US destroys last stockpile of chemical weapons Dozens injured in New York bus crash

The United States has destroyed the last stockpile of chemical weapons. US President Joe Biden announced on Friday (local time) that the last of the US’s officially known highly toxic warfare agents had been eliminated – a milestone more than 26 years after the Convention to Ban Chemical Weapons came into effect. “I am proud to report that the United States has safely destroyed the last munitions in this stockpile, moving us one step closer to a world free from the horrors of chemical weapons,” Biden said.

Chemical weapons are responsible for some of the world’s most horrific human casualties, said Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has spearheaded gun banning while in office. “While the use of these deadly drugs will always remain a blot on history, today our nation has finally fulfilled its promise to rid our arsenal of this evil.” McConnell is a senator from the US state of Kentucky, where the weapons destruction facility is located.

In 1997, the 193 States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention committed to reporting and destroying all stockpiles of their chemical weapons and not to use chemical weapons. The Control Authority for Chemical Weapons (OPCW), located in The Hague, monitors its enforcement. Since 1997, more than 70,000 tons of the deadliest weapons such as mustard gas and sarin have been destroyed. In the US there were still about 127 tons waiting to be destroyed.

Some of the most shocking attacks on humans in history have come from chemical weapons. According to the OPCW, chemical warfare agents were first used in World War I. By the end of the war, about 100,000 people had died as a result. Over the past decade, Syrian government forces have repeatedly used banned weapons of war in the civil war – in 2018 alone, more than 40 people were killed in a serious attack in the city of Douma.

Some of the most well-known chemical weapons are chlorine gas, mustard gas, and sarin. If the pungent-smelling chlorine gas is inhaled, it affects the airways and lungs. In high concentrations it leads to shortness of breath and eventually to painful death. The cytotoxin mustard gas burns mucous membranes, eyes and respiratory tract. Neurological disorders are also possible. Mustard gas was also known by the names lost, yperite and yellow cross. Together with Tabun, Soman and VX, sarin is one of the most toxic nerve agents. It is absorbed by inhalation and through the skin and can cause respiratory paralysis and cardiac arrest within minutes.

If it is suspected that chemical weapons have been used in conflict situations, the OPCW will send investigators to the country concerned. The authority also regularly inspects the chemical industry in contracting states. States that have not signed the treaty are North Korea, Israel, Egypt and South Sudan. The OPCW was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013 for its work. According to information at the end of May, 99 percent of all chemical weapons in the 193 signatory states have now been destroyed. (sda/dpa)