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News Release, 5 November 2002

IUPAC provided to the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons a report on Impact of Scientific Developments on the Chemical Weapons Convention

IUPAC - the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry - today provided to the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons a report on Impact of Scientific Developments on the Chemical Weapons Convention. This report provides an evaluation of scientific and technological advances in the chemical sciences that is expected to assist the OPCW and the States Parties in preparations for the First Review Conference of the Convention, scheduled for The Hague in April, 2003.

Of the "weapons of mass destruction" - biological, chemical and nuclear - only 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.

A copy of the report is attached [pdf file - 222KB]. The report highlights 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 p. 4 of the report, and IUPAC's Findings and Observations are summarized in eighteen points on pp. 5-8.

The report was developed following a workshop held by IUPAC in Bergen, Norway, June 30 to July 3, 2002. A number of eminent scientists described advances in various fields, and the 79 participants from 34 countries discussed the implications for the implementation of the Convention.
> link to workshop report

IUPAC was asked to undertake this review as the leading international, non-governmental organization devoted to the chemical sciences. IUPAC is an organization of adhering organizations (chemical societies or academies of science) in 44 countries..

Further information may be obtained from the IUPAC web site: www.iupac.org. Background information on the Chemical Weapons Convention is available at www.opcw.org .

Contact: Dr. John W. Jost, Executive Director, IUPAC

 

<announcement to be published in Chem. Int.>


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