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THE CBW CONVENTIONS BULLETIN News, Background and Comment on Chemical and Biological Weapons Issues ISSUE NO. 45 SEPTEMBER 1999 Quarterly Journal of the Harvard Sussex Program on CBW Armament and Arms Limitation THE FIRST YEAR OF THE OPCW SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD Will Carpenter HSP Advisory Board The genesis of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of the (TWGs), each with a specific subject. Working groups on Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons the reporting of ricin production, chemical weapons (OPCW) has been recounted in a thorough article by Kath- destruction technologies and analytical procedures leen Lawand in issue 40 (June 1998) of The CBW Conven- prepared reports and presented them at the second session, tions Bulletin. The present article describes the creation of held during 21–23 April 1999. Other issues, such as ‘pro- the SAB and summarizes its activities during the first year duction by synthesis’ and salts of chemicals listed in the of its existence. Schedule of Chemicals, were considered by the Board it- The nomination and selection of the members of the self. The SAB’s role with regard to these issues is to pro- SAB was completed in the first half of 1998. There were vide information and recommendations for consideration 108 nominees proposed by 44 states parties (Africa Group by the Director-General and the OPCW. The following — 6; Asia Group — 8; Eastern European Group — 9; Latin summaries are based on the report from the second session America and Caribbean Group — 6; and Western European of the SAB. and Others Group — 15). The Director-General of the OPCW used as criteria for selection: (1) scientists of international standing; (2) a broad Reporting of Ricin Production The Board consid- range of scientific and technical backgrounds and skills; ered the preliminary report of its temporary working group and (3) a wide and balanced representation from the state on ricin, chaired by Dr Thomas Inch. Dr Claude Eon intro- parties. duced the report. Several adjustments were agreed to and Twenty scientists were selected for a term of three years. the report was adopted with these amendments. The Board Ralf Trapp was appointed as Secretary of the Board. Trapp passed the following recommendations to the Director- heads the International Cooperation Branch of the OPCW General: and prior to the entry into force of the Convention was with • ricin, given its properties and history, is correctly placed its Preparatory Commission. He brings a wealth of experi- on Schedule 1. At present, it has no uses except in very ence and skills to the Board. small quantities for research. There may be future The members of the Board are Dr Will Carpenter medical applications, but they have not come along as (USA), Prof Claudio Costa Neto (Brazil), Dr Ashok Kumar quickly as predicted, and may never do so; Datta (India), Dr Claude Eon (France), Dr Alfred Frey • ricin ‘enters’ the arena of declarable activities when it is (Switzerland), Prof Shintaro Furusaki (Japan), Dr Thomas extracted from the plant material (crude extract). It Inch (UK), Weimin Li (China), Dr Maria Consuelo Lopez- remains accountable as long as the A–S–S–B bond is not Zumel (Spain), Prof Gerhard Matz (Germany), Prof Brahim broken, irrespective of the isoform(s) present. That also Youcef Meklati (Algeria), Prof Giorgio Modena (Italy), applies to toxic mutants of ricin; Prof Victor Petrunin (Russia), Prof Erno Pungor (Hungary), Dr Marjatta Rautio (Finland), Prof Burkhard Seeger Stein (Chile), Dr Abbas Shafiee (Iran), Prof Theodros Solomon Invited Article by Will Carpenter 1–3 (Ethiopia), Prof Branko Stanovnik (Slovenia) and Prof Obituary: A J J Ooms 3 Stanislaw Witek (Poland). The first meeting of the SAB was held during the week Progress in The Hague: 27th Quarterly Review 4–13 of 21 September 1998. The meeting dealt, of necessity, with Progress in Geneva: 8th Quarterly Review 13–17 organizational matters and with briefings by members of the OPCW. Dr Claude Eon was elected Chairman of the News Chronology: May–July 1999 17–42 Board, and the author was elected Vice-Chairman. Forthcoming Events 41 It was decided that the SAB could most effectively deal Recent Publications 42–44 with issues by the use of temporary working groups • castor oil production facilities should not be subject to cation of the staff involved. Still, for various reasons, ana- the Convention’s reporting procedures under Schedule 1 lytical chemistry has not been used to the extent initially as ricin is destroyed, not isolated; foreseen, and will probably not be used to that extent in the • it should be noted that hot pressing of castor beans future. While the question of when and where analysis constitutes the economically preferred technological would be used needs further discussion, chemical analysis choice, and it also destroys the ricin contained in the will still be needed to ensure confidence and to resolve pos- seeds. Cold pressing, which continues to be done at the sible doubts or misunderstandings. Thus, the Board feels level of individual farmers, usually involves pre-soaking that its temporary working group on analytical procedures, and steaming of the seeds before pressing. Thus, the chaired by Dr Marjatta Rautio, should: Board considered it neither worthwhile nor realistic to • review and suggest alternative inspection methods, with establish a system for monitoring each and every the aim of always using the simplest and least intrusive producer of castor oil. However, given that castor seeds method possible that will meet the requirements; and are a potential source for ricin extraction, the Board • address the use of analytical equipment belonging to the recommended that the Director-General encourage inspected state party (without prejudice to the OPCW’s National Authorities in castor oil producing countries to right to use its own equipment). The temporary working promote hot pressing and other techniques that destroy group on analytical issues should recommend key criteria ricin so as to minimize the risk of illicit ricin production. that should be established in facility agreements to ensure The OPCW may wish to consider establishing contacts that, when on-site analysis is carried out with equipment with the appropriate authorities of states parties that belonging to the inspected state party, the credibility of produce castor oil in order to be able to address any the results is ensured and protected. concerns that may arise; and • were castor oil producing facilities to be integrated into larger chemical production complexes with additional The Meaning of the Term “Production by capabilities that might give rise to concerns, normal Synthesis” The Board considered a report on this chemical industry reporting procedures under Article VI issue, which was prepared by some of its members during are likely to apply to these sites, unrelated to the presence the intersessional period. The report was introduced by of a castor oil pressing plant. Such sites are likely to be Dr Will Carpenter and was approved by the Board. The re- DOC sites, which are subject to declaration and port concluded that from a scientific standpoint, it is no eventually inspection under the Convention. longer possible to make a clear distinction between ‘chemical’ and ‘biological and biologically mediated’ pro- Chemical Weapons Destruction Technologies cesses. The emphasis should be on the product rather than After a briefing by the chairman of its temporary working on the process. The impact of that approach on declarations group on chemical weapons destruction technologies, would be negligible at this stage. Although no significant Prof Giorgio Modena, the Board agreed that: additional declarations would be required today, it would be • the OPCW should become the main repository of prudent to keep the situation under review in the future, as information on chemical weapons destruction advances in science and technology may lead to an in- technologies. To this end, contacts had been established, creased number of chemical products being manufactured inter alia, with the IUPAC Committee on CW in sizable quantities using biological systems or principles. Destruction Technologies. The Technical Secretariat should support the setting up of a database on destruction Salts of Scheduled Chemicals The Board received a technologies, as required; and request from the Director-General to give its advice on • the next meeting of the temporary working group on whether the listing of certain scheduled chemicals contain- chemical weapons destruction technologies is scheduled ing amino groups implies that the provisions of the Conven- for 11–12 October, in combination with the TWG on tion also apply to the salts of these chemicals, such as equipment issues. hydrochlorides, even if the entry in the Schedules of Chem- icals makes no mention of such salts. Adamsite Following a request by the Director-General, In considering this issue with respect to the chemical the Board conducted an initial discussion of technical cri- listed in Schedules 1 and 2 (for which this question has par- teria that should be taken into account when declaring hold- ticular bearing given the provisions relating to prohibitions ings of adamsite. The issue was brought to the attention of on transfers of such chemicals to states not party to the Con- the Board because of the divergence in the ways in which vention), the Board concluded as follows: different states parties have declared such holdings. The • the salts of these chemicals are chemically distinct from Board recommended that this issue be discussed by a tem- the parent compounds, and have different physical and porary working group, and that a technical seminar be con- chemical properties, as well as their own CAS registry vened to study the scientific aspects relevant to declarations numbers. However, the dynamic equilibrium between of such holdings. The TWG is scheduled to meet during 7– the base and the salt means that a certain amount of the 8 October.

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