Other chemical production facilities OCPF

The broad restrictions of Article I with respect to toxic chemicals are elaborated in the Convention, particularly with respect to the chemicals listed on the attached Schedules and related facilities and the other chemical production facilities (OCPFs) described in Part IX of the Verification Annex to the CWC. The basic implementation obfigation in this regard is set out in Article VI, paragraph 2, of the Convention, which states that each State Party must... 

Given the above mentioned impact of past developments in chemical technology and industry on military CW production programmes, verifying the permitted uses of toxic chemicals and related facilities had to assume an important role in the overall verification system of the CWC. Activities not prohibited under the CWC are dealt with in Article VI of the Convention and in Parts VI to IX of the CWC s Verification Annex. While the first three of these parts are informed by the subdivision of toxic chemicals into Schedules 1 to 3, Part IX of the Verification Annex deals with other, unlisted, chemicals -so-called discrete organic chemicals or DOCs - and other chemical production facilities (OCPF), which might be easily adaptable to CW production. 

The Third Review Conference took note of the need for the Secretariat to conduct the approved number of inspections under Article VI in accordance with the agreed guidelines (EC-66/DEC.10, dated 7 October 2011) which are to be reviewed after three years of implementation. The Third Review Conference noted the results of the analysis of the performance of the site-selection methodology for other chemical production facilities (OCPFs) in accordance with S/962/2011 (dated 8 September 2011) in 2012. The Third Review Conference requested the Secretariat to continue engaging States Parties in demonstrating the site-selection random processes and procedures in an effort to increase transparency and confidence. 

The workshop started with the discussion of the idea that the chemical industry, since entry into force of the Convention, considers implementation-related processes as a normal part of their day-to-day activities. Of course, there are issues that still need to be addressed. The complexities inherent in the definitions, terms, and regulations of the Convention can create difficulties. Also, there remain differences in relation to national regulations, the nomenclature used by various countries/associations, the declaration of transfers, and the declaration of mixtures containing scheduled chemicals. In all these areas, the chemical industry needs clarity and consistency in order to implement requirements and to ensure that equitable and similar standards are applied to all States Parties. The adjustments made in the selection methodology for inspection of other chemical production facilities (OCPFs) were seen as a way of devising a fairer distribution in terms of this type of inspection. 

In accordance with the provisions of the Convention, inspections of other chemical production facilities commenced only in May 2000. The inspections conducted have indicated the usefulness of OCPF inspections and their value for increasing confidence in the chemical activities of the States Parties. At the same time, the current selection algorithm does not... 

OFRMPhP other Schedule 1 facilities for research, medical, or pharmaceutical purposes OCPF other chemical production facilities... 

Since the entry into force of the Convention, 63 States Parties have declared a total of over 4,000 inspectable OCPFs. Of these facilities, more than 100 had received inspections by the time of the RevCon. The Technical Secretariat has concluded that these inspections have shown that some of the OCPFs are highly relevant to the object and purpose of the Convention. These facilities produce chemicals that are structurally related to Schedule 1 chemicals. Of particular relevance to the Convention are facilities that combine this kind of chemistry with production equipment and other hardware designed to provide fiexibihty and containment. ... 

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