Russia Reaffirms Commitment To Destroy Chemical Weapons By 2012

RIA Novosti ^ | 3/10/2010 | RIA Novosti via Spacewar

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Russia will complete the construction of chemical weapon destruction plants in 2011 and will destroy all chemical weapons stockpiles by 2012, a government official said on Wednesday. Russia signed the Chemical Weapons Convention banning the development, production, stockpiling, transfer, and use of chemical arms in 1993, and ratified it in 1997. The country has destroyed 18,000 metric tons, or 45% of its chemical weapons stockpiles as of December 2009.

Gen. Nikolai Abroskin, head of the Federal Agency for Special Construction, said during a collegiate meeting at the agency that despite the recent financial crunch Russia would meet its obligations and destroy the remaining 22,000 metric tons of chemical weapons by 2012.

The country has allocated $7.18 billion from the federal budget for the implementation of the program, and has so far built five chemical weapon destruction plants - in Gorny (Saratov Region), Kambarka (Republic of Udmurtia), Nizhny Novgorod, the Maradykovo complex (Kirov Region), and Siberia's Kurgan Region. Another two are under construction.

Abroskin said the completion of chemical weapon destruction facilities remained a priority in 2010.

"We should be able to launch the first stage of the facility in Pochep [Bryansk Region], and second stages of the facilities in Leonidovka [Penza Region] and Shchuchiye [Kurgan Region]...which will allow us to finish the construction of all chemical weapon destruction plants in 2011 and destroy all chemical weapons by 2012 in line with the federal program," he said.

By 2016-2017, Russia aims to finish all the remaining work under the project, including decontamination and equipment dismantlement, the official said

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Approximately 80 percent of the Russian stockpile is nerve agent.The agents are stored in a variety of munitions and containers: projectiles, bombs, rocket warheads, missile warheads, spray tanks and bulk containers.They have 40,000 tons of chemical agent.

[wastedyears]

Why not very thick alloy containers sent into space, on a course so that it doesn’t collide with any major body on its way out of the heliosphere?

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

I rather do it the old fashioned way of incinerating them.
Russia lags behind with 73 per cent of its stockpile still intact

[RC one]

extremely extremely extremely expensive plus a very high risk of a rocket full of nerve gas exploding in the atmosphere. Plus it can be incincerated effectively and safely.

[freedumb2003]

I have this lovely bridge to sell you — you would be AMAZED at the terms!

[cranked]

Just making way for a new gen of chem weapons.......

[GingisK]

Why not very thick alloy containers sent into space, on a course so that it doesn’t collide with any major body on its way out of the heliosphere?

Most chemical weapons are designed to deteriorate when exposed to sunlight or the atmosphere. After all, no use depopulating an area that you can't later occupy.

I think the US and Russia should dispose of its chemical weapons all over the Middle-east.

[Freelance Warrior]

I think the US and Russia should dispose of its chemical weapons all over the Middle-east.

You should think about the environment.

[wastedyears]

You should think about the environment

Killing Jihadis vs. saving a few animals...

[GingisK]

You should think about the environment.

The stuff degrades into harmless materials in sunlight and oxygen. The buzzards will clean up the rest. (There will be fresh buzzards coming in from other places.)

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Thye Novichok agents. The Novichok is six times to eight times more deadly than any VX nerve agent ever made.They belong to “fourth generation chemical weapons” designed as a part of Soviet “Foliant” program