Uzbekistan:  Base Is Not Contaminated, U.S. Army Says

Initial tests showing the presence of chemical agents at the Khanabad military base in Uzbekistan were incorrect, a U.S. Army official said yesterday (see GSN, June 18).

“There is no chemical threat,” Col. Roger King said during a briefing at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

The Army Biological Chemical Command has completed intensive testing at the air base near Karshi in Uzbekistan and found no trace of chemical or biological weapons, King said.  The tests primarily found organic compounds, he added.  Lumber used in some of the base’s facilities could have led to earlier false positive results, King said, because some compounds that are used to treat lumber are similar to those in chemical weapons.

“Some of the compounds do share commonalities with some of the base compounds of chemical munitions, but again the detailed analysis shows no presence of chemical or biological munitions,” he said (Reuters/New York Times, June 23).

Officials are satisfied that there is no chemical threat to U.S. soldiers stationed at the base, King said.  It is still unknown whether, or when, troops will be allowed to return to the areas of the base where the traces were detected, he said (Associated Press/Yahoo.com, June 23).

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European Response:  Delegates to Create European Response System

International organizations and European members of the World Health Organization are creating a European system for responding to possible chemical weapons attacks, the Environment News Service reported Friday.

The WHO and other U.N. agencies met in Copenhagen earlier this month to hear testimony from experts in counterterrorism, poison control, emergency preparedness and national surveillance.  Delegates agreed to continue discussions through a permanent forum, and experts are now working to create an international scale to identify the severity of any chemical incident.

“We do not know when or if there will be a chemical attack, but we know, from our experience in handling other crises involving chemical accidents, that preparation saves time and saves lives,” said Roberto Bertollini, technical support director of the WHO European office.

Significant chemical incidents occur every month, according to Environment News Service.  There were 704 chemical incidents in the United Kingdom over the last six-month period for which figures exist, and three of those affected more than 50 people (Environment News Service, June 24).

For further information, see:

CDC List of Chemical Agents

Federation of American Scientists Information on Chemical Weapons

World Health Organization

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United States:  Umatilla Delays Chemical Weapons Destruction

The U.S. Army plans to delay incinerating chemical weapons at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon until May 2003 due to problems with the emissions monitoring system, the Associated Press reported Friday (see GSN, June 13).

Under an international treaty, the United States was supposed to begin destroying the weapons — including VX, sarin and mustard gas — in February 2003.  They are now scheduled to be destroyed by 2008.

Problems with the monitoring system have delayed test burns, which were originally set for May 25 and now are scheduled for July 24, according to Don Barclay, project manager for the Army’s chemical demilitarization program (Associated Press, June 21).

For further information, see:

CDC List of Chemical Agents

Federation of American Scientists Information on Chemical Weapons

CWC Text

Pentagon Executive Summary

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