The Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP) of Switzerland recently hosted, in collaboration with the Technical Secretariat of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the second workshop on Schedule 1 facilities at Spiez Laboratory in Switzerland.
The workshop included 43 participants representing the Technical Secretariat and practitioners from Schedule 1 facilities from 15 OPCW Member States.
Schedule 1 facilities are permitted to produce, process or use Schedule 1 chemicals for purposes not prohibited by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and must declare all their activities twice a year in accordance with the relevant provisions of the CWC.
Workshop participants discussed topics such as the objectives, infrastructure and installations of Schedule 1 facilities, storage and disposal of Schedule 1 chemicals and OPCW obligations. The program concluded with a tour of Spiez laboratory.
OPCW Member States Australia, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, France, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom were represented at the event.
The Government of Spain hosted the first workshop in Madrid in January 2014.