Asked by: Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the future environmental risk of the arrangements to neutralise Syria's chemical weapons at sea.
Answered by Baroness Warsi
The Chemical Weapons Convention requires that the highest priority is given to ensuring the safety of people and to protecting the environment when destroying chemical weapons, and the plan has been endorsed by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical by the Weapons. Waste products from this process will be stored safely and securely in industry standard containers, and will subsequently be disposed of in Germany and Finland, in accordance with national legislation. No waste from this process will be disposed of at sea.