Weapons of Mass Destruction
About Legacy
The global challenge of eliminating and cleaning up Cold War weapons requires a response that is global in scope.
The Security & Sustainability Program, internationally known as the Legacy Program, is an international effort by Global Green USA, the US affiliate of Green Cross International, and Green Cross affiliates in Belarus, Canada, Germany, Italy, Russia, Switzerland and the Ukraine. Operating on the principle of “cooperation, not confrontation,” the program facilitates the complex process of demilitarization through education, outreach and dialogue across local, state and national borders.
Forums & Dialogues
To foster dialogue on weapons of mass destruction, nonproliferation, and threat reduction issues, Global Green USA and its Green Cross affiliates bring together U.S. and foreign military and government officials, experts and private citizens in a variety of formats, from high-level meetings between senior policymakers to expert seminars to public forums. Known as “Track II” or backchannel diplomacy, these initiatives complement official government channels and are essential to real progress.
Weapon Stockpiles
The global elimination of Cold War-era weapons stockpiles and the lock-down of dangerous weapons materials is an expensive, technically complex and politically challenging proposition, with implications for security, public health and the environment. The stakes are high, and failure is not an option.
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Legacy News
Russia opens 4th chemical weapons destruction plant
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE. June 17, 2008.
Russia opened a fourth plant Tuesday to destroy its chemical weapons stockpiles, which are the largest in the world.
The destruction facility, located near the site of one of Russia's seven major chemical weapons arsenals, will help accelerate an ambitious effort to fully eliminate the stockpiles in less than four years.
The plant near Leonidovka in the Penza Oblast holds 7,600 tons (6,885 metric tons) of VX, sarin, and soman nerve agents, about 17 percent of Russia's declared chemical weapons stockpile, according to Global Green USA, the Washington-based affiliate of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's Green Cross International environmental organization. Learn More
Spring Valley Weapons Search to Continue
WASHINGTON POST. May 30, 2008.
The cleanup of World War I chemical weapons buried under the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest Washington could last three more years, as crews search for more shells and remove tainted soil, officials said yesterday.
The Spring Valley cleanup began in 1993, after a construction crew uncovered buried shells from a former testing ground for chemical weapons near American University.
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Publications
Russian Chemical National Dialogue Proceedings
The proceedings of the 9th Chemical National Dialogue on the Implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention by Russia as of the end of 2007. Nearly 150 experts, representing media, academia, federal authorities, and residents of those areas affected by CWD, took part in the Dialogue.
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Russian Nuclear National Dialogue: Energy, Society, and Security
The 1st Russian Nuclear National Dialogue meeting in Moscow on 18-19 April 2007 showed the enormous range of complex and unaddressed subjects in the Russian nuclear energy and security discussions and the difficulty for the diverse stakeholder groups to discuss these critical issues in a productive way. The Green Cross conference provided a unique platform to begin to address these challenges in a serious and transparent manner.
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