Demilitarisation
Elimination of chemical weapons stockpiles and chemical weapons production facilities subject to the verification measures provided for in the Convention.
News and articles related to chemical demilitarisation
OPCW Director-General Visits Washington DC for High-Level Meetings and Public Presentations
18 June 2009The OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, visited Washington DC on 16 and 17 June 2009 for a series of high-level meetings with US government officials and Congressional offices and to deliver public addresses at two...
OPCW Delegation Visits Chemical Weapons Destruction Facility in Umatilla
05 June 2009To date, the facility has completed the destruction of all GB and VX agents, representing 37% of the original stockpile at that site
OPCW Delegation Visits U.S. Chemical Weapons Destruction Facilities
04 June 2009The facility located at Pueblo will destroy 2,371 metric tonnes of mustard agent by neutralization, followed by bio-treatment of the resulting hydrolysate
Latest facts and figures
The 7 States Parties (A State Party,
Albania, India, Iraq, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, the Russian Federation, and the United States of
America) which have declared chemical weapons must destroy 8.67
million items, including munitions and containers containing in total,
71,316 metric tonnes of extremely toxic chemical agents. Albania, India and a third country have completed destruction. By
comparison, a tiny drop of a nerve agent, no larger than the head of a pin, can kill an adult
human being within minutes after exposure.The OPCW verifies that the destruction process is
irreversible. At the same time, States Parties in the process of destroying chemical weapons
are obliged to place the highest priority on the safety of people and on protecting the
environment.
31,446, or
44.09%, of the world's declared stockpile of
71,316 metric tonnes of chemical agent have been verifiably destroyed. (As
at 31/05/2009)
3.84, or
44.29%, of the 8.67 million chemical
munitions and containers covered by the CWC have been verifiably destroyed. (As at
31/05/2009)
Chemical weapons declared and destroyed
| Chemical agent (metric tonnes) | Munitions/containers (million items) | |
|---|---|---|
| Declared | 71,316 | 8.67 |
| Destroyed | 31,446 | 3.84 |
Last updated : 31/05/2009 |
||
| States Parties which have declared Facilities | Declared Sites or Facilities | Inspections Conducted | Sites Inspected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chemical Weapons Production Facilities | 13 | 70 | 405 | 67 |
| Chemical Weapon Destruction Facilities | 6 | 37 | 1,158 | 37 |
| Chemical Weapons Storage Facilities | 7 | 38 | 404 | 36 |
| Abandoned Chemical Weapons | 3 | 35 | 49 | 25 |
| Old Chemical Weapons | 13 | 47 | 86 | 30 |
| Total | 227 | 2,102 | 195 |
- From Entry into Force of the CWC (April 1997) until 31/05/2009, the OPCW has conducted 3,723 inspections on the territory of 81 States Parties, including 2,102 inspections of chemical weapon-related sites. 195 chemical weapon-related sites have been inspected out of a total of 227 declared.
- 100% of the declared chemical weapons stockpiles have been inventoried and verified.
- 176 initial declarations have been received.
- 100% of the declared chemical weapons production facilities (CWPFs) have been inactivated. All are subject to a verification regime of unprecedented stringency. 62 of the 70 CWPFs declared to the OPCW have been either destroyed (43) or converted for peaceful purposes (19). 13 States Parties have declared CWPFs: Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, France, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, the Russian Federation, Serbia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, and another State Party.