ABSTRACT
Chemical munitions can usually be distinguished from conventional munitions through the use of an X-ray. More precise information on the composition of the chemical agent may be obtained by bombarding the munition with a radiation source. Based on the categorization of chemical weapons under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) into stockpiled chemical weapons (CW) and old chemical weapons, it is possible to generalize the technologies applied to date. The Executive Council (EC) of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons reviews national chemical weapons destruction plans and periodic status of destruction updates. The baseline incineration process employed in the United States to destroy stockpiled chemical weapons is mature. Belgium’s old chemical weapons are consolidated and destroyed by the Dienst Opruiming en Vernietiging Ontploffingtuigen at Poelkapelle. The military training ground at Munster was, beginning in World War I, the principal experimental and training area for Germany’s chemical weapons efforts.
