PRESS RELEASE (94)127                     22 DECEMBER 1994

NATO ADVANCED RESEARCH WORKSHOP ON SEA-DUMPED CHEMICAL
MUNITIONS 12-14 JANUARY 1995 IN KALININGRAD, RUSSIA

A NATO Advanced Research Workshop examining the problem of
more than 300,000 tone of chemical munitions dumped in the
North and Baltic Seas, the English Channel and the North
Atlantic Ocean will take place from 12-14 January, 1995 in
Kaliningrad (Moscow Region), Russia. These munitions, which
are not covered by the Chemical Weapons Convention, have
remained on the bottom of our oceans since the end of the
Second World War.

The workshop aims to:

- provide a comprehensive scientific analysis of the
problem, including consideration of chemical, biological and
technical aspects.

- estimate the degree of danger posed by the munitions in
their present condition;

- elaborate a concrete programme of follow-up actions
directed at mitigating the problem.

The conference will bring together approximately 40
scientists and experts working on aspects of the problem of
dumped chemical weapons - chemists, biologists, medical
experts, specialists in weapons destruction, and engineers -
 from Russia, Germany, Latvia, The Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Sweden, UK, USA.

For further information, please contact Dr. Alexander
Kaffka, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russia, tel.
(int'l)-7095 291 6775, fax (Int'l)-7095 202 0816, E-mail:
CFE@GLAS.APC.ORG; or Mr. Kyle Olson, Chemical and Biological
Arms Control Institute, USA, tel. (Int'l)-1 703 739 1538,
fax (Int'l)-1 703 739 1525