French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier (shown in an October photo) said yesterday that he was optimistic that nuclear talks with Iran set to be held this week would be productive (AFP photo/Gali Tibbon). European Powers Soften Iran Uranium Enrichment Suspension Demand Ahead of Talks France, Germany and the United Kingdom did not demand an indefinite suspension of Iran’s uranium enrichment activities in a recent written proposal on Tehran’s nuclear program, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 2). The document was delivered yesterday to Iranian officials ahead of negotiations set for Friday in Paris, diplomats in Vienna said...Full Story

United States Appears Unable to Destroy Chemical Arsenal by Chemical Weapons Convention Deadline The United States appears unlikely to be able to destroy its chemical weapons stockpile by 2012, as required by the Chemical Weapons Convention, USA Today reported today (see GSN, Nov. 2)...Full Story

U.S. Missile Defense System Must Pass Two Flight Tests, Defense Department Official Says The U.S. Defense Department plans two flight tests of its missile defense system by February, Bloomberg News reported yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 28)...Full Story

	Wednesday, November 3, 2004

European Powers Soften Iran Uranium Enrichment Suspension Demand Ahead of Talks France, Germany and the United Kingdom did not demand an indefinite suspension of Iran’s uranium enrichment activities in a recent written proposal on Tehran’s nuclear program, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 2). The document was delivered yesterday to Iranian officials ahead of negotiations set for Friday in Paris, diplomats in Vienna said. “This paper fudges the uranium enrichment question by saying suspension needs to hold until the conclusion of negotiations over the long-term status of Iran’s program,” said a Western diplomat. It is “a very polished linguistic version, so to speak, to bypass that problem (indefinite suspension of enrichment),” another diplomat close to the talks told AFP. Iranian officials said yesterday they could agree to no more than a six-month suspension. The Western diplomat said the United States was “fully in waiting mode, waiting to see how the Iranians react” to the European offer (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Nov. 2). Officials from the European powers expressed hope for a possible breakthrough in the talks, AFP reported. “We are in an extremely intensive phase of discussions with the Tehran government and we are entering into this final phase of discussions with a certain optimism,” French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said. Asked whether Tehran’s six-month enrichment freeze offer was acceptable, Barnier said the Europeans would press for a “lasting” suspension. By “lasting,” Barnier meant a suspension that would last “for as long as possible,” according to a senior French source (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Nov. 2) Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom called today for U.N. sanctions against Tehran unless it agreed to a total freeze on uranium enrichment, AFP reported. “We hope the conclusions to be presented by the International Atomic Energy Agency at the end of November in Vienna, will be straight and clear, so the U.N. Security Council can rule in favor of sanctions if Iran refuses to halt its nuclear program,” Shalom said. “Iran is a threat to the entire world’s stability because the country is developing a nuclear weapons program, including long-range missiles that could reach London, Paris and parts of Russia,” he added (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Nov. 3). Elsewhere, Iranian officials announced they would sign an agreement next month on the return to Russia of spent nuclear fuel from a reactor Moscow is helping to complete in Iran, MosNews.com reported. “Now there are no technical or political reasons not to sign such a protocol during the forthcoming visit to Tehran by the head of the Russian atomic agency Alexander Rumyantsev,” Ali Akbar Soltani, deputy director general of political and international affairs in Iran’s Foreign Ministry, told ITAR-Tass. Soltani added that only a few financing details remained to be addressed prior to the visit. The Russian Atomic Ministry said the visit would take place late next month, according to ITAR-Tass (MosNews.com, Nov. 3). Back to top       IAEA Team to Visit Two South Korean Research Sites International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors are expected to visit two South Korean nuclear research facilities as part of a six-day visit that began yesterday, according to the Korea Times (see GSN, Nov. 2). The IAEA team is in South Korea for a third round of inspections as part of the agency’s investigation into nuclear experiments recently disclosed by Seoul. Their work is expected to focus on the two sites where scientists performed tests on plutonium and uranium. This is to be the last IAEA visit before inspectors present their findings to the agency’s Board of Governors later this month, said Cho Chung-won, director general of the South Korean Science and Technology Ministry’s atomic energy bureau (Korea Times, Nov. 3). Back to top       Russia Successfully Tests ICBM Russia yesterday successfully test-fired an SS-25 Topol ICBM, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, Nov. 2). The missile was launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northwestern Russia and hit a target on the eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, AP reported. The purpose of the test was to evaluate whether the service life of the missile could be extended, the Russian Strategic Missile Forces said in a statement. The missile fired yesterday has been in service since 1985, more than double its intended lifetime, AP reported (Associated Press, Nov. 2). Back to top

Draft Review Approves of Boston University Site for Planned Biological Defense Laboratory While a draft environmental review states that a planned biological defense laboratory at the Boston University Medical Center would not pose a danger to the surrounding area, the review has been criticized for failing to consider alternative sites, the Boston Globe reported last week (see GSN, Oct. 14). Multiple sites are generally considered in federal draft environmental impact statements, according to the Globe. The review prepared for the proposed National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory says that four alternative sites were considered and rejected as “technically unfeasible.” The review only discussed in detail the Boston University Medical Center location and a “no-build” option, according to the Globe. “They didn’t do any review of alternative locations,” said Carrie Schneider, a lawyer with the Conservation Law Foundation. “It’s impossible to come out for it or against it without a full picture. But we are very concerned about this infectious disease lab being put in a very dense neighborhood.” The laboratory is expected to be one of six Level 4 facilities seeking vaccines for infectious biological agents such as anthrax and botulism, the Globe reported. The university site was designated as the laboratory location under the $128 million federal grant funding its construction, said Medical Center spokeswoman Ellen Berlin. “That was one of the criteria,” she said. “We submitted a grant document to the federal government to build on land that we owned and in a place that was viable and appropriate” (Beth Daley, Boston Globe, Oct. 30). Back to top

United States Appears Unable to Destroy Chemical Arsenal by Chemical Weapons Convention Deadline The United States appears unlikely to be able to destroy its chemical weapons stockpile by 2012, as required by the Chemical Weapons Convention, USA Today reported today (see GSN, Nov. 2). Over the past 12 months, the military has only eliminated about 6 percent of the 31,000-ton U.S. chemical weapons stockpile. Just less than a third of the total stockpile has been eliminated since the effort began in 1990, according to USA Today. Several federal audits have determined that it is unlikely that the United States will meet its 2012 deadline, USA Today reported. An assessment included in a 2004 budget document gave U.S. chemical weapons disposal efforts a score of 17 percent out of 100 percent in meeting the deadline. Contributing to the delays are technical and design problems at the sites intended to destroy the weapons, USA Today reported. Two facilities in Indiana and Arkansas are still not in operation despite being set to open last summer. In addition, design work has been delayed for planned facilities in Colorado and Kentucky. Delays in U.S. weapons disposal increase the risk for accidents or attacks by terrorists, and undermine efforts to press Russia to destroy its chemical munitions, local officials and activists say.  The Army’s manager for the disposal effort, Michael Parker, said that the program has been made more efficient, which could help it meet the treaty deadline. “I still think we have a reasonable shot ... at 2012,” Parker said (Peter Eisler, USA Today, Nov. 3). Back to top       U.S. Homeland Security Department Examining Terrorism Potential of Wolf Poison The U.S. Homeland Security Department is examining the potential use of sodium fluoroacetate, a poison which is used to kill wolves and coyotes in Western states, as a terrorist weapon, the Portland Oregonian reported today (see GSN, Nov. 1). The department is reviewing the chemical, known as Compound 1080, at the request of Representative Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.). The chemical has no known antidote and one teaspoon could kill as many as 100 people, DeFazio told Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge in a letter last month requesting the review. Some countries have examined sodium fluoroacetate’s use as a potential chemical weapon, according to scientific journals. Compound 1080 could be used to poison water supplies, according to the FBI, U.S. Air Force and Canadian Security Intelligence Service The Homeland Security Department is expected to respond to DeFazio’s request within several weeks, spokeswoman Valerie Smith said (Michael Milstein, The Oregonian, Nov. 3). Back to top       Tooele Workers Tested for VX Exposure Eight workers at the U.S. Army’s Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility were being checked for possible exposure to VX nerve agent, Deseret Chemical Depot officials said yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 2). None of the workers experienced symptoms, according to the Associated Press. They were tested as a precaution because sensors at the facility indicated contamination on Monday and Tuesday on a set of Life Support System air hoses. Results of the lab tests are not yet known, according to AP (Associated Press/KSL-TV.com, Nov. 2). Back to top       U.S. Army Completes Major Chemical Production Facilities Demolition at Pine Bluff Arsenal The U.S. Army has destroyed a large section of the former chemical production facility within the Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas, the Army announced yesterday in a press release (see GSN, Oct. 4). Demolition of the Pine Bluff Integrated Binary Production Facilities (IBPF) was mandated under the international Chemical Weapons Convention, which bans the production and stockpiling of all chemical munitions. “The Army is committed to meeting the nation’s international obligations and we’re pleased with the progress so far on the IBPF demolition,” said William Brankowitz, deputy project manager for the Army’s Nonstockpile Chemical Materiel Program. “By all indications we are on schedule to meet our completion deadline of April 2007.” Destruction of the QL production and fill facility was declared complete on June 21. Inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the international body responsible for monitoring compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention, inspected the QL area on Aug. 25 and verified completion of the project. Work on eliminating other sites in the complex is expected to begin before the end of the year, Brankowitz said. The Integrated Binary Production Facilities contained chemical production plants and three munition fill buildings, according to the statement (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, Nov. 2). Back to top       U.S. Army Destroys World War I-Era Mustard Shell Personnel with the U.S. Army’s Nonstockpile Chemical Materiel Program used the Explosive Destruction System to destroy a World War I-era 75 mm mustard shell Friday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, the Army announced in a press release today (see GSN, Oct. 7). State troopers discovered the munition in a clamshell driveway on July 19 near Bridgeville, Del. It was destroyed with a combination of explosives and neutralization inside an airtight containment chamber, according to the statement (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, Nov. 2). Back to top

U.S. Missile Defense System Must Pass Two Flight Tests, Defense Department Official Says The U.S. Defense Department plans two flight tests of its missile defense system by February, Bloomberg News reported yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 28). “I cannot with a great deal of confidence say” that the system works until the tests are carried out, said Thomas Christie, Pentagon director of operational testing. “I can’t right now with confidence put a number” on the probability of a successful intercept of a missile launched from a rogue state such as North Korea, he added. The last flight test occurred in December 2002, Bloomberg reported. The interceptor failed to hit its target. There have been five successful intercepts and three misses in tests since October 1999 (Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg News, Nov. 2). Back to top

Russia Denies Missing Weapon-Grade Plutonium Following the discovery of a plutonium isotope in a Russian scientist’s home, a spokesman for the Federal Atomic Energy Agency yesterday denied that any weapon-grade plutonium has ever been lost within the country (see GSN, Nov. 2). “Throughout the history of enterprises in the country’s nuclear sector there has not been a single case of weapon-grade plutonium going missing,” agency spokesman Nikolai Shingarev told ITAR-Tass. The plutonium 238 turned over to authorities by a Russian scientist yesterday “is not weapons-grade plutonium but an isotope which is widely used in various instruments,” Shingarev said. “Any enterprise with a license can freely use plutonium 238.” “As concerns weapons-grade plutonium, it is subject to the most rigorous controls and audits,” he added (ITAR-Tass/BBC Worldwide Monitoring, Nov. 2).   Back to top

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