Construction of Russian Arms Disposal Site Threatened

Construction of a Russian chemical weapons destruction facility at Shchuch'ye could be sabotaged by the surrounding impoverished rural population of 26,000, a report by Global Green USA finds. The group is the U.S. affiliate of former Russian president Mikhail S. Gorbachev's Green Cross International. The disposal facility is being built near a storage site that holds more than 5,000 tons of nerve agent, or about 13% of the Russian chemical weapons stockpile. Russia, the U.S., Canada, and several European Union countries are spending $2 billion to build the facility, which is set to begin operating in 2009. Construction activities to date have reportedly blown out some of the town's water lines and damaged its roads. Local teachers have been lured into more lucrative jobs at the construction site, leaving one school almost inoperative. Also, the standard of living at the construction site is higher than that of the Shchuch'ye residents. The report concludes that for the right price, residents might collude with terrorist groups to compromise the security of the stockpile or destruction facility. The report also says that “cash-strapped regional authorities could use their oversight of the permitting process to deny construction permits and disrupt the project.”