United States Weapons Convention

The U.S. Army is in the process of destroying the country s stockpile of aging chemical weapons, stored at eight locations in the continental United States and on Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The deadline for completing the destruction of these weapons, as specified by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) international treaty, is April 29, 2007. Originally, the Army selected incineration as the preferred baseline destruction technology, and it currently operates two incineration facilities—one on Johnston Atoll and one at the Deseret Chemical Depot near Tooele, Utah. The Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS) completed destruction of the stockpile on Johnston Island in late 2000, and closure of the... 

In accordance with the terms of the international Chemical Weapons Convention, which became effective April 29, 1997, the signatories, including the United States, are to have destroyed their stockpiles of chemical agents and munitions by April 29, 2007. 

One of the reasons for this was, of course, the terrorist attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001. The effort to establish a global legal framework against terrorism and to enact counter-terrorism laws in many countries had a positive spin-off for the implementing legislation required under the Convention too. At the same time, the OPCW realized that its own (national as well as international) implementation process contributed to the counter-terrorism efforts, because it made toxic and precursor chemicals (and, of course, chemical weapons themselves) less accessible. ... 

US Delegation to the OPCW United States of America, National Statement to the First Review Conference of the Chemical Weapons Convention by Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Stephen G. Rademacher, The Hague, 28 April 2003. 

See, e.g., Republic of Bulgaria, National Measures for Implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, RC-l/NAT.ll, 28 April 2003 The People s Republic of China, Report on the Implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention in China, RC-1/ NAT.2, 15 April 2003 The Republic of Cuba, Methods Adopted by the Republic of Cuba to Ensure Compliance with the Provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention, RC-1/NAT.4, 5 May 2003 The Kingdom of Sweden, National Implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, RC-1/NAT.27, 8 May 2003 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, National Implementation of the Cherrtical Weapons Convention, RC-1/NAT.3, 15 April 2003 United States Delegation, CWC Review Conference National Implementation Measures, 3 March 2003 (on file with the author). 

The U.S. Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program (CSDP) has evolved in parallel with international initiatives to eliminate chemical weapons. After many years of negotiation, the terms of the CWC were agi eed upon in 1993 to deal with this issue. As of June 2002, the CWC had been signed by 174 countries and ratified by 145. The convention went into effect on April 29, 1997, after ratification by 65 countries. The CWC requires that signatories, which include the United States, destroy their chemical weapons stockpiles within 10 years of its initiation, making April 29, 2007, the deadline for destruction of the U.S. stockpile. A provision in the treaty allows a 5-year extension of the deadline under some circumstances. As of early October 2001, PMCD released new... 

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