Future Treaties: Chemical Weapons Convention
Abstract
The recent use and the proliferation of chemical weapons provide impetus to the ongoing negotiations in Geneva to ban the production, possession, and use of all chemical weapons. The provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention are not all agreed upon yet, challenge inspections and sanctions against violators being two particularly difficult area. Verification of declared stocks and activities poses no major technical problems, but care in technology development and selection will be required to provide effective verification with minimum intrusion. A carefully designed system will be needed to interpret the extensive data from routine inspections, monitoring, and reporting and to protect company proprietary information. Identification of appropriate sites for challenge poses very difficult technical problems, on which R & D could be fruitful. On-site inspection in the U.S. poses potential problems ranging from the loss of classified or proprietary information to high financial costs for stie preparation and lost operating time. Site access for inspection could also violate U.S. companies' freedom from illegal search and seizure; several remedies are considered.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA227735
Entities
People
- Edward A. Tanzman
- Linda L. Gaines
Organizations
- Argonne National Laboratory