Preventing WMD Proliferation
Government Contracting Opportunities, 26 September 2006; accessed via Lexis Nexis Governments and industry from around the world are meeting in London today to discuss the best ways to prevent Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) their means of delivery and related equipment being shipped around the world. Over 75 countries have expressed support for the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) since its launch in 2003. Regular international meetings help develop ways of preventing WMD proliferation without damaging legitimate trade. Today's Maritime Industry Workshop will focus on how to prevent the spread of WMD, delivery systems and related equipment through co-operation with the shipping industry. Co-operation with the transport industry is crucial in preventing proliferation and this meeting aims to bring governments and industry together to share best practice and better understand each others needs and requirements. Minister for the Armed Forces, Adam Ingram, said: "Every country and shipping company in the world has a key part to play in preventing proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. "This meeting is an important step towards ensuring that ship-based proliferation of chemical, biological and nuclear weaponry continues to be prevented while ensuring the needs of the global shipping industry are understood by governments around the world."

Over 3,000 Bombs Processed at Russian Chemical Weapons Destruction Plant
ITAR-TASS, 22 September 2006, ID CEP20060922950329; accessed via Open Source Center 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. "The facility is working as normal; from 90 to 120 toxic aerial bombs are detoxified here every day," head of the conventional problems department of the regional administration Mikhail Manin told ITAR-TASS today. "Bombs are delivered one by one from the arsenal to a special storing place and are placed in an airtight unit. A special reagent is poured inside the shell. The bombs are then sealed and marked by inspectors from the international Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, after which the bombs are put into storage for three months, which is necessary for detoxification." Over 40,000 aerial bombs and warheads, stored at military dumps at Maradykovo, will undergo the same treatment by 2012. They contain such toxic materials as sarin, soman and VX and mixtures of yperite and lewisite. Maradykovo stores 17.4 per cent of the chemical weapons arsenal which Russia inherited from the USSR. "Although the detoxification technology is safe and the process is carried out under supervision by a group of international experts, information about the destruction of chemical weapons is conveyed regularly to the regional directorate of the Emergencies Ministry, the hydrological and meteorological centre, Rospotrebnadzor [Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection], the general public and press," Manin said. The second line of the chemical weapons destruction facility is being quickly built in Maradykovo; it is expected to become operational in the first six months of 2007.

Committee Approves Rep. Eshoo Biodefense Bill
US Fed News, 20 September 2006; accessed via Lexis-Nexis Rep. Anna G. Eshoo, D-Calif. (14th CD), issued the following press release: The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to establish a new office designed to accelerate the development of medical countermeasures against bioterrorism and pandemic health threats. The bill, H.R. 5533, introduced by Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Mike Rogers, R-Mich., would create the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) within the Department of Health and Human Services. "We're in a race against time with both terrorists and nature," said Eshoo, a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. "We can't depend on the marketplace alone to deliver medicines we need to save lives after another anthrax attack, a 'dirty bomb,' or a virulent pandemic." BARDA would coordinate federal efforts to develop innovative new antidotes and vaccines against biological weapons, such as small pox, and against rapidly evolving infectious diseases, such as Asian bird flu. The lack of commercial demand for such drugs has discouraged companies from developing them and created a funding gap known as the "Valley of Death." BARDA would bridge that gap by making interim payments at key development milestones, thereby encouraging companies to pursue medicines showing promise in early research. The bill, known as the Biodefense and Pandemic Vaccine and Drug Development Act of 2006, would authorize $160 million a year to fund BARDA in 2007 and 2008. "I hope the House will recognize the same urgency as our Committee did today and quickly send this bill to the President before Congress adjourns," Eshoo said. "This is a race we can't afford to lose."