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Worldwide Progress on Chemical Weapons Destruction

Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility Munitions Handlers watch the last Enhanced Onsite Container carrying VX M55 rockets being lifted by an overhead crane into the disposal facility's container handling building. Photo courtesy of CMA.

On March 26, India notified the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) of the completion of the destruction of its chemical weapons stockpile. With this achievement, India became the third nation to eliminate its declared chemical weapons stockpile. Albania completed its destruction in July 2007, and another State Party followed suit in 2008.

Seven States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) have declared possession of chemical weapons (CW). Iraq was the latest State Party to do so, having made its initial declaration in March of this year, shortly after its accession to the Convention. The other States Parties that have made declarations are Albania, India, Libya, Russia, the United States, and another State Party that wishes to remain anonymous under the CWC. As stated above, Albania, India, and the other State Party have already completed their destruction programs.

Libya declared its CW stockpile in 2004, following a surprise announcement that the country planned to relinquish all of its weapons of mass destruction. According to the Libyan representative’s statement to the plenary session of the 2nd CWC Review Conference in April 2008, Libya had destroyed 100 percent of its Schedule 3 chemicals, 39 percent of its Schedule 2 chemicals, and remained committed to meeting the 2012 deadline for full destruction.

As of March 2009, the Russian Federation had destroyed just over 30 percent of its CW stockpile, which was declared to total nearly 40,000 metric tons of nerve, choking, and blister agents. While the Russian government has pledged to meet the 2012 destruction deadline, the lack of funds for constructing and operating destruction facilities may cause the country to miss that deadline.

Iraq joined the CWC in January 2009, and has formed a National Monitoring Directorate to implement the country's obligations under the Convention. The OPCW will conduct inspections to verify the accuracy of Iraq's CW declaration. The OPCW is currently working with the Iraqi government to create a plan for the destruction of its CW stockpile.

In early May 2009, the OPCW verified the United States’ announcement that it had destroyed 60 percent of its CW stockpile. Three sites have achieved 100 percent destruction: Newport, Indiana; Aberdeen, Maryland; and Johnston Island. Destruction operations continue at the remaining destruction sites in Tooele, Utah; Umatilla, Oregon; Anniston, Alabama; and Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Plans are in place for the construction of destruction facilities at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky and the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado. Currently, the Department of Defense is seeking $550 million for fiscal year 2010 to expedite the construction of these facilities, and would like to increase funding at these installations by $1.2 billion through fiscal year 2015.

The destruction facility at the Blue Grass Army depot is already under construction. According to a Pentagon official, this facility is slated to begin destruction operations in 2019, and complete elimination by 2021. The Pueblo facility will begin weapons destruction in 2014 and finish by 2017. Both sites will miss the 2012 deadline for destruction, but some officials are hopeful that the increase in funding that is sought will accelerate operations so that the congressionally mandated deadline of 2017 can be met by all facilities.