[CPEO-MEF] MUNITIONS, GLOBAL: "Dangerous Depots"

[Lenny Siegel <LSiegel@cpeo.org>]

Dangerous Depots: The Growing Humanitarian Problem Posed by Aging and  
Poorly Maintained Munitions Storage Sites


U.S. Department of State
BUREAU OF POLITICAL-MILITARY AFFAIRS
January 23, 2012

On July 11, 2011, 98 shipping containers holding gunpowder at the  
Evangelos Florakis naval base on Cyprus exploded. The blast killed 13  
people and injured 61 others. Additionally, the blast damaged the  
Vasiliko Power Plant, causing widespread rolling power outages. The  
containers had been sitting out in the open for more than two years,  
where they were subject to the hot Mediterranean climate. As this and  
other all-too-frequent incidents illustrate, the proper maintenance,  
storage, and safeguarding of conventional weapons and munitions is of  
vital importance. Failure to conduct proper physical security and  
stockpile management poses as significant a humanitarian challenge as  
the well-known threat of landmines and explosive remnants of war left  
uncleared from past conflicts.

Since the 1990s, there have been an increasing number of catastrophic  
explosions at arms storage facilities around the world. The frequency  
of such incidents has increased as urban populations have expanded  
outward from city centers to the vicinity of what were often  
previously isolated depots. The Office of Weapons Removal and  
Abatement in the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Political- 
Military Affairs (PM/WRA) and the Department of Defense's Defense  
Threat Reduction Agency remain committed to helping to confront this  
problem.

Since 2001, the United States has partnered with more than 30  
countries to promote safe disposal of surplus and aging weapons and  
munitions, including more than 1.5 million small arms and light  
weapons, more than 90,000 tons of munitions, and approximately 32,700  
man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS). In addition, U.S. experts  
have provided assistance to improve stockpile management practices.  
On several occasions, PM/WRA has also deployed its Quick Reaction  
Force to help other countries mitigate risks from potentially  
dangerous depots, as well as to safely remove and dispose of  
unexploded ordnance (UXO) following incidents at these facilities.

...

For the entire release, see
http://www.state.gov/t/pm/rls/fs/182344.htm

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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