Non-Nuclear Treaties

The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction (BWC) entered into force in 1975.  As party to the BWC, the United States has pledged not to develop, produce, stockpile, acquire, or retain biological agents or toxins of types and in quantities that have no justification for peaceful purposes.

In support of this treaty, NNSA:

• Provides policy and technical experts to U.S. delegations engaged in BWC negotiations;
• Represents NNSA, the Department of Energy and their national laboratory interests on BWC-related matters in a group composed of representatives from the U.S. government responsible for developing U.S. policy on the BWC;
• Monitors NNSA, Department of Energy and national laboratory biological activities to verify that all such activities are compliant with the U.S. government BWC obligations.

The United States is a member the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which prohibits the development, production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons.  The CWC entered into force in 1997.  The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) conducts inspections under the CWC of declared (industrial) chemical facilities and has the right to conduct “challenge inspections” of undeclared sites, including the Department of Energy’s (DOE) nuclear sites, to investigate allegations of CWC.

NNSA’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) serves as one of the designated OPCW laboratories in the United States, which are responsible for the handling and analysis of all U.S. samples, and which must meet annual OPCW proficiency criteria.  LLNL advisors also provide technical support to the U.S. government and the OPCW concerning CWC implementation.