There have always been fears that terrorists might be tempted to acquire and use weapons of mass destruction. The world received a shocking reminder of the potential impact of terrorist use of chemical weapons when the Aum-Shinrikyo sect used the nerve gas Sarin to attack civilian targets in Japan during 1994 and 1995. It is fortunate that, to-date, few other incidents of this nature have occurred. In the wake of the horrific terrorist attacks in New York on September 11th, 2001, fears of terrorist use of chemical and biological weapons were rekindled, and fueled by public release of information suggesting that the terrorists had considered using crop dusting aircraft in their plans.

There is much that local, national, and international authorities can, and should, be doing to counter the threat of chemical terrorism. This area of the OPCW web-site contains answers to some of the Frequently Asked Questions we receive in this regard, and you will find references to sources of further and more detailed information. If you can not find the answer to your queries, you are invited to send questions to queries@opcw.org.