Biological and Chemical Weapons

Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) garnered the highest number of votes in an online poll to determine the "2009 Arms Control Person of the Year." Lugar was nominated for "his long-running support for U.S. Read more >>

 Arms Control Today, published by the Ploughshares-funded Arms Control Association, inaugurates its new digital edition, with full-color graphics and photos, available for free until the end of 2009.  Click here to read Tom Z. Read more >>

Amid all of the concern about North Korea's nuclear program, experts at the Ploughshares-funded International Crisis Group warn that Korea’s stockpile of chemical weapons poses another serious threat.  In a recent report, Crisis Group estimated that the North is believed to have between 2,500 and 5,000 tons of chemical weapons, including mustard gas, blood agents and sarin.  They can be delivered with ballistic missiles and long-range artillery.  Crisis Read more >>

A new facility to destroy Russian chemical weapons will officially open on May 29, 2009.  The joint U.S.-Russian project to eradicate the chemical weapons site in the Siberian city of Shchuchye, first proposed in 1996, has been repeatedly delayed. Paul F. Walker of the Ploughshares-funded Global Green USA commented, “This is one of the most historic steps forward ever in nonproliferation. One of the most dangerous chemical weapons arsenals in the world is finally getting demilitarized. Read more >>

The U.S. Defense Department is seeking $550.4 million in 2010 to prepare sites in Kentucky and Colorado for chemical weapons disposal operations. The Pentagon had earlier indicated it would request $300.4 million but the agency reportedly plans to expedite demilitarization operations by increasing funding by $1.2 billion through 2015. Read more >>