to congressional and community demands after KHON2's investigative series "Buried at Sea." more Statement to the Forty-Fifth Session of the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) U.S. Department of State, 25 May 2006 News item 2006-05-31 Statement delivered by Ambassador Eric M. Javits, Head of the U.S. Delegation, on 16 May 2006 more U.S. Committed to Transparency in Chemical Weapons Destruction U.S. Department of State, 25 May 2006 News item 2006-05-26 The head of the U.S. delegation to the OPCW, Ambassador Eric Javits, says technical issues slow chemical weapons destruction efforts. more Umatilla Depot Destroys Bombs Before Storms The Oregonian, 23 May 2006 News item 2006-05-25 Workers at Umatilla Chemical Depot finished destroying the nation's supply of 500-pound nerve-agent bombs on Friday, shortly before storms shut down the chemical weapons incinerator. more Arkansas Chemical Weapons Samples Delivered to Maryland WREG-TV, 21 May 2006 News item 2006-05-22 The Pine Bluff Arsenal announced today that small samples of a chemical-weapons agent from the facility were safely delivered Saturday to a military facility in Maryland. more OPCW Team Completes Anniston Stockpile Inspection Chemical Materials Agency, 16 May 2006 News item 2006-05-19 The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) sent a team of international experts to Anniston Army Depot last week to inspect the stockpile of chemical munitions in storage. more $513B Defense Bill Would Keep Carrier Kennedy [and Study Sea Dumped Chemical Weapons] By David Lerman, Daily Press, 12 May 2006 News item 2006-05-12 The House approved a defense bill Thursday that would preserve a fleet of 12 aircraft carriers, give troops a 2.7 percent pay raise, and study the potential harm caused by chemical weapons dumped off U.S. coastlines decades ago. more Pueblo Could Ship CW Disposal Waste for Processing Global Security Newswire, 9 May 2006 News item 2006-05-11 The U.S. Army is considering shipping waste from chemical weapons neutralization at the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado to New Jersey for final processing, Defense Environment Alert reported last week. more Pueblo CW Disposal Schedule Left Off Bill Global Security Newswire, 8 May 2006 News item 2006-05-11 The U.S. Senate last week rejected an amendment to a spending bill that would have designated a schedule for disposal of weapons stored at the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado. more U.S. Army Confirms Missing CW Disposal Deadline Global Security Newswire, 9 May 2006 News item 2006-05-11 The U.S. Army confirmed [9 May 2006] that it would not finish chemical weapons disposal by the 2012 deadline mandated by the Chemical Weapons Convention. more Pine Bluff Arsenal Prepares to Resume CW Disposal Global Security Newswire, 10 May 2006 News item 2006-05-11 Weapons incineration at the Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Arkansas is expected to resume within two weeks following months of repairs, the Pine Bluff Commercial reported [on 9 May 2006]. more 166 Tons of Lewisite Eliminated Over Two Months at Kambarka Itar-Tass, April 29, 2006 News item 2006-05-05 With the occasion of the Chemical Weapons Victims Day on April 29, 2006, the first numbers of the lewisite destruction process were reported by Itar-Tass. more Libya Chemical Weapons Destruction Costly By Michael Nguyen, Arms Control Today, May 2006 News item 2006-05-05 The United States is considering aiding Libya with the destruction of its chemical weapons stockpile, but Department of Defense officials are expressing reservations about spending the department’s limited threat reduction funds on a potentially expensive project. more Senate Likely to Adopt Chemical Demilitarization Schedule [for Pueblo Chemical Depot] By Peter Roper, The Pueblo Chieftain, May 4, 2006 News item 2006-05-05 more A long way to go in eliminating chemical weapons Jonathan B. Tucker and Paul F. Walker, The Boston Globe, 1 May 2006 News item 2006-05-02 This article gives a -- probably first-of-its-kind -- overview on CW arsenals in the world and the status of their destruction. more Colorado Senators Urge U.S. to Meet 2012 CW Deadline Global Security Newswire, 27 April 2006 News item 2006-04-28 U.S. Colorado Senators Wayne Allard (Republican) and Ken Salazar (Democrat) on Tuesday [25 April] introduced a Sense of the Senate resolution calling upon the United States to meet a 2012 treaty deadline for completely destroying the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile, the Pueblo Chieftain newspaper reported. more U.S., Russia closing in on deal to extend cooperative threat reduction By Sebastian Sprenger, Inside the Pentagon, 6 April 2006 News item 2006-04-28 The United States and Russia are close to a deal that would extend their Cooperative Threat Reduction agreement for another seven years, officials from both countries tell Inside the Pentagon. more U.S. Requests Five-Year Extension for Chemical Weapons Destruction Rati Bishnoi, Inside the Pentagon (27 April 2006) News item 2006-04-28 "Setbacks and delays" in implementing the U.S. chemical weapons destruction program prompted the government last week to seek a five-year extension delaying the deadline by which the entire stockpile must be eradicated to 2012, a State Department official said 20 April 2006. more Unites States hinders Russia's chemical disarmament From RIA Novosti military commentator Viktor Litovkin News item 2006-04-28 This article covers different topics, such as the nearing opening of the Maradykovsky CWDF, foreign assistance to the Russian CWD programme, and challenges in the implementation of foreign assistance programmes. more Japan, China seek extension of chemical weapons disposal deadline BBC International Reports (Original source: Kyodo News Agency), 28 April 2006 News item 2006-04-28 TOKYO -- Japan and China have asked the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to give them five more years to complete a Japan-led project to collect and dispose of abandoned wartime chemical weapons in China after finding it difficult to meet the April 2007 deadline, the Foreign Ministry said Friday [28 April]. more US Senator asks Senate Armed Services Committee to allow incentivized contracts for work on Pueblo Depot US Federal News, 27 April 2006 Janina de Guzman 2006-04-28 WASHINGTON -- The office of Senator Wayne Allard (Republican, Colorado) issued a press release asking for a provision to the 2007 Defense Authorization bill that will allow the U.S. Department of Defense to use incentive mechanisms to accelerate the destruction of chemical weapons in its chemical demilitarization program. The press release follows. more Russia: Start of Operations at Maradykovskiy CWDF Set for Second Half of 2006 World News Connection, 25 April 2006 News item 2006-04-26 The first section of the chemical weapons destruction facility in the settlement of Maradykovskiy in Kirov Oblast will begin operating in the second half of this year. Mikhail Manin, the head of the Kirov Oblast government office handling convention-related issues, informed RIA Novosti of this on Thursday [20 April 2006]. more Pentagon assures chem demil funds; Colorado Senator Wayne Allard says he will want continued updates By John Norton, The Pueblo Chieftain, 18 April 2006 News item 2006-04-20 A Pentagon official overseeing the destruction of the nation's chemical weapons stockpile assured a Pueblo crowd and Senator Wayne Allard [Republican, Colorado] last night [17 April] that his office supported continued funding for the program here. more First Observance of Remembrance Day at OPCW Headquarters, 27 April 2006, 3 p.m. Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Press Announcement News item 2006-04-20 On Thursday, 27 April 2006, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will observe for the first time the Remembrance Day for All Victims of Chemical Warfare. more U.S. CW Destruction to Last Through 2017 By Chris Schneidmiller, Global Security Newswire, 18 April 2006 News item 2006-04-20 WASHINGTON — The United States does not anticipate eliminating its chemical weapons stockpile before 2017, five years beyond the final deadline set by international treaty, officials said yesterday. more Status of Russian chemical weapons stockpile destruction Status of agent destruction at individual stockpile sites as of 20 January 2006 News item 2006-04-19 This item includes a map showing the location of Russian chemical weapons stockpiles and a chart showing the status of chemical agent destruction at each stockpile site. more Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to Draft Resolution on Chemical Weapons Buried at Baltic Sea Baltic Daily News, 14 April 2006 News item 2006-04-18 VILNIUS -- Lithuanian MP Gediminas Jakavonis managed to overcome the bureaucratic obstacles at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the resolution he had initiated over chemical weapons buried in the Baltic Sea. more Power mishaps at APG probed: No one injured in chemical testing when fans failed By Justin Fenton, The Baltimore Sun, 14 April 2006 News item 2006-04-18 Since Aberdeen Proving Ground cleared a stockpile of deadly mustard agent last year, the distant booms of guns and occasional flashes of light have been the only reminders of the weapons testing taking place beyond the gates of the sprawling military base. more Japan, China to seek extension of chemical weapons disposal deadline Kyodo News, 16 April 2006 News item 2006-04-17 TOKYO -- Japan and China will together request next week that a U.N. organization give them five more years to complete a Japan-led project to collect and dispose of abandoned wartime chemical weapons in China after finding it impossible to meet a 2007 deadline, Japanese government sources said on 16 April 2006. more US Defense Department will not meet deadline for chemical weapons destruction Global Green USA Press Release, 13 April 2006 Janina de Guzman 2006-04-14 WASHINGTON -- In a surprise move to observers of the US chemical weapons destruction program, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced on 10 April 2006 in letters to the chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees that the United States “will not be able to meet” the final 2012 deadline under the international Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) for complete elimination of its 31,500 tons of declared chemical weapons. more International Inspectors Reported That the Storage Conditions of Chemical Weapons at the Maradykovskiy Facility Meet Standard Requirements RIA Novosti, 13 April 2006 News item 2006-04-14 The storage conditions of toxic agents at the facility in the settlement of Maradykovskiy (Kirov Oblast) meet standard requirements. That was the conclusion of the international inspectors who visited the facility, Mikhail Manin, the head of the Kirov Oblast government office handling convention-related issues, informed on Thursday [13 April]. more Brochure on Canadian, UK Assistance to Russian Chemical Weapons Destruction Program Stephan Robinson 2006-04-13 This Russian-language brochure, published by the Canadian and British governments, describes their assistance to the Russian Federal Chemical Weapons Destruction Programme. more Rumsfeld: U.S. won't meet deadline for chem demil By John Norton, The Pueblo Chieftain Online News item 2006-04-13 Thirty years after the Army announced plans to destroy all its aging chemical weapons, the secretary of defense has admitted to Congress that the job won't be done in time to meet an international treaty deadline. more Weapons destruction won't meet deadline; Efforts could slow at Kentucky site By James R. Carroll, The Courier-Journal News item 2006-04-13 WASHINGTON -- The United States officially is acknowledging it will not meet the 2012 international deadline for destroying all of its chemical weapons, including those at the Blue Grass Army Depot near Richmond, Kentucky. more Army can calm nerve-agent fears The Indianapolis Star, 10 April 2006 News item 2006-04-10 In this editorial The Indianapolis Star, a daily based in Indianapolis, Indiana, argues that the US Army should consider destroying the Newport VX stockpile, including the caustic hydrolysate byproduct, entirely on-site at the Newport Chemical Depot in Western Indiana. more Binary Destruction Facility at Pine Bluff Arsenal Reaches Milestone By Amy Riggin, Pine Bluff Commercial (Pine Bluff, Arkansas), 7 April 2006 News item 2006-04-10 WHITE HALL, ARKANSAS -- The U.S. Army Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Project's binary destruction facility reached a substantial milestone Thursday [6 April] as workers at the Pine Bluff Arsenal destroyed the last of the United States' inventory of the binary chemical precursor DF. more Arsenal on track with burn effort; Project's first year rated a success By Katherine Marks, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 10 April 2006 News item 2006-04-10 Since the Pine Bluff Arsenal [Arkansas, USA] began incinerating its aging stock of chemical weapons last year [2005], hundreds of thousands of rockets containing deadly nerve gas have been destroyed, and the arsenal is on schedule to destroy its stockpile by the 2012 deadline, officials said last week. more China Conducts CW Attack Response Drill Global Security Newswire, 7 April 2006 News item 2006-04-07 The Chinese military on Wednesday [5 April 2006] tested its chemical weapons response capabilities in Qingdao City, the Xinhua News Agency reported. more Germany Hosts OPCW Challenge Inspection Exercise Press Release, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons News item 2006-04-06 The Federal Republic of Germany organised and hosted a challenge inspection exercise from 26 to 31 March 2006. more Arkansas arsenal completes 1-year of weapons incineration program Associated Press, 30 March 2006 News item 2006-04-06 WHITE HALL, Arkansas -- Wednesday [29 March 2006] marked the one-year anniversary of the destruction of the military's chemical weapons at the Pine Bluff Arsenal. more Pentagon considers whether to help Libya destroy its chemical weapons By Robert Burns, Associated Press, 31 March 2006 News item 2006-04-06 WASHINGTON -- Defense Department specialists made an unannounced visit to Libya in January to see what it would take to help Moammar Gadhafi's government destroy its tons of chemical weapons, a process that could cost $100 million (euro 82.7 million). more History of Site of Russian CWDF in Kambarka Recounted World News Connection (Original Source: Rossiyskaya Gazeta), 3 April 2006 News item 2006-04-04 Operations began at the chemical weapons destruction facility in Kambarka in March this year [2006], but the facility's history began in November 1941. more Russian Federal Industry Agency's Kholstov Reports Progress in CW Destruction World News Connection (Original Source: Rossiyskaya Gazeta), 3 April 2006 News item 2006-04-04 In this article, Viktor Kholstov, Deputy Chief of the Federal Agency for Industry -- the lead entity implementing Russian chemical weapons destruction -- reports on the progress made in destroying Russia's chemical weapons stockpiles. more Quality of Life in Kambarka Enhanced by CWDF Construction Project World News Connection (Original Source: Rossiyskaya Gazeta), 3 April 2006 News item 2006-04-03 There are milestones in our life in which we can and must take pride. The start of operations at the first chemical weapons destruction facility (CWDF) in Udmurtia not only confirmed our state's commitment to its international obligations, but also has had an extremely beneficial effect on life in Kambarka. The destruction of the dangerous stockpiles has improved the quality of life in the old city on the Kama River. more U.S. Considers Aiding Libyan CW Disposal Global Security Newswire, 31 March 2006 News item 2006-04-01 The U.S. Defense Department is considering aiding Libya’s chemical weapons disposal efforts, but estimates that such assistance would cost $100 million, the Associated Press reported today (31 March 2006). more Secondary phase of chem weapons eliminating facility to open ITAR-TASS, 21 March 2006 News item 2006-03-21 KAMBARKA, Udmurtia -- The second phase of the industrial complex for the elimination of chemical weapons is to be put into operation here on Tuesday [21 March 2006]. more Progress in Russia's Chemical Disarmament Related World News Connection (Original Source: Moscow Vremya Novostey), 20 March 2006 News item 2006-03-21 The second chemical weapons destruction plant began operating in Kambarka, a small city in Udmurtia. The first of these, in the settlement of Gornyy in Saratov Oblast, was opened in December 2002 and completed its work at the end of last year. more OPCW Executive Council backs Russia's chemical disarmament deadline Interfax, 20 March 2006 News item 2006-03-21 MOSCOW -- The Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) recommended at its 44th session that the organization's member-countries approve December 21, 2009 as the deadline for the completion of the third stage of Russia's chemical weapons disposal program. more Russia: Safety Inspection of Kambarka CWDF Completed World News Connection (Original Source: RIA Novosti), 17 March 2006 News item 2006-03-20 The enterprise for the destruction of chemical weapons in the Udmurt city of Kambarka is safe. This was reported on Wednesday [15 March] at a press conference in Yekaterinburg by Yevgeniy Samokhvalov, a member of the state commission for the acceptance of the commission and the chief of the state fire oversight administration of the Volga-Urals Regional Center of the Russian Ministry of Civil Defense, Emergencies, and Natural Disasters. more Russian Government Paper Highlights New CW Destruction Facility World News Connection (Original Source: Rossiyskaya Gazeta), 16 March 2006 News item 2006-03-17 The Russian-language Rossiyskaya Gazeta -- the government's daily newspaper -- on 15 March 2006 devotes page eighteen to a feature headlined "Clean Kambarka. Russian Technologies for Destroying Chemical Weapons Prove Their Safety," following the 1 March launch of a new CW destruction facility at Kambarka in Udmurtia, partly-funded by foreign contributions. more Russia: Plans for Lewisite Destruction at Kambarka CWDF Detailed World News Connection (Original Source: Moscow Izvestiya), 16 March 2006 News item 2006-03-17 A lewisite recycling plant has been opened in Udmurtia. The second plant for the recycling of chemical weapons began operating yesterday in Kambarka, a settlement in Udmurtia. more Deep in the forest, Russia scraps chemical arms at 'Site 1203' Agence France Presse, 5 March 2006 News item 2006-03-08 At Russia's newest chemical weapons destruction plant, deep in the heart of the forbidingly thick taiga forest, even nature seems to have been enrolled to insure maximum security and supplement already impressive man-made measures. more Russian Federation Begins Chemical Weapons Destruction at New Site in Kambarka Press Release, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons News item 2006-03-07 On 1 March 2006, the Russian Federation officially commenced chemical weapons destruction operations at the chemical weapons destruction facility located at Kambarka in the Udmurt Republic. more War gas disposal facility launched in Russia region By Roza Magasumova, ITAR-TASS News item 2006-03-01 KAMBARKA (Udmurtia) -- The first phase of the technological complex for destruction of chemical weapons will be launched in Udmurtia's town of Kambarka on Wednesday [1 March 2006]. more Liberia Ratifies the Chemical Weapons Convention Press Release, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons News item 2006-03-01 The Republic of Liberia deposited its instrument of ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention with the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 23 February 2006. Thirty days after that date, on 25 March 2006, Liberia will become the 178th State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention. more Cooperative Threat Budget Request Down for FY 2007 By David Francis and David Ruppe, Global Security Newswire, News item 2006-02-24 WASHINGTON -- U.S. President George W. Bush’s fiscal 2007 Defense Department budget request asks for $372.1 million for Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction programs, a 10-percent decrease from fiscal 2006 funding of $415.5 million. more Crackdown on Japanese Companies Illegally Exporting Equipment That Can Be Used to Produce Chemical Weapons VOICE OF AMERICA NEWS (English Service), 17 February 2006 News item 2006-02-23 In the latest crackdown on Japanese companies illegally exporting equipment that can be used to produce weapons, police have raided two small trading companies in Tokyo. more Swedish Minister Finds Baltic Gas Pipeline Dangerous to Maritime Environment Baltic Daily News, 17 February 2006 News item 2006-02-23 KALININGRAD -- Chemical weapons sunk to the bottom of the Baltic Sea could be touched and the ecological balance of the sea upset by the building of the North European gas pipeline, Swedish Foreign Minister Laila Freivalds said. more Japan, China to Set Up Joint Body for Chemical Weapons Removal ITAR-TASS, Asia Africa Intelligence Wire, Jiji Press, 21 February 2006 News item 2006-02-22 TOKYO -- Japan and China will set up a joint body to facilitate the removal of chemical weapons the defunct Japanese Imperial Army left in China during World War II, it was learned on 21 February 2006. more Implementing Chemical Weapons Destruction in Russia; An Investigation of Best Practices By Paul F. Walker and Janina de Guzman, Strengthening the Global Partnership Issue Brief, February 2006 Janina de Guzman 2006-02-20 The Strengthening the Global Partnership February 2006 Issue Brief "Implementing Chemical Weapons Destruction in Russia; An Investigation of Best Practices," written by staff of the Global Green USA Legacy Program, provides an update on the Russian chemical weapons destruction program and foreign assistance to Russian CWD, and explores challenges and solutions to ensure timely, safe and environmentally-sound chemical weapons destruction. more Proceedings of the 2005 Green Cross National Dialogue meeting Stephan Robinson 2006-02-17 The proceedings of the 7th Green Cross National Dialogue Forum on Russian chemical weapons destruction, held 1-2 November 2005 in Moscow, are now available online. more Russians Wary of Chemical Arms Plan; Method for Dismantling Stockpile is Debated as Deadline Looms By Peter Finn, Washington Post Foreign Service, 15 February 2006 News item 2006-02-15 MIRNY, Russia -- On a closed military base, just outside this small town cut from a forest along the Trans-Siberian railroad, sits one of Russia's deadliest stockpiles of chemical weapons. Nearly 7,000 tons of chemical agents are packed inside 40,000 aerial bombs that are secured in containers made of concrete and steel. more Chemical Wars By Gary J. Bass, The New York Times, 12 February 2006 News item 2006-02-13 This is an excerpt from a review of Jonathan B. Tucker's book "War of Nerves: Chemical Warfare from World War I to Al-Qaeda" (479 pp. Pantheon Books, 2006). Dr. Tucker is a Senior Researcher at the Monterey Institute's Center for Nonproliferation Studies. more French prime minister to arrive in Moscow for talks By Nikolai Morozov, ITAR-TASS, 13 February 2006 News item 2006-02-13 PARIS -- French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin is beginning a two-day visit to Russia on 13 February 2006 to discuss economic cooperation. [Editor's note: During Prime Minister de Villepin's visit, an agreement on cooperation in the destruction of Russian chemical weapons will also be signed.] more Russian official praises chemical weapons destruction programme BBC International Reports (Original Source: Radio Mayak, Moscow), February 8, 2006 News item 2006-02-10 Deputy Head of the Federal Industry Agency Viktor Kholstov told Mayak radio's "Panorama" programme on 8 February 2006 that Russia is doing its utmost to make the [chemical weapons destruction] process safe for people and the environment. more Workers Finish Cleaning and Decontaminating Emptied Mustard Agent Containers Chemical Materials Agency Press Release, 7 February 2006 News item 2006-02-09 ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Maryland, USA -- Today [7 February 2006], workers at the Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (ABCDF) safely completed cleaning and decontaminating all 1,817 containers that once stored mustard agent at the Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG). more Address to the United Nations Security Council By U.S. Senator Richard Lugar, 6 February 2006 News item 2006-02-07 U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (Republican, Indiana), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and architect of the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, addressed the U.N. Security Council in New York City on 6 February 2006. This is a transcript of his speech. more Russia Criticizes G-8 on Disarmament Aid Global Security Newswire News item 2006-02-07 A top Russian nuclear official last month accused the Group of Eight industrialized nations’ Global Partnership program of failing to assist WMD disarmament and nonproliferation programs in his country to the extent promised, Agence France-Presse reported. more U.S. Senator Lugar remarks at new Defense Threat Reduction Center US Federal News, 26 January 2006 News item 2006-02-06 US Senator Richard Lugar, architect of the US Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program, outlined his future plans for the CTR Program at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) building. DTRA is the key implementing agency of US CTR projects. more Russia adds WMD, terrorism to agenda for Group of Eight summit Associated Press News item 2006-02-06 MOSCOW -- Russia has drafted a broad agenda for the summit of the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations it will host this summer, including the fight against terrorism and efforts to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction, a Kremlin official said on 6 February 2006. more Russian CW Destruction Program Said To Be Jeopardized by Delays in Foreign Aid World News Connection (Original source: Moscow Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye) News item 2006-02-03 The Western states are not meeting the commitments they assumed for the destruction of Russia 's chemical weapons, according to Major-General Nikolay Bezborodov, member of the State Commission on Chemical Disarmament and chairman of a subcommittee of the State Duma Committee on Defense. more VX Processing Costs at Newport Set at $1.2 Billion Global Security Newswire News item 2006-02-03 Cost estimates for destruction of VX nerve agent at the U.S. Army’s Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana have reached $1.2 billion, the Terre Haute Tribune-Star reported on 2 February 2006. more Djibouti Ratifies the Chemical Weapons Convention Press Release, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons News item 2006-01-31 THE HAGUE -- Djibouti deposited its instrument of ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention with the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 25 January 2006. more Pentagon Memo Confirms Construction Funds Available for Colorado and Kentucky Weapons Disposal Projects in 2006 Press Release, Chemical Weapons Working Group News item 2006-01-31 BEREA, KY -- In a memo sent to Congressional Defense Committees late yesterday [26 January 2006], the Pentagon acknowledged they intend to use $44 million of the $51 million appropriated in 2006 for construction of the chemical disposal facilities in Colorado and Kentucky. more New DoD Chem Demil Chief Touted as 'Good Bridge' to Congress Defense Environment Alert, Vol. 14, No. 2 News item 2006-01-31 Environmental and citizen activists are lauding the Bush administration's recent appointment of a long-time House staffer on chemical demilitarization issues to oversee the Defense Department's chemical weapons destruction programs, following the suspension last year of previous program administrator Patrick Wakefield. more Assessment of Study Potentially Linking Low-Level Sarin Nerve Agent Exposure to Risk of Brain Cancer Death Armed Forces Epidemiological Board Begins Assessment News item 2006-01-31 The Armed Forces Epidemiological Board (AFEB), a 20-member scientific advisory committee, recently began its assessment of a study potentially linking low-level sarin nerve agent exposure of soldiers [circa 1991] at Khamisiyah [southeastern Iraq] with an increased risk of brain cancer death. more Kambarka to host meeting on chemicals elimination plant launch ITAR-TASS News item 2006-01-24 KAMBARKA, Udmurtia -- The Russian federal agency on safe storage and chemical weapons elimination will hold a meeting in Kambarka, Udmurtia, to discuss the launch of a chemical weapons elimination facility. more Roiling the Baltic Waters By Owen Matthews and Anna Nemtsova, Newsweek International News item 2006-01-23 In June 1947, Capt.-Lt. Konstantin Tershkov of the Soviet Navy had a serious problem on his hands. He'd been ordered to dump 34,000 metric tons of captured Nazi chemical weapons into the deepest part of the Baltic Sea by the end of the summer. more Russia: Federal Industry Agency's Kholstov on Social Aspects of CW Destruction World News Connection (Original source: Rossiyskaya Gazeta, 27 November 2005) News item 2006-01-22 Social issues are the object of special concern in the Federal Targeted Program for the Destruction of Chemical Weapons. We regard the social security of the population in the locations where chemical weapons are stored and destroyed as an exceptionally important state objective and we are striving to handle these matters in the best way possible. more Russia Prepares Chemical Weapons Destruction Facility in Kambarka World News Connection (Original source: ITAR-TASS) News item 2006-01-11 KAMBARKA -- At the chemical weapons destruction plant in Kambarka (Udmurtia), specialists have begun readiness checks of systems for launch, which is scheduled for the last ten-day period of January 2006. more Status of U.S. chemical weapons stockpile destruction Agent Destruction Status at Individual Stockpiles as of 1 January 2006 News item 2006-01-01 This item includes a map showing the location of U.S. chemical weapons stockpiles and a chart showing the status of agent destruction at each stockpile site. more Russian Federal Agency for Industry Deputy Chief Interviewed on CW Destruction World News Connection (Original source: Rossiyskaya Gazeta) News item 2005-12-29 This article features an interview with Viktor Kholstov, deputy chief of the Federal Agency for Industry and head of the Russian delegation to the 10th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention. The Conference was held 7-11 November 2005 at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons headquarters in The Hague. Mr. Kholstov discusses the Conference proceedings in this interview. more Russia Recruiting Specialists For New Chemical Weapons Disposal Plant World News Connection (Original source: ITAR-TASS newswire) News item 2005-12-29 KIROV -- Recruitment of specialists has started for the facility to destroy chemical weapons at Maradykovo settlement in Kirov Region, the head of the information and analysis center on the destruction of chemical weapons, Lyubov Cherezova, told ITAR-TASS on 29 December 2005. more New chemical arms destruction plant ready for work in Russian Urals BBC International Reports (Original source: ITAR-TASS newswire) News item 2005-12-27 KAMBARKA -- The first two tonnes of lewisite were destroyed during the test launch of a facility for the destruction of chemical weapons in Kambarka (Udmurtia). The facility is fully ready for the industrial destruction of the stocks of toxic substances stored here. more Government Approves Draft Russian-French Agreement on Chemical Weapons World News Connection (Original source: Interfax) News item 2005-12-27 MOSCOW -- The Russian government has endorsed a draft intergovernmental agreement between Russia and France on cooperation in the destruction of Russia's chemical weapons. more Russia Gives RUR4 Billion For Disposal Of War Gases' Reaction Mass World News Connection (Original source: ITAR-TASS) News item 2005-12-23 GORNY (Saratov region) -- The federal budget will assign 3-4 billion rubles for processing of over 1.1 tonnes of yperite and lewisite at the Gorny facility in the Saratov region, deputy head of the Federal Industry Agency Viktor Kholstov said on 23 December 2005. more Russian Official Says Chemical Weapons Promises Kept World News Connection (Original source: ITAR-TASS) News item 2005-12-23 GORNYY SETTLEMENT (Saratov Region) -- Russia is honouring in full its international commitments on the destruction of its stocks of chemical weapons [CW], the deputy head of the Federal Industry Agency (Rosprom) [and former head of the disbanded Russian Munitions Agency], [Col-Gen] Viktor Kholstov, said on 23 December 2005 in Gornyy settlement, Saratov Region, where he watched the destruction of the last kilograms of CW which have been kept here since the 1940s, a total of 1,143.2 tonnes. more Gornyy Chemical Weapons Destruction Facility's Future Work Plans World News Connection (Original source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta) News item 2005-12-23 The last chemical agents stored at local test ranges will be destroyed on 23 December 2005 at the chemical weapons destruction plant in the village of Gornyy, Saratov Oblast. [Editor's note: In addition to the official view, this article provides the perspective of residents of Krasnopartizanskiy Rayon, location of the Gornyyy plant.] more President Issues Memorandum for Secretary of State [Waiver on Conditions for Expending Funds on Russian Chemical Weapons Destruction Facility] US Fed News News item 2005-12-22 WASHINGTON -- The White House released the following memorandum: SUBJECT: Waiver of Conditions on Obligation and Expenditure of Funds for Planning, Design, and Construction of a Chemical Weapons Destruction Facility in Russia for Calendar Year 2006 more New Zealand Government Contributing $1.2 million to Russian Disarmament Projects Asia Africa Intelligence Wire News item 2005-12-22 WELLINGTON -- New Zealand is contributing $1.2 million to a Siberian chemical weapons destruction project and to help the decommissioning of Russia's last plutonium-producing nuclear reactor, the Government said on 22 December 2005. more A Year of Success in Tackling Proliferation Threats Across the Soviet Union PA News, Ministry of Defence News Release (328/2005) issued by the Government News Network News item 2005-12-21 Today the Government published the 3rd Annual Report on the UK's programmes to address WMD proliferation threats across the Former Soviet Union. more Russian News Agency Adds Chemical Disarmament Data to Portal World News Connection (Original source: ITAR-TASS) News item 2005-12-16 MOSCOW -- Another information resource -- the Chemical Disarmament electronic magazine -- has been added to the open pages of the ITAR-TASS web portal. The project has been implemented jointly with the Russian Federal Agency on Industry, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper and the Arms-TASS military-technology news agency. more Destruction of Russia's Cold War Legacy WMD; Reid Welcomes New Irish Contribution PA News, Ministry of Defence News Release (325/2005) issued by the Government News Network Janina de Guzman 2005-12-16 The UK-MoD managed programme to help destroy Russia's Cold War legacy of chemical weapons received a boost on 16 December 2005 when Ireland pledged more funds. more Moscow Research Institute Chief Interviewed on CW Destruction Program World News Connection (Original source: Rossiyskaya Gazeta) News item 2005-12-14 Who in Russia provides scientific support for everything relating to the elimination of chemical weapons stockpiles? Why are these approaches and technologies chosen, rather than others? By what means is the safety of personnel and the population close to chemical weapons destruction facilities guaranteed? Viktor Petrunin, general director of the State Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology (the GosNIIOKhT FGUP [Federal State Unitary Enterprise]), answers these and other questions from Rossiyskaya Gazeta's readers. more Supporting Chemical Weapons Destruction in the Russian Federation; Sweden, United Kingdom, Czech Republic Press Release, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons News item 2005-12-12 Supporting Chemical Weapons Destruction in the Russian Federation: Sweden and the United Kingdom Sign Cooperation Assistance Agreement and Czech Republic Increases Financial Contribution. more Russian Government Sets Up Protection Zone Around Kambarka Chemical Weapons Dump World News Connection (Original source: Moscow Agentstvo Voyennykh Novostey) News item 2005-12-09 MOSCOW -- The Russian government has approved plans to establish an 87-sq.km. protection zone around the complex of facilities for the storage and destruction of chemical weapons at the town of Kambarka in the Udmurt Republic. more Completion of chemical weapons disposal to be delayed until 2012+ AP Alert (Original source: Kyodo) News item 2005-12-07 TOKYO -- The completion deadline of a Japan-led project to collect and dispose of abandoned wartime chemical weapons in China will be put off until April 2012 from the current April 2007 date due to a delay in bilateral work to build essential facilities, Japanese government sources said on 7 December 2005. more Deputy Head of the Russian Federal Agency on Industry Meets OPCW Director-General Press Release, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons News item 2005-11-18 THE HAGUE -- On 10 November 2005, H.E. General V.I. Kholstov, Deputy Head of the Federal Agency on Industry of the Russian Federation visited the headquarters of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague and met Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, the OPCW Director-General. more Pakistan 'Wishes To See the World Free of Chemical Weapons' World News Connection (Original Source: The News [Islamabad]) [excerpt] News item 2005-11-17 ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan on Wednesday [16 November 2005] sent out a loud and clear message to the world capitals that no unauthorised person could acquire any kind of chemicals in the country that could be used for manufacturing illegal chemical weapons. more OPCW Extends National Implementation Deadline By Chris Schneidmiller, Global Security Newswire News item 2005-11-16 WASHINGTON -- Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention last week gave their fellow member countries an additional year to enact the domestic legislative and administrative measures required to implement the treaty. more Exercise Begins At Chemical Weapon Storage Facility In Russia's Udmurtia World News Connection (Original Source: Itar-Tass in Russian) News item 2005-11-15 IZHEVSK -- A command-post exercise on 15 November 2005 began at the chemical weapon storage facility in Kambarka (Udmurtia). more Canada Dumped Chemical Weapons Off Western Coast Global Security Newswire News item 2005-11-15 The state of chemical weapons dumped by Canada off the coast of British Columbia in 1947 is unknown, the CanWest News Service reported on 15 November 2005. more Russia: Head Of Chemical Weapons Agency Inspects Kambarka Arsenal World News Connection (Original Source: Itar-Tass in English) News item 2005-11-14 KAMBARKA -- The head of the Russian Federal Agency For Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons, Valery Kapashin, has visited a war gases elimination facility in the town of Kambarka, the region of Udmurtia in western Urals, to check its readiness for state inspection, a source at the Udmurtian government told Itar-Tass on 14 November 2005. more The Tenth Session of the Conference of the States Parties Concludes Press Release, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons News item 2005-11-11 The Tenth Session Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), convened from 7 to 11 November in The Hague, the Netherlands, has concluded on 11 November 2005. more Guarding of chemical weapons reliable in Russia - official By Alexander Konovalov, Itar-Tass News item 2005-11-03 MOSCOW -- Russia takes all necessary measures for safe storage of chemical weapons, Federal Industry Agency deputy chief Viktor Kholstov said. more Chemical Weapons Destruction Forum Opens In Moscow Interfax-Military News Agency News item 2005-11-01 MOSCOW -- Chemical weapons destruction is the main issue on the agenda of the social forum opened in Moscow Tuesday (1 November 2005) on the initiative of the Russian Green Cross. more State Commission: Russian Chemical Disarmament Program May Need Changes Interfax-AVN News item 2005-11-01 MOSCOW -- The Russian State Commission on Chemical Disarmament concedes that the program of chemical arms destruction adopted by the Russian government on 24 October 2005 may be reconsidered in the future. more Russian official details chemical weapons destruction facilities BBC International Reports (Text of report by Russian news agency Interfax-AVN) News item 2005-11-01 MOSCOW -- Russia is about to complete the construction of two new chemical destruction facilities, one in the town of Kambarka in Udmurt Republic, and the other one in the village of Maradykovo in Kirov Region. more OPCW Director Seeks Middle East Inroads Arms Control Today News item 2005-11-01 Efforts to win universal support for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) have foundered because of resistance from key countries in the Middle East and elsewhere. But the head of the international organization charged with implementing the CWC told Arms Control Today that some limited progress has been made in getting Middle Eastern countries to discuss the subject. more U.S. didn't dump chemical arms off just its own shores By John M.R. Bull, Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia) News item 2005-10-31 As World War II drew to a close, the Army was faced with scant storage space in ordnance depots at home and huge chemical weapons stockpiles overseas. The solution: Dump the weapons off the coast of whatever country they were in. The result: U.S.-made weapons of mass destruction litter the coasts of more than 11 countries -- including Italy, France, India, Australia, the Philippines, Japan, Denmark and Norway, according to a 2001 Army report recently released to the Daily Press. more Canada Pledges $47M for Russian CW Destruction Global Security Newswire News item 2005-10-24 The Canadian Foreign Ministry announced last week [week of 17 October 2005] that Canada would give Russia USD 47 million [CAD 55 million] to help cover the costs of chemical weapon destruction, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. more VX Destruction at Newport, Indiana Moves Forward Global Security Newswire News item 2005-10-24 The contractor at Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana as of last week [week of 17 October 2005] had neutralized about 2 1/2 percent of VX nerve agent stored at the facility, the Associated Press reported. more Democratic Republic of the Congo Ratifies the Chemical Weapons Convention Press Release, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons News item 2005-10-19 The Democratic Republic of the Congo deposited its instrument of ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) with the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 12 October 2005. more Russia: UK Satisfied With Chemical Arms Disposal Facility Construction in Kurgan World News Connection (Moscow Agentstvo Voyennykh Novostey) News item 2005-10-14 KURGAN (Interfax-AVN) - Funds, allocated by Great Britain within the framework of international partnership on constructing a chemical weapons disposal facility in Shchuchye in the Kurgan region, are spent properly, British Minister of State for the Armed Forces Adam Ingram said in Shchuchye on 13 October 2005. more Japan plans disposal facility for chemical weapons left in China Japan Economic Newswire News item 2005-10-14 BEIJING (Kyodo) -- Japan asked China on 14 October 2005 for a tax break and public acknowledgement of Japan's plan to build a multi-million yen chemical weapons-handling facility, the Japanese Embassy in Beijing said. more Construction of the Shchuch'ye chemical weapons destruction facility remains on schedule News item 2005-10-13 Within the framework of the chemical weapons destruction programme, 1.2 billion roubles have been spent on social infrastructure construction in Shchuch'ye. more U.S. Chemical Defense Installation Opens Global Security Newswire News item 2005-10-11 The U.S. Army on 7 October 2005 officially opened a chemical defense research facility at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, the Baltimore Sun reported. more Chemical Terrorism Protection and Assistance Exercise “Joint Assistance 2005” commences in Ukraine Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Press Release Number 57 News item 2005-10-10 “Joint Assistance 2005”, a major field exercise, planned and coordinated jointly by the Government of Ukraine, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC), has commenced at the Yavoriv Training Area near L’viv, Ukraine. more Baltic pipeline risks stirring up chemical weapons: Lithuania Agence France-Presse English Wire News item 2005-10-08 BERLIN - A planned five-billion-dollar gas pipeline linking Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea risks disturbing tonnes of chemical weapons sunk there following the Second World War, Lithuania's prime minister warns in an interview in the 10 October 2005 issue of Der Spiegel. more Experts Dispute Russian Account of CW Explosion Global Security Newswire News item 2005-10-06 Russian chemical arms experts and others are disputing the official statements regarding a chemical weapon that exploded last month [September 2005] in the Saratov region, Ren TV reported. more World War II Shell Sickens Policemen The Moscow Times News item 2005-09-28 Twelve police officers were hospitalized after inhaling an unidentified chemical while they destroyed a Soviet-era World War II mortar shell in the Saratov region, Interfax reported. more Impoverished Setting Threatens Russian Chemical Weapons Destruction Facility, Environmental Group Says By Joe Fiorill, Global Security Newswire News item 2005-09-26 WASHINGTON — An impoverished rural population that is seeing its plight worsened by construction of a Russian chemical weapons destruction facility could end up acting to disrupt the internationally funded project, an environmental group warned on 23 September 2005. more 120 injured in feared mustard gas leak in Kazakhstan DPA English (Deutsche Presse Agentur/German News Agency) News item 2005-09-26 Aktobe/Moscow - Around 120 housing block residents in the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan were feared to have been affected by a release of yperite, or mustard gas, a potentially lethal military weapon. more Chemical weapons stores to be destroyed in Saratov region this year Itar-Tass News item 2005-09-26 MOSCOW - Chemical weapons stored outside the settlement of Gorny in Russia's Saratov region are to be liquidated before the end of the year, the head of the Federal Department for Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons said in an interview with the Rossiiskaya Gazeta newspaper, published on 26 September 2005. more General Says Russian Factories Will Not Destroy Foreign Poisonous Agents Interfax-AVN News item 2005-09-26 MOSCOW - Russian chemical weapons destruction facilities will not dispose of imported poisonous agents, Lieutenant General Valery Kapashin, head of the Federal Administration for Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons, has said. more Deadly Weapons and Dire Needs Study released by Green Cross/Global Green on the intersection of community infrastructure and weapons demilitarization Stephan Robinson 2005-09-24 On the occasion of Global Green USA's Legacy Forum on 23 September 2005 in Washington DC, the study “Deadly Weapons and Dire Needs: Exploring the intersection of social infrastructure and weapons demilitarization in Shchuch’ye, a struggling chemical weapons community” has been released. more Germany is Russia's most stable chemical arms elimination partner By Roza Magasumova, Itar-Tass News item 2005-09-21 NIZHNI NOVGOROD -- The chief of Russia's chemical arms elimination commission Sergei Kiriyenko has spoken highly of Germany's role in assistance to Russia in its efforts to do away with chemical arms stockpiles. more Russia: History, Economic Significance of Gornyy CW Destruction Plant World News Connection (Original Source: Rossiyskaya Gazeta) News item 2005-09-15 The destruction of Russian chemical weapons is proceeding at full speed at the facility in the settlement of Gornyy. more Russia: Environmental Monitoring at Gornyy CW Destruction Facility Described World News Connection (Original Source: Rossiyskaya Gazeta) News item 2005-09-14 The exotic rumors spread about the facility in Gornyy have no basis. more Russia: Chemical Weapons Scrapping Funding To Increase by $248 Million in 2006 Interfax-AVN (Moscow Agentstvo Voyennykh Novostey) News item 2005-09-09 MOSCOW -- Funds, earmarked to the Russian chemical weapons scrapping program, are expected to increase by seven billion Russian rubles ($248 million) in 2006, Nikolai Bezborodov, a member of the State Commission on Chemical Disarmament, told Interfax-Military News Agency on 9 September 2005. more Terrorists Must Be Barred From Getting WMD - Russian Official Interfax News item 2005-09-08 MOSCOW -- Russia's Special Representative for International Cooperation in the Fight against Terrorism and Organized Crime Anatoly Safonov has warned about the threat of terrorists using weapons of mass destruction. more Iran calls for full implementation of Chemical Weapons Convention BBC International Reports Janina de Guzman 2005-09-07 During his meeting with the director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons [OPCW], Ali Larijani, Iran's secretary of the Supreme National Security Council [SNSC], has said: We will not accept discriminatory implementation of the [Chemical Weapons] Convention and expect the removal of any obstacles in the way of using chemical materials for peaceful purposes. more PRC Retrieves Chemical Weapons Abandoned by Japan After WWII Xinhua (New China News Agency) News item 2005-09-06 BEIJING -- China has successfully retrieved more than 40,000 chemical weapons buried or discarded by Japanese aggressors after the end of World War II, according to Chinese People's Liberation Army Headquarters of the General Staff (PLAHGS). more Moscow Daily: Analyst Says Terrorist Use of WMD a Matter of When, Not If Moscow Izvestiya News item 2005-09-06 "The danger of a terrorist act using WMD is a question not of 'if' but of 'when'," Nikolay Spasskiy, deputy secretary of the Security Council, stated when addressing a conference on international security questions in Moscow on 5 September 2005. more Bhutan ratifies the Chemical Weapons Convention Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Press Release 2005/39 News item 2005-08-24 The Kingdom of Bhutan deposited its instrument of ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) with the Secretary General of the United Nations on 18 August 2005. Bhutan will become the 171st State Party to the Convention on 17 September 2005, thirty days after the deposit of its instrument of ratification. more FSB Says Terrorists Are Trying to Secure WMD The Moscow Times News item 2005-08-22 Terrorist groups are making attempts to acquire weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear and biological weapons, Federal Security Service director Nikolai Patrushev told colleagues from other former Soviet republics on Friday. "The terrorists are striving to obtain access to biological, nuclear and chemical weapons. We record this, and we have such information," Patrushev said at a meeting with his counterparts from other countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States. "Our mission is to deny them such access," Patrushev said at the meeting in Aktau, Kazakhstan, which followed a counterterrorism exercise in which CIS forces simulated the seizure of an oil tanker by a terrorist group in the Caspian Sea. more Chemical arms disposal facility being built in Kirov region Interfax-Military News Service newswire News item 2005-08-18 MOSCOW -- About 40% of the money set aside to be spent in 2005 on building a facility for the destruction of chemical weapons in Orichev district, Russia's Kirov region, has already been put to use on the project, the Kirov governor said. more Updated, Adjusted Edition of Russian Chemical Disarmament Program Proposed World News Connection (Original source: Moscow Rossiyskaya Gazeta) News item 2005-08-08 The federal targeted program for the "Destruction of Chemical Weapons Stockpiles in the Russian Federation" has been adjusted. Minpromenergo [Ministry of Industry and Energy] sponsored an updated edition of the federal targeted program for the "Destruction of Chemical Weapons Stockpiles in the Russian Federation" at a meeting of the Russian government on 21 July 2005. more The Process of Destroying Chemical Weapons is in Full Swing but Passions around it Continue to Seethe Moscow Rossiyskaya Gazeta News item 2005-08-08 Russia has successfully completed the first stage of its obligations for chemical weapons destruction [CWD]. There is confidence that we will also complete the second stage without problems. However, this confidence is not to everyone's liking, there are still those who continue to call the people to the barricades to fight "the terrible ecological threat." more Russia: Funds Provided for Health Aspects of Chemical Weapons Disposal Program Interfax News item 2005-07-31 Around 1 billion rubles are to be provided under Russia' chemical weapons disposal program to organize medical services for citizens residing in areas where chemical weapons disposal facilities are located. more State Commission reviews progress on chemical disarmament RIA Novosti News item 2005-07-29 NIZHNY NOVGOROD - A field session of the Russian State Commission on Chemical Disarmament opens today in Udmurtia, a republic within the Russian Federation, a spokesman for the Privolzhsky (Volga) federal district said. The session is being held in the Udmurt city of Kambarka, where a chemical weapons disarmament facility is being built. more Lack of Funds Threatens Russia's Chemical Weapon Disarmament Plan World News Connection (Interfax's Moscow Agentstvo Voyennykh Novostey) News item 2005-07-28 MOSCOW - Russia will only be able to fulfill the second stage of its federal chemical weapon destruction program, which involves disposing of 8,000 tonnes of chemical warfare agents (20 percent of its chemical weapons stockpile) by 29 April 2007, if disposal facilities in Kambarka (Udmurt Republic) and Maradykovskiy (Kirov Region) begin operating as planned, State Duma deputy and member of the State Commission for Chemical Disarmament Nikolay Bezborodov told Interfax-Military News Agency. more Chemical weapons: Russia to pay for the U.S.? RIA Novosti News item 2005-07-27 MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti military commentator Viktor Litovkin.) The Russian government has met to consider allocating extra funds for the destruction of Russia's stockpiles of chemical weapons. Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko said that 21.29 billion rubles (nearly $900 million), rather than 6-7 billion rubles (about $300 million ), will have to be given annually until 2012, which is Russia's deadline to meet its commitments under the Chemical Weapons Convention. The reason is that Russia is chronically short of the international aid it was promised to help demolish chemical warfare agents. more Outdated Chemical Weapons Found at Storage Facilities Across Russia MosNews.com News item 2005-07-26 About 33,000 rounds of ammunition beyond their safe storage life have been found at Russian chemical weapons storage facilities. "Checks have revealed 11,810 aviation and over 21,000 artillery munitions are beyond their safe storage life," a source in the Federal Industrial Agency in charge of the destruction of chemical weapons was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying. more Cambodia Ratifies the Chemical Weapons Convention Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Press Release No 35 News item 2005-07-22 THE HAGUE - The Kingdom of Cambodia deposited its instrument of ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) with the United Nations Secretary-General on 19 July 2005 and will become the 170th State Party to the Convention and a Member State of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on 18 August 2005, thirty days after the deposit of its instrument of ratification. more Russian government approves chemical weapons destruction programme BBC International Reports (original source: Russian news agency RIA) News item 2005-07-21 MOSCOW - The government of the Russian Federation has approved the federal targeted programme "The destruction of stockpiles of chemical weapons of the Russian Federation by 2012," which envisages the allocation of R171bn [5.97bn dollars], Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Zhukov said at a session of the Cabinet of Ministers on 21 July 2005. more U.S. Army Officials Consider Separating Rockets from Chemical Warheads Before Destruction Global Security Newswire News item 2005-07-21 Officials at the U.S. Army’s Blue Grass Chemical Depot in Kentucky are considering separating aging rockets suspected of causing fires at other facilities from chemical warheads before the weapons are destroyed, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported on 19 July 2005. more Japanese Officials Arrive in China to Remove Weapons Global Security Newswire News item 2005-07-20 Japanese scientists and Foreign Ministry officials arrived in southern China on 19 July 2005 to remove World War II-era chemical weapons found in the city of Guangzhou, Agence France-Presse reported. more Russian Forces Hold at Least 5 Exercises at Chemical Facilities Annually Interfax-Military News Agency (Moscow Agentstvo Voyennykh Novostey) News item 2005-07-19 MOSCOW - The Russian nuclear, biological and chemical defense forces employed for protection of chemical weapons storing and destruction facilities are high combat ready, a spokesman for the Federal Agency on Safe Storing and Destruction of Chemical Weapons told Interfax-Military News Agency on 19 July 2005. more Radio Interview With Political Analyst Alexei Arbatov On G8 Summit Mayak Radio News item 2005-07-19 In excerpts of a 6 July 2005 Mayak Radio interview, Alexei Arbatov, a member of Carnegie Moscow Center's Academic Council, discusses Russia's role in the G-8 and the G-8's Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction. more Russia Signs WMD Disposal Agreement with Canada Global Security Newswire News item 2005-07-19 Russian President Vladimir Putin has given final approval to an agreement under which Canada will provide demilitarization support to Russia. more Russian Official Says People Living Near Chemical Weapons Depots Not at Risk Interfax-Military News Agency (Moscow Agentstvo Voyennykh Novostey) News item 2005-07-12 MOSCOW - The health of the population lodging in vicinity of chemical weapons concentration facilities is the same as in other areas of Russia, Nikolai Bezborodov, a member of the State Commission for Chemical Disarmament, told Interfax-Military News Agency on 12 July 2005. more Statement to 41st Executive Council Of OPCW Press Release: US State Department News item 2005-07-08 This is the statement to the 41st Session of the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), as delivered on 28 June 2005 by Ambassador Eric M. Javits, Head of the U.S. Delegation, The Hague, The Netherlands. more Tokyo Editorial Doubts Japan Responsible for All Abandoned Chemical Arms in PRC Sankei Shimbun (Tokyo, Japan) News item 2005-07-07 Deliberations have begun in the government on methods to dispose of the chemical weapons abandoned by the former Japanese Imperial Army in China, and it is important not to concede to China's exorbitant demands, according to the editorial page of Japan's Sankei Shimbun. more Russian lawmakers ratify weapons-destruction accord with Canada Associated Press (AP Alert) News item 2005-07-06 Lawmakers in Russia's upper house of parliament on 6 July 2005 ratified an accord with Canada that will help Russia destroy its chemical weapons and decommission nuclear submarines. more VX waste more flammable than thought Hydrolysate flashpoint far below what previous tests have shown News item 2005-07-01 By Patricia L. Pastore/Terre Haute Tribune-Star, 1 July 2005 Lab tests on VX byproduct hydrolysate reveal the substance as far more flammable than previously believed, an Army official says. more Russian Minister Asks for More Money for Construction of Chemical Weapons Destruction Facilities Global Security Newswire News item 2005-06-24 Russian Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko said an additional $140 million is required for construction and operation of chemical weapon destruction facilities, RIA Novosti reported on 23 June 2005. more Grenada Ratifies the Chemical Weapons Convention Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons press release News item 2005-06-07 Grenada deposited its instrument of ratification to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) with the Secretary General of the United Nations on 3 June 2005. Grenada will become the 169th State Party to the Convention on 3 July 2005, thirty days after the deposit of its instrument of ratification. more Japan to build huge chemical weapons disposal complex in China Agence France-Presse News item 2005-06-05 Japan will spend more than 200 billion yen (1.9 billion dollars) building a chemical weapons disposal center in China to process Japanese weapons left there after World War II. The chemical weapons recovery and disposal facilities will be built in the Haerbaling district of Jilin province, where most of Japan's abandoned chemical weapons are believed to be buried, according to Japan's Nihon Keizai newspaper. more Kambarka citizens have a new medical-diagnostic centre Evgenia Nazarenko 2005-06-01 Last week, a new medical-diagnostic centre opened in Kambarka, Udmurt Republic. The centre, which serves the local communities, was built with funding from the Russian Federal Programme for Chemical Weapons Destruction. more General Kapashin visits Mirny, site of the Maradykovsky chemical weapons stockpile Evgenia Nazarenko 2005-05-20 On 19 May 2005, a meeting took place at the Maradykovsky chemical weapons stockpile to discuss progress on the construction of the chemical weapons destruction facility (CWDF) and the surrounding social infrastructure. more U.N. official says chemical weapons pose No. 1 potential terrorism threat By Jasbant Singh, The Associated Press News item 2005-05-19 KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Many countries feel that a chemical weapon attack by terrorists is their No. 1 potential threat, the director of the U.N.'s Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said, while adding that he had no evidence that al-Qaida cells have acquired such weapons. more U.S. Chemical Weapon Destruction Report Delayed Again Global Security Newswire News item 2005-05-19 A U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency report on options for eliminating the U.S. chemical stockpile by 2012, originally due in April 2005, is not expected to be released publicly until late June, the Anniston Star newspaper reported on 18 May 2005. more U.S. Details Plans for Closing CW Depots By David Francis, Global Security Newswire News item 2005-05-16 WASHINGTON — The Umatilla, Deseret and Newport chemical weapons depots are slated for closure as part of the U.S. Defense Department’s cost-cutting efforts, the Pentagon announced the week of 9 May 2005. more Japan to build plants to clean up WWII chemical weapons left in China AP Asia News item 2005-05-15 TOKYO -- Japan plans to build about a dozen new factories in China to treat chemical weapons abandoned by the Imperial Army at the end of World War II, in an effort to speed up a cleanup project begun in 1997, Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun reported on 15 May 2005. more New law blocks transport of chemical weapons to Umatilla By Matthew Daly, Associated Press Alert News item 2005-05-12 Washington -- A new law signed by President Bush includes a provision blocking the Defense Department from studying the feasibility of moving chemical weapons materials across state lines to Oregon or other states, Oregon's Democratic Senator Ron Wyden said on 12 May 2005. more Russia Honors its Chemical Weapons Commitments Interview with deputy director of Russia's Federal Industry Agency, By RIA Novosti's military commentator Viktor Litovkin News item 2005-05-06 In the article below, RIA Novosti military commentator Viktor Litovkin talks with Viktor Kholstov, the deputy director of the Federal Industry Agency, about how Russia is honoring its commitments to destroy its chemical weapons arsenals. more Defense Department Releases Chem Demil Alternative Funds By Alex Kuli, Inside the Pentagon News item 2005-05-05 The Defense Department has unexpectedly released fiscal year 2005 funds sought by the Senate to force the Army to begin work on its long-delayed Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternative (ACWA) program, but DOD appears to be leaving open the option of transporting the weapons to incinerators -- a move that is barred by federal law and opposed by key senators. more The Chemical Weapons Ban: Eight Years of Implementation Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Press Release 2 May 2005 News item 2005-05-05 When the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) began operation in 1997, the OPCW numbered 87 Member States. The membership of the Organisation has since grown to include 168 Member States, extending the Convention’s jurisdiction to 95% of the global population and to 98% of global chemical industry. more The beginning of end for VX starts Thursday By Tammy Webber, The Indianapolis Star News item 2005-05-04 After years of delays, destruction of the deadly VX nerve agent will begin on 5 May 2005 at the Newport Chemical Depot in western Indiana, the U.S. Army said on 3 May 2005. The project to neutralize the deadly nerve agent at Newport is expected to take at least 2 years, according to a 4 May 2005 report in The Indianapolis Star. more Pine Bluff, Arkansas: first 9 tons of chemical weapons arsenal destroyed By Amy Riggins, Pine Bluff Commercial News item 2005-05-04 Updated figures released on 3 May 2005 showed that 2,440 rockets and 18,001 pounds of the nerve agent sarin have been destroyed at the Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas since chemical weapons disposal began on 29 March 2005, according to a 4 May 2005 report in the Pine Bluff Commercial. more Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Inspectors Visit Anniston Depot OPCW's 11th inspection examines CW stockpile records News item 2005-04-26 Inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) were in Alabama the week of 18 April 2005 to examine chemical weapons storage at the Anniston Army Depot. more Proceedings of the 2004 Green Cross National Dialogue Stephan Robinson 2005-04-21 The proceedings of the 6th Green Cross National Dialogue Forum on Russian chemical weapons destruction, held 10-11 November 2004 in Moscow, are now available online. more Five chemical weapons disposal plants to be built in Russia News item 2005-04-21 Five chemical weapons disposal plants will be built in Russia in the next two years, director of the Federal Special Construction Agency Gen. Nikolai Abroskin said on April 20, 2005. more Russian Experts Analyze Controversy Surrounding Maradykovsky CWDF News item 2005-03-28 Original source: Vremya Novostei, 28 March 2005 This article provides an overview of the many issues surrounding the destruction of more than 4,000 tons of VX at the Maradykovsky stockpile in Russia's Kirov Oblast, where destruction is to begin in 2006. more DISCLAIMER: Copyrighted materials on this site are presented for research and educational purposes only, in accordance with the 'fair use' practice under US Copyright Law. To use copyrighted material from this site for profit or purposes beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. You may reprint, copy, archive, quote or re-post this item, but please credit the original source. Views presented in the articles are those of the individual author or source and not those of Green Cross International or its affiliates, unless otherwise specified. 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