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First Of 12 Syrian Chemical Weapons Facilities Demolished

Warfare: With weapons stockpile nearly eliminated, work has begun on the destruction of production, storage sites

by Glenn Hess
February 5, 2015

The destruction of the first of a dozen chemical weapons production and storage sites in Syria has been completed, international investigators confirmed this week.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), a United Nations-affiliated group based in The Hague, says work continues on the demolition of the 11 other structures, which consist of underground bunkers, hangars, and tunnels.

“I welcome the destruction of the first facility, which had been delayed due to some technical reasons,” says OPCW Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü. “I am hopeful that remaining destruction activities will proceed according to the plan.”

Demolishing the production and storage facilities is a key part of the elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons program, which was ordered by the UN Security Council in September 2013. In its latest report, OPCW says the project is slated for completion by the end of June.

The facilities were supposed to have been eliminated last December, but work was delayed by winter storms and the withdrawal of a contractor. An OPCW delegation is currently in Syria to make sure that the demolition process continues and that the remaining facilities are destroyed safely.

OPCW has confirmed that 98% of all the chemical weapons reported by Syrian officials have been destroyed. This includes 581.5 metric tons of methylphosphonyl difluoride (DF), a chemical used to make the nerve agent sarin, and 19.8 metric tons of liquid sulfur mustard, a blistering agent, which were neutralized last year aboard the U.S. Navy ship Cape Ray (C&EN, Aug. 25, 2014, page 21).

Only 29 metric tons of hydrogen fluoride remain to be destroyed at commercial incineration facilities in the U.S. and the U.K.

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