OPCW:  New Working Group to be Established

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is forming a working group to draft recommendations on ways to contribute to the worldwide anti-terrorism effort, the OPCW said yesterday.

The OPCW Executive Council decided to form the working group during its 27^th session in early December, according to an OPCW statement.  In the wake of recent U.N. anti-terrorism resolutions, the Council highlighted the need for universal adherence to the Chemical Weapons Convention, the complete destruction of known chemical weapons stockpiles and the effective monitoring of legitimate chemical production.

The OPCW will have to “adapt to the new type and level of threat of the use of chemical weapons by sub-national terrorist groups, rather than by states or groups of states,” said OPCW Director General Jose Bustani.  “The OPCW needs to rethink past practices and attitudes,” Bustani said.  “What may have been sufficient only a few months ago is not adequate in the present circumstances” (OPCW release, Dec. 12).

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Russia:  U.K. Might Help Destroy Russian CW

The United Kingdom could sign an agreement with Russia soon after Dec. 20 to help fund the effort to destroy stockpiles of Russian chemical weapons, Russian official Sergey Kiriyenko said this week (see GSN, Nov. 26). 

The United States and other European countries have also stated intentions to help fund the chemical weapons destruction program, ITAR-Tass reported.  Kiriyenko said that next year’s Russian budget for destroying the stockpiles would be twice as large as it is now (ITAR-Tass, Dec. 11).

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United States:  Aberdeen to Build Mustard Gas Storage

Officials at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland plan to spend $9 million to build reinforced “igloos” for storing mustard gas, officials said yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 2).

The corrugated-steel structures covered with earth will hold 1,815 canisters of gas that have been stored in an open yard at the facility since the end of World War II, according to the Associated Press.  Construction will take eight months, said Edgewood Chemical Activity Commander Maj. William Huber.

The igloos will be built in the same area where the gas is now, which means the canisters will only be moved “very, very short distances,” said Edgewood spokeswoman Kathy DeWeese.  Destruction of the gas is scheduled to begin in 2004 and is expected to finish in 2006, DeWeese said.

Surrounding residents were pleased with the new mustard gas storage plan, the AP reported.  “I think it’s an excellent idea,” said Glenda Bowling, vice president of a local watchdog group.  “It should have been done a long time ago.  We’ve had concerns all along about the way it’s currently stored” (Associated Press, Dec. 11).

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Hamas:  Bombs had “Traces of Hazardous Materials”

Two recent suicide bombings launched by the terrorist group Hamas in Israel may have involved crude chemical weapons, Israeli officials said yesterday.

A suicide bomb used in an attack in Haifa yesterday might have contained chemicals, Israeli police said.  Bomber Nimir Abu Sayfien planned to detonate two bombs at a bus stop, according to police.  The first was a small bomb strapped to Sayfien’s chest, which he was to detonate.  The second, larger, bomb was timed to explode after rescue workers arrived on the scene.  It was this second bomb that Israeli police believed to have contained chemicals, according to the London Times.

Only Sayfien was killed in the attack but eleven others were lightly injured, according to the Times.  Police shot Sayfien as he attempted to crawl over to the second bomb to trigger it after the first one detonated.  Sayfien’s failure was “truly one of the biggest miracles we have witnessed in this terrorist war,” said a policeman at the scene (McGrory/Walker, London Times, Dec. 10).

A suicide bombing last week in Jerusalem also appears to have involved a crude chemical weapon, the Israeli Health Ministry said yesterday. 

“Traces of a variety of chemical compounds” were found in the bomb’s remains, said Health Ministry Director General Boaz Lev.  “Whether this was deliberate or not, we don’t know,” Lev said.  “A variety of materials can be used.  Your imagination can lead you to anything you want and unfortunately [the bombers] have an imagination.”

The bomb appeared to be dipped in a pesticide, according to an Israeli official.  “Since 1994 we have known of a couple of incidents in which amounts of pesticides were found in the bombs,” said a police spokesman, who added that it was only “a few cases.”

Because chemical residue was found in the Jerusalem bombing, hazardous material teams are to be sent to the sites of all future bomb explosions to check for chemicals, according to an Israeli security source (Reuters/Yahoo.com, Dec. 9).

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