OPCW course educates chemists on controlled chemical agent analysis

Fifteen analytical chemists representing Latin American and Caribbean member states to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), recently convened at the Laboratory for the Verification of Chemical Weapons (LAVEMA) in Madrid, Span for a two-week training course on the analysis of controlled chemical agents.

The course was organized through the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and featured classes on theories and practice of analytical techniques, sample preparation, and interpretation of mass spectra chemicals.

The chemists also had the opportunity to learn about the maintenance of laboratory equipment, quality assurance systems for chemical analysis, and opportunities for chemists under OPCW capacity-building programs.

“This training will develop technical skills and expertise of national laboratories, and further broaden the network of experts in the region,” OPCW Director of International Cooperation and Assistance Hamza Khelif said. “This opportunity provided new and enriching understanding that will be applicable in our laboratory.”

The course has been held annually since 2010 and supports an ongoing OPCW project aimed at creating additional Spanish-speaking analytical laboratories.

OPCW serves as the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Entered into force in 1997, the convention represents the most-successful disarmament treaty in history targeting an entire class of weapons. It is the most successful disarmament treaty targeting an entire class of weapons of mass destruction in history.

To date, approximately 95 percent of all chemical weapons stockpiles declares by OPCW’s 192 Member States have been destroyed under the organization’s verification.