Vol.
25 No. 1
January - February 2003
Impact of Scientific
Developments on the Chemical Weapons Convention
As the leading international,
non-governmental organization devoted to the chemical sciences,
IUPAC was asked to undertake a review of the impact of scientific
developments on the Chemical Weapons Convention. This project
included the organization of a workshop, held in Bergen, Norway,
from 13 July 2002, to explore these issues. Between
80100 persons attended the workshop. An International
Advisory Board, with representation from 17 countries, aided
the Program Committee in formulating the program and obtaining
the best international scientific input.
In November 2002, as an output
of this project, IUPAC provided to the Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons a report in which scientific
and technological advances in the chemical sciences are evaluated.
This report is expected to assist the OPCW and the States
Parties in preparing for the First Review Conference of the
Convention, scheduled for The Hague in April 2003.
Of the "weapons of mass destruction"biological,
chemical, and nuclearonly chemical weapons have a multilateral
verification regime. The IUPAC report comes against a backdrop
of international concern about potential use of chemical weapons
by terrorists or by rogue nations. The reportavailable
on the IUPAC Web sitehighlights developments in organic
synthesis and changes in chemical plant design that will pose
new challenges to the Convention, but it also describes recent
and probable future developments in analytical chemistry that
may assist in implementation of the Convention. The key issues
identified at the workshop are given on page 4 of the report.
IUPACs findings and observations are summarized in 18
points on pages 58.
For more information, contact
the Task Group Chairman Edwin D. Becker <[email protected]>.
www.iupac.org/projects/2001/2001-057-1-020.html
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last modified 30 December 2002.
Copyright © 2002 International Union of Pure and Applied
Chemistry.
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