THE HAGUE, Netherlands—6 October 2023—The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), in collaboration with the University of Wuppertal in Germany, organised a comprehensive online training course on explosion protection in the chemical industry to enhance relevant knowledge among government officials, as well as industry and academic practitioners. The Wuppertal Course on Explosion Protection and Safety Management in Chemical Process Industries is fully financed by the German government and has been offered to OPCW Member States since 2012.
From 1 September to 6 October 2023, 24 participants immersed themselves in 15 interactive sessions to develop their competencies in chemical industry explosion safeguards. The training covered safe handling and storage of hazardous materials, fundamentals of explosions, assessment of explosion hazards and risks, safety characteristics of substances, and classification of hazardous areas, along with explosion protection measures. Practical sessions made use of a “mini plant”, a scaled-down model of a chemical factory, facilitating first-hand experience with explosive and hazardous parameters of chemical substances.
This year’s course hosted 24 participants from 18 OPCW member states: Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, India, Iraq, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
Background
Article XI of the Chemical Weapons Convention mandates the OPCW to supports its Member States in the peaceful uses of chemistry. Capacity building under Article XI focuses on integrated chemicals management, laboratory capabilities enhancement, and promotion of chemical knowledge.
As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW, with its 193 Member States, oversees the global endeavour to permanently eliminate chemical weapons. Since the Convention’s entry into force in 1997, it is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.
On 7 July 2023, the OPCW confirmed that all chemical weapons stockpiles declared by the 193 States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention since 1997 — totalling 72,304 metric tonnes of chemical agents — have been irreversibly destroyed under the OPCW’s strict verification regime.
For its extensive efforts in eliminating chemical weapons, the OPCW received the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.