Have Magic, Will Travel

April 22, 2008:  OPCW (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) has admitted that its original (1997) deadlines for destroying the worlds chemical weapons stocks were too optimistic, and has extended that 2007 deadline, by five years (to 2012.) The OPCW treaty has 183 nations signed on. But several (Israel, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and seven others) have not. Despite this, since 1993, about a third of the worlds chemical weapons have been destroyed. This includes half of the U.S. stocks, and a quarter of the largest stockpile in the world (Russia).

The 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention treaty, which OPCW monitors, has resulted in 3,000 inspections, in 80 countries, over the last ten years. The main obstacle to destruction of chemical weapons has been technical. It's not easy safely destroying this stuff. The U.S. has provided Russia with cash and technology to help them get on with destroying their stocks. For Russia, this is somewhat urgent, as the Soviet Union was reluctant to throw away old chemical weapons. As a result, much of the Russian stuff has deteriorated with time, becoming unstable and more difficult to handle. On the plus side, dealing with the Russian stockpiles has advanced the technology for destroying decrepit chemical weapons, and produced lots of Russians with technical skills, and a willingness to travel and apply these skills, for the right price.

After World War II, even larger quantities of chemical weapons were disposed of by simply dumping them into the ocean. This was only a problem in the shallow Baltic, where 35,000 tons of German chemical weapons were dumped. These are coming up in fishing nets, and the shells and barrels are corroding and releasing the poisons. This is harmful to the fish, and any fishermen who haul it up. A dozen or so fishermen are injured by these ancient chemical weapons each year. While some 50,000 tons of chemical munitions were dumped in the Baltic, only about 10,000 tons are actual chemicals. Most of this is stuff like Mustard and Phosgene, which are not as deadly as nerve gas (which degrades much more quickly.) The World War I and II era ocean disposal programs involved more than twice as much chemical weapons than are being disposed now. Nerve gas, which degrades quickly in the ocean, takes a lot more time and expense to dispose of on the land (usually via incineration.)