National Research Council

The Global Movement and Tracking of Chemical Manufacturing Equipment: A Workshop Summary National Research Council

Dual-use applications for chemical manufacturing equipment have been recognized as a concern for many years, and export-control regulations worldwide are in place as a result. These regulations, in conjunction with the verification and inspection requirements of Article VI of the Chemical Weapons Convention, are designed to support non-proliferation of manufacturing equipment suitable for production of chemical warfare agents. In recent years, globalization has changed the distribution of chemical manufacturing facilities around the world. This has increased the burden on current inspection regimes, and increased the amount of manufacturing equipment available around the world. Movement of that equipment, both domestically and as part of international trade, has increased to accommodate these market shifts.

To better understand the movement and tracking of chemical manufacturing equipment of dual-use concern, the Project on Advanced Systems and Concepts for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction at the Naval Postgraduate School contracted with the Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology of the National Research Council to hold a workshop on the global movement and tracking of chemical manufacturing equipment. The workshop, held in May 2014, looked at key concerns regarding the availability and movement of equipment for chemical manufacturing, particularly used and decommissioned equipment that is of potential dual-use concern. The workshop examined today's industrial, security, and political contexts in which these materials are being produced, regulated, and transferred. The workshop also facilitated discussions about current practices, including consideration of their congruence with current technologies and security threats in the global chemical industrial system. The Global Movement and Tracking of Chemical Manufacturing Equipment summarizes the presentations and discussion of the event.