Ebook: Dismantlement and Destruction of Chemical, Nuclear and Conventional Weapons

The end ofthe Cold War opened unprecedented opportunities for reductions in weapons of mass destruction. With these opportunities came new challenges, both scientific and political. Traditionally approached by different groups, the scientific, technical and political challenges are inextricably intertwined. Agreements to dismantle and destroy chemical, nuclear and conventional weapons, after having been negotiated via diplomatic channels, require the expertise of scientists associated with their development to determine the safest and most environmentally sound methods of destruction. It is in this context that representatives from sixteen countries and five international organizations were convened jointly by NATO, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany and the State Government of North Rhine Westphalia 19-21 May, 1996 in a meeting near Bonn to take stock of worldwide efforts to destroy and dismantle chemical, nuclear and conventional weapons remaining after the end ofthe Cold War. NATO support was provided under the auspices of the NATO Science Committee's Panel on Disarmament Technologies. The conference brought together the major actors involved in the dismantlement and destruction of chemical, nuclear and conventional weapons, highlighted the substantial accomplishments achieved in this area and pinpointed the remaining technical obstacles still to be overcome. It also underlined the critical importance of transparency, data exchange and verification as indispensable preconditions for disarmament and cooperative security.

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The safe destruction and dismantling of chemical, nuclear and conventional weapons is of fundamental importance to the security of all countries represented in this volume. Expertise in the field is not confined to one country or organisation: all can benefit from each other. There is an ever present danger of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction: approximately two dozen countries have ongoing programmes to develop or acquire such weapons, and many are also gaining the capability to build air-surface delivery systems. But much can be done to prevent proliferation by reducing leakage of materials and know-how and by solving the problems of the destruction of surplus weapons systems, which has now come to be a key issue. This book is thus a key book: one of the keys to a more peaceful, more stable world.

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The safe destruction and dismantling of chemical, nuclear and conventional weapons is of fundamental importance to the security of all countries represented in this volume. Expertise in the field is not confined to one country or organisation: all can benefit from each other. There is an ever present danger of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction: approximately two dozen countries have ongoing programmes to develop or acquire such weapons, and many are also gaining the capability to build air-surface delivery systems. But much can be done to prevent proliferation by reducing leakage of materials and know-how and by solving the problems of the destruction of surplus weapons systems, which has now come to be a key issue. This book is thus a key book: one of the keys to a more peaceful, more stable world.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xv
Cooperation as a Common Strategic Interest....Pages 1-3
Toward Peace with Ever-Fewer Weapons....Pages 5-8
Dismantlement and Destruction of Chemical, Nuclear and Conventional Weapons....Pages 9-10
Disarmament and Conversion....Pages 11-12
Challenges in Reducing the Legacy of the Cold War....Pages 13-18
French Policy on Arms Control and Disarmament....Pages 19-22
The Netherlands: Participation in Chemical Weapons Destruction....Pages 23-24
Norwegian Perspectives and Participation in Nuclear and Chemical Weapons Disarmament....Pages 25-28
U.S. National Perspectives on Cooperation in Disarmament: The Cooperative Threat Reduction Program....Pages 29-32
Belarus: Problems of Disarmament and Arms Control....Pages 33-35
The French-Russian Programme for Nuclear Weapons Dismantlement: The “AIDA Plan”....Pages 37-38
German Perspectives on Cooperation in Disarmament....Pages 39-40
Japanese Perspectives on the Destruction of Nuclear and Chemical Weapons....Pages 41-42
Implementation of Arms Control Treaties: A U.K. Perspective....Pages 43-44
The Destruction of Chemical Weapons Under the Chemical Weapons Convention....Pages 45-52
Overview of the United States Chemical Demilitarization Program....Pages 53-64
Destruction of German Old Chemical Weapons in Munster....Pages 65-68
United States Support to the Russian Chemical Weapons Destruction Program....Pages 69-75
German-Russian Cooperation in the Destruction of Chemical Weapons....Pages 77-78
Swedish-Russian Cooperation Project Concerning the Lewisite Storage Facility in Kambarka....Pages 79-84
Status of Dismantlement of Nuclear Weapons....Pages 85-87
Cooperative Threat Reduction: The View from Russia....Pages 89-92
Nuclear Disarmament: A French Perspective....Pages 93-95
German Bilateral Cooperative Programmes in the Nuclear Field....Pages 97-98
Cooperative Approaches to Disarmament and Non-Proliferation....Pages 99-100
Japan’s Technical Secretariat on Cooperation for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons....Pages 101-104
Plans, Programmes and Challenges in the Destruction of Conventional Weapons....Pages 105-118
The CFE Treaty as the Foundation for European Security: Russia’s Participation and Perspectives....Pages 119-120
Dismantlement and Destruction of Conventional Weapons....Pages 121-123
Currently-Employed Destruction Technologies: An Introduction....Pages 125-129
Chemical Warfare Agents and Weapons Disposal Experience in the United States....Pages 131-133
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) Working Party on Chemical Weapons Destruction Technologies....Pages 135-150
Destruction of Chemical Weapons....Pages 151-152
Old Chemical Weapons in Belgium: Do We Need Alternative Destruction Technologies?....Pages 153-158
Deactivation, Dismantlement and Destruction of Delivery Systems and Infrastructure....Pages 159-160
Dismantlement of Strategic Nuclear Delivery Vehicles and Their Associated Infrastructure: Prospects and Problems....Pages 161-162
Storage and Safeguarding of Fissile Materials....Pages 163-168
Disposition of Weapons-Grade Plutonium in Russia: Evaluation of Different Options....Pages 169-170
Storage, Safeguarding and Disposition of Fissile Materials....Pages 171-180
Plans, Programmes and Challenges in the Destruction of Conventional Weapons....Pages 181-182
Conversion Technologies and the Civilian Use of Demilitarised Material....Pages 183-184
The NATO Science Committee Disarmament Technologies Programme....Pages 185-188
Redirection of Research Facilities and Scientific Personnel....Pages 189-202
The Science and Technology Center of Ukraine....Pages 203-205
Cooperation in Solving Environmental Problems of the Armed Forces of Russia and Germany: Experience and Prospects....Pages 207-210
Aspects of Environmental Protection in the Destruction of Chemical Weapons....Pages 211-213
Environmental Policy Challenges in Connection with Disarmament and Contaminated Military Sites....Pages 215-216
Environmental Challenges Posed by Nuclear Disarmament in the North: The Finnish Response....Pages 217-222
Disarmament and Environment....Pages 223-225
Accomplishments and Challenges of Disarmament....Pages 227-229
Back Matter....Pages 231-236
....Pages 237-246