Old chemical weapons

Hermann Martens, The German Programme for the Disposal of Old Chemical Weapons , in Stock and Lohs, eds. The Challenge of Old Chemical Munitions and Toxic Armament Wastes, pp. 166-178. 

Article I of the CWC obliges states parties to destroy any chemical weapon stockpiles in its possession or which it has abandoned on the territory of another state party. As well, a state party must destroy its chemical weapons production facilities (CWPFs) or convert them for peaceful purposes not prohibited under the Convention. A state party is required within 30 days of ratifying or acceding to the Convention to declare to the Technical Secretariat whether or not it possesses any chemical weapons or has possessed or produced them in the past. Likewise, old chemical weapons (OCW), both those produced before 1925, and those produced between 1925 and 1946, have to be declared. A state party must also notify the OPCW if it has... 

In the CWC framework, old chemical weapons are chemical weapons that (1) were produced before 1925 or (2) were produced in the period between 1925 and 1946 and have deteriorated to such extent that they can no longer be used as chemical weapons. Abandoned chemical weapons are chemical weapons, including old chemical weapons, abandoned by a state after January 1, 1925, on the territory of another state without the consent of the latter. Each party to the CWC must declare whether chemical weapons have been abandoned on its territory, and the party that abandoned such weapons must also declare that it did so. The party that abandoned the chemical weapons is obligated to destroy them. Although there are a significant number of abandoned chemical weapons, the exact location of most of the abandoned weapons is not public information. 

These two categories do not impact the obligation to destroy such weapons, since the CWC requires both old chemical weapons and abandoned chemical weapons to be declared (whether on a member nation s own territory or the territory of another) and destroyed within the CWC treaty deadline if they are unearthed prior to the deadline (Pearson and Magee, 2002). However, because old and abandoned CWM might also be found after the CWC deadline, their disposal will likely continue after 2007. The CWC requires abandoned weapons to be destroyed as toxic waste in accordance with the national regulations of the country in which the weapons reside. 

Lefebvre, M.H., S. Fujiwara, and J. Asahina. 2005a. Disposal of Old Chemical Weapons by Controlled Detonation Performance Analysis of the Kanda Port Campaign. Available online at . Last accessed March 1, 2006. 

As of September 2008,13 parties (Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Marshall Islands, Russia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, the UK and the USA) to the CWC had declared having old chemical weapons on their territories, three parties (China, Italy and Panama) had declared having abandoned chemical weapons on their territories and six parties (Albania, India, Libya, Russia, South Korea and the USA) had declared having chemical weapon stockpiles. As of the... 

Manley R (1998) The problem of old chemical weapons which contain mustard gas or orga-noarsenic compounds an overview. In Bunnett JF, Mikolajczyk (eds) Arsenic and old mustard chemical problems in the destruction of old arsenical and mustard munitions. Kluwer, Dordrecht, p 2... 

EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE WITH THE DISPOSAL OF OLD CHEMICAL WEAPONS... 

The disposal of chemical weapons in a safe and environmentally acceptable manner is always a complex and hazardous process. This is particularly true when, as in the case of old (historic) chemical weapons, they are generally in very poor condition. These old chemical weapons, left over from two world wars, continue to pose a problem for many countries world wide. A number of European countries have, however, been dealing with this disposal problem on a routine basis for many years and have built up considerable expertise and experience in this area. This paper addresses the problems associated with the recovery, identification and safe disposal of these old chemical munitions and highlights the experience gained by some European countries in dealing with the problem. 

As stated in the previous section, those European countries which have programmes for dealing with old chemical weapons have generally elected, whenever possible, to transport recovered, suspect chemical munitions to a central treatment facility for final identification and disposal. The principal reason for this is that it is very difficult and expensive to provide the support infrastructure necessary to ensure that a chemical munition can be destroyed in the field in a sate and environmentally acceptable manner. As a minimum it will be necessary... 

Martens, H. (1993) The German old chemical weapons programme, in T. Stock K. Lohs (eds.). The challenge of old chemical munitions and toxic armament waste, SIPRI, Stockholm (in press) Italian Working Paper (1991) Italian experience of the destruction of old and obsolete chemical weapons. CD/CW/WP. 375, Conference on Disarmament, Geneva. 

Manley, R.G. (1996) The problem of old chemical weapons which contain mustard gas or organoarsenic compounds An overview, in J F Bunnett M Mikolajczyk (eds.). Chemical problems associated with old arsenical and "mustard" munitions, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands (in press)... 

The sample of 5 years old VX was investigated using GC/MS( El, Cl) system. 25 different degradation products were identified as originals or as the methyl derivatives. Identification of most of compounds was based on fundamental El and Cl mass spectral interpretation and GC retention behavior. El Ion Trap mass spectra, obtained in analysis, included M+lions wich is characteristic for this kind of MS instruments. The percent amount of VX in investigated sample was approximately 4%. The GC and mass spectral data provided are sufficient for the identification of VX and number of VX related impurities. The analytical data of VX degradation products may be useful for control of destruction process of old chemical weapon. 

DAMAGED CW MUNITIONS - PARTIALLY DECOMPOSED AGENT OLD CHEMICAL WEAPONS (OCW) - MOSTLY DECOMPOSED AGENT... 

The opening remarks were followed by general discussion topics that included an overview of the US Chemical Weapons Demilitarization Program, the Canadian Project Swiftsure, which described the destruction of chemical agents at the Defense Research Establishment Suffield, Canada and a comprehensive presentation by Dr. Ron Manley of the Provisional Secretariat for the Organization of Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on the European experience with the disposal of old chemical weapons. 

Chemical weapons, including old chemical weapons, abandoned by a State after 1 January 1925 on the territory of another State without the consent of the latter. 

With respect to old chemical weapons and abandoned chemical weapons ... 

Declare whether it has on its territory old chemical weapons and provide all available information in accordance with Part IV (B), paragraph 3, of the Verification... 

The provisions of this Article and the detailed procedures for its implementation shall apply to all chemical weapons owned or possessed by a State Party, or that are located in any place under its jurisdiction or control, except old chemical weapons and abandoned chemical weapons to which Part IV (B) of the Verification Annex apphes. 

Old chemical weapons shall be destroyed as provided for in Section B. 

A State Party which has on its territory old chemical weapons as defined in Article II, paragraph 5 (a), shall, not later than 30 days after this Convention enters into force for it, submit to the Technical Secretariat all available relevant information, including, to the extent possible, the location, type, quantity and the present condition of these old chemical weapons. 

The Technical Secretariat shall conduct an initial inspection, and any further inspections as may be necessary, in order to verify the information submitted pursuant to paragraphs 3 and 4 and in particular to determine whether the chemical weapons meet the definition of old chemical weapons as specified in Article II, paragraph 5. Guidelines to determine the usability of chemical weapons produced between 1925 and 1946 shall be considered and approved by the Conference pursuant to Article VIII, paragraph 21 (i). 

A State Party shall treat old chemical weapons that have been confirmed by the Technical Secretariat as meeting the definition in Article II, paragraph 5 (a), as toxic waste. It shall inform the Technical Secretariat of the steps being taken to destroy or otherwise dispose of such old chemical weapons as toxic waste in accordance with its national legislation. 

Subject to paragraphs 8 to 16, Article IV and Part IV (A) of this Annex shall also apply to the destruction of abandoned chemical weapons. In the case of abandoned chemical weapons which also meet the definition of old chemical weapons in Article II, paragraph 5 (b), the Executive Council, upon the request of the Territorial State Party, individually or together with the Abandoning State Party, may modify or in exceptional cases suspend the application of provisions on destruction, if it determines that doing so would not pose a risk to the object and purpose of this Convention. In the case of abandoned chemical weapons which do not meet the definition of old chemical weapons in Article II, paragraph 5 (b), the Execu-... 

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