Report: Chemical Disarmament And Population Interests

 

Hearing on Chemical Weapons, Russia
6-7 October, 1999, Penza city

How does the problem of "chemical disarmament and population interests" look in 1999? While 10 years have passed since the Chapaevsk Protest, when the ill idea of building the object for the chemical weapons (CWs) destruction near the already-suffering city was buried by Chapaevsk inhabitants in a half-year period.

When founding the Russian Union for Chemical Safety in 1993, we agreed among other things that our first aim is to try to regulate the constructive conversation between inhabitants and authorities in order to prevent failures similar to Chapaevsk-1989. In frames of this agreement we decided not to insist on the CWs transportation. This step was made as the first voluntary contribution to the money box of cooperation with authorities. The idea was that authorities accept this good will gesture and also make a step towards the interests of people who live in the places of present CWs storage.
And now let us look what happened afterwards.

Laws
We were fighting for the humanity of the federal law "About the CWs destruction" for a year and a half. Here are two of our suggestions on the people's collective social rights:

Unfortunately both our suggestions were thrown away by the State Duma deputies. Of course they were "advised" very much to do so.

The next problem. We have been fighting for the humanity of the Federal Law about social guarantees during the CWs destruction for two years. The point of our suggestions about individual social rights is very simple: all the civil persons, who have been or will be in the zone of the CWs influence, should receive the maximum of privileges and compensations. A simple example: all 2000 workers, who took part in the CWs production in Chuvashia suffered from it, but the toxicologists from Saint Petersburg gave a privileged status only to 200 of those workers. And everywhere the situation remains the same.

The reason for our suggestions is evident: since scientists (I mean western science, as far as our toxicologists put their knowledge or lack of knowledge into secret safes) have proved that all people suffer from small dozes of toxic agents (TAs), so ALL people, who are in the zone of CWs influence, should receive the maximal compensation, moreover they should receive it immediately, according to the federal law, and they should not depend on the opinion of toxicologists from Volgograd or Saint Petersburg. Such a Federal Law Project was introduced to the State Duma by the Parliament of Chuvash Republic, and it was approved in the first reading. Only later a group of deputies was "advised" to geld this Project. Now this castrated text is being prepared for the second reading. One more example. As a result of our activity in the State Duma there appeared a Project of Federal Law about the order of authorities and population cooperation, which is called to regulate the mechanism of this cooperation. The main point of this Project is simple: the process of CWs destruction is very dangerous, that is why the authorities and inhabitants should be equal partners. Now this Project is inside the Duma's corridors. But partnership has already "escaped" from it. Only the old-Soviet order remains, the order of relations between the rider and his horse, when administration tells people what to do, and people just listen to it.

So far there is no legislative guaranteeing of the Russian chemical disarmament. At any rate there are no Federal Laws that are acceptable for the population.

Technology
We don't have in Russia the normal technology for CWs destruction. The point is that the existing ways (methods) of destruction of extremely dangerous organophosphorus TAs can become normal technologies only after they pass the full range of tests of experimental-industrial plants. Up to date there were no such tests - so we don't have the technologies.

But what do we have?
There is the so-called State ecological examination: 20 Moscow residents ratify under the leadership of a military Ph.D. everything that they receive from the authors of projects. As we can see we don't have a fair examination - but there is a collusion. And I won't talk about the question of rewards.

There are also emotions. A doctor of secret science demands for trust in his technical proposals, the contents of which remain hidden from the population. And he does not have any proof behind his soul.

Moreover there is ruse. They mobilize one of "their" pen-pushers in the Government (believe me, those who want to know the names of such pen-pushers - find them) and he gives to the Prime Minister for signing a resolution about building an object for CWs destruction without any covering documents.

This way of things is not right. None of the methods would be considered as technology and accepted by the people until it passes the normal ecological examination and normal experimental tests.

Choice Of The CWs Destruction Places
The special committee of the Russian Government worked for a while and then it closed. It was reported that all 7 places of CWs destruction are determined. It is a strange thing. The authorities of Kirov region have been looking for a place, where to bury the toxic waste of the Kirov city, for many years. They have hardly found it. At the same time 7 places needed for work with the most toxic compounds (I mean TAs) were found without trouble. And all 7 places are either in present storage locations or lay not farther than several kilometers from these locations. It is clear that this choice was made without considering the ecological side. But it is easy to see the money interest. It is cheaper to build an object for CWs destruction in or near the place of its present storage. However such economy can not be adequate to the interests of inhabitants: CWs should be destroyed only in places where this process is ecologically less dangerous and not where the CWs were put in a hurry. And don't tell us stories about "lack" of money. Our country is rich: money for the chemical disarmament will be found as soon as stealing is stopped.

So far the process of choosing places for CWs destruction should be started over again. It should be done according to all the rules of normal attitude to people.

People's Safety
We are told that all operations on CWs destruction will be fulfilled without any people's health injury. This is not true.

It is said that in the case of a TAs leak all inhabitants older than one year and a half will receive respirators. This is nonsense. The basis of our military chemical arsenal is Soviet V-gas, which penetrates as easily through the skin as through the lungs. And no one has reserved the means of skin protection of people, and no one will. And also I'm not discussing the fairy tales about the ways of people's, whose age is less than one year and a half, interests protection.

So people won't have antidotes when the TAs leak happens. I don't want to say that the army does not have such antidotes. It has. But our common people will never have it.

And the last. When the TAs leak happens, neither army nor the Ministry of Extraordinary Situations will know about it. Because the instruments for leaks detection declared by our army are sensitivly from ten to a thousand times more rough than the presently acting hygienic standards. I don't want to say that our army does not have such sensitive analytical instruments. It has. But our common people will never have it.

All I have said is enough to state that people's protection from possible CWs leaks is NOT YET provided.

Authorities
Our authorities did not change in their "rhinoceros" stubbornness 10 years after the Chapaevsk Protest. Let's see some examples.

When signing the Federal Program of CWs destruction without providing a mandatory State ecological examination, Victor Chernomyrdin knew that he offended against the Law of Russian Federation. And he did break the Law. So the presently acting Program is illegal. And we have no reasons for implementing this Program.

Next. It can be understood that military men allow to come on the objects of CWs destruction only those, whom they like. It is unreasonable to demand honesty from these people, they should at least be able to fulfill military tasks. But although the Government has approved the access order, and visit requests are being arranged according to all the rules, there are cases of not letting in the inhabitants' representatives on the objects. This is an act of outrage.

And the last example. One day I met a head of the former President's Committee on conventional problems of chemical and biological weapons. We once again discussed the proposals of the Russian Union for Chemical Safety of how to organize the cooperation between authorities and inhabitants in the field of chemical disarmament. There were many proposals. One of them was to create a public council from ecological activists at the Committee, the aim of which would have been to "process" new documents before they appear at our information market. To discuss a question in advance is the way to avoid many negative emotions. And so, what was the reaction of our dear Pavel Syutkin? He said that it is a good idea to create a public council, and he added that Green Cross International will become its leader, as far as it already has a contract on information servicing with the Conventional Committee. I will not comment on it. We have just closed this problem too.

I had a lot of meetings in very different offices related to the questions I state now. For example, we have discussed all these problems with deputy chief of President administration. At that time Anatol Chubajs was the chief. Later we talked about the same with the chief of President administration Nicola Bordyuzha. About the result of this everybody knows from newspapers. So, starting from this spring, 10 years after the Chapaevsk Protest, we decided to quit. There is no sense in any discussions with authorities, as long as we don't have yet the responsible authorities.

Conclusion
Our authorities did not grow to constructive interaction with the inhabitants during the 10 years passed since the Chapaevsk events. But we all know that only one side will suffer from the future incidents - people. That is why, taking into consideration the negative experience, we decided to withdraw all our suggestions, which we initiated. First of all I mean the suggestion about the CWs destruction in places of its present storage.

Finally we came to an assumption: that our proposals about cooperation were considered by authorities as a sign of weakness. So, if inhabitants demand the CWs exportation from its storage places - it is their right. If inhabitants demand the withdrawal from a Convention on CWs, which requires CWs destruction before the 2007, - it is their right. If inhabitants demand the prohibition for CWs objects location at the concrete places - it is their right. An so on.

One wise man said that God forbid one be born at the time of changes. We already have occasion to live in our country in the time of changes, moreover we have occasion to face the problem of chemical disarmament under the conditions of anarchy. Let me finish my logic. It would be a suicide for the inhabitants of regions of present CWs storage to agree to the CWs destruction near their houses under the conditions of total State disorder.

Some can say, that there is nothing frightening, that we can overcome as we did before.
Let them try.

Producer - Union for Chemical Safety (Russia)
Editor - professor Lev A. Fedorov
117292 Russia, Moscow, 8-2-83 Profsojuznaja Str.
Tel/Fax: +7-095-129-05-96
Email: [email protected]
UCS-PRESS, 1999

Last updated:    December 1999

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