Abstract
The disposal of chemical weapons in a safe and environmentally acceptable manner is always a complex and hazardous process. This is particularly true when, as in the case of old (historic) chemical weapons, they are generally in very poor condition. These old chemical weapons, left over from two world wars, continue to pose a problem for many countries world wide. A number of European countries have, however, been dealing with this disposal problem on a routine basis for many years and have built up considerable expertise and experience in this area. This paper addresses the problems associated with the recovery, identification and safe disposal of these old chemical munitions and highlights the experience gained by some European countries in dealing with the problem.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Hanslian, R., et al. (1937) Der Chemische Krieg. 3rd ed., Berlin.
Prentiss, A.M. (1937) Chemicals in War. New York.
Zanders, J.P. (1993) The destruction of old chemical munitions in Belgium, in T. Stock & K. Lohs (eds.), The challenge of old chemical munitions and toxic armament waste, SIPRI, Stockholm (in press).
Report on sea dumping of chemical munitions by the United Kingdom in the Skagerrak waters post World War II, CHEMU 2/2/5, submitted by the UK to the Ad Hoc Working Group on Dumped Chemical Munitions, Helsinki Commission, 28–30 September 1993.
Wouters, I.R. (1991) Old and obsolete chemical weapons: technical problems of dismantling. Presented at the meeting on the destruction of chemical weapons 8–10 October 1991. Conference on Disarmament, Geneva..
Martens, H. (1993) The German old chemical weapons programme, in T. Stock & K. Lohs (eds.), The challenge of old chemical munitions and toxic armament waste, SIPRI, Stockholm (in press)
Italian Working Paper (1991) Italian experience of the destruction of old and obsolete chemical weapons. CD/CW/WP. 375, Conference on Disarmament, Geneva.
Manley, R.G. (1993) CW agent and historic chemical munitions disposal — the United Kingdom experience, in T. Stock & K. Lohs (eds.), The challenge of old chemical munitions and toxic armament waste, SIPRI, Stockholm (in press).
United Kingdom Working Paper (1988) Past production of chemical warfare agents in the United Kingdom. CD 856, Conference on Disarmament, Geneva.
Pearson, G (1995) Farewell to arms. Chemistry in Britain 31 782–786.
Manley, R.G. (1996) The problem of old chemical weapons which contain mustard gas or organoarsenic compounds: An overview, in J F Bunnett & M Mikolajczyk (eds.). Chemical problems associated with old arsenical and “mustard” munitions, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands (in press)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Manley, R.G. (1997). European Experience with the Disposal of Old Chemical Weapons. In: Heyl, M., McGuire, R. (eds) Analytical Chemistry Associated with the Destruction of Chemical Weapons. NATO ASI Series, vol 13. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5600-4_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5600-4_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-6362-3
Online ISBN: 978-94-011-5600-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive