Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Science Communicator Platform

Stay connected! Follow us on X network (Twitter):
Share By
Advice From the Scientific Advisory Board of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on Isotopically Labelled Chemicals and Stereoisomers in Relation to the Chemical Weapons Convention Publisher



Timperley CM1 ; Forman JE2 ; Abdollahi M3 ; Alamri AS4 ; Alonso IP5 ; Baulig A6 ; Borrett V7, 8 ; Carino FA9 ; Curty C10 ; Gonzalez D11 ; Kovarik Z12 ; Martinezalvarez R13 ; Mikulak R14 ; Fusaro Mourao NM15 Show All Authors
Authors
  1. Timperley CM1
  2. Forman JE2
  3. Abdollahi M3
  4. Alamri AS4
  5. Alonso IP5
  6. Baulig A6
  7. Borrett V7, 8
  8. Carino FA9
  9. Curty C10
  10. Gonzalez D11
  11. Kovarik Z12
  12. Martinezalvarez R13
  13. Mikulak R14
  14. Fusaro Mourao NM15
  15. Ramasami P16
  16. Neffe S17
  17. Raza SK18
  18. Rubaylo V19
  19. Takeuchi K20
  20. Tang C21
  21. Trifiro F22
  22. Van Straten FM23
  23. Vanninen PS24
  24. Zaitsev V25, 26
  25. Waqar F27
  26. Zina MS28
  27. Holen S29
  28. Weinstein HA30

Source: Pure and Applied Chemistry Published:2018


Abstract

The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is an international disarmament treaty that prohibits the development, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. This treaty has 193 States Parties (nations for which the treaty is binding) and entered into force in 1997. The CWC contains schedules of chemicals that have been associated with chemical warfare programmes. These scheduled chemicals must be declared by the States that possess them and are subject to verification by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW, the implementing body of the CWC). Isotopically labelled and stereoisomeric variants of the scheduled chemicals have presented ambiguities for interpretation of the requirements of treaty implementation, and advice was sought from the OPCW's Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) in 2016. The SAB recommended that isotopically labelled compounds or stereoisomers related to the parent compound specified in a schedule should be interpreted as belonging to the same schedule. This advice should benefit scientists and diplomats from the CWC's State Parties to help ensure a consistent approach to their declarations of scheduled chemicals (which in turn supports both the correctness and completeness of declarations under the CWC). Herein, isotopically labelled and stereoisomeric variants of CWC-scheduled chemicals are reviewed, and the impact of the SAB advice in influencing a change to national licensing in one of the State Parties is discussed. This outcome, an update to national licensing governing compliance to an international treaty, serves as an example of the effectiveness of science diplomacy within an international disarmament treaty. © 2018 IUPAC and De Gruyter.