According to a Federal Register notice published on August 13, the BIS (Bureau of Industry and Security) is seeking public comment on the commercial impacts of the proposed addition of five chemical families to Schedule 1 of the โAnnex on Chemicalsโ to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
The CWC is an international arms control treaty limiting the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons and their precursors.
Schedule 1 chemicals and precursors have been identified by the CWC as โposing a high risk to the object and purpose of the convention,โ and the CWC places restrictions on the production of such chemicals for protective measures.
The CWC States Parties havenโt reached agreement on adding the five chemical families to Schedule 1.
The five chemical families are:
- P-alkyl-N-fluorophosphonyl amidines;
- ะ-Alkyl-N-fluorophosphorylamidines;
- ะ -alkyl-N-fluorophosphonyl guanidines;
- Carbamates (quaternaries and bisquarternaries of dimethlcarbamoyloxypyridines);
- Fluorophosphoryl dihaloformaldoximes (also referred to as substituted ((alkyliden)amino)oxy-phosphates and phosphonates)
โBIS is seeking public comments to assist in determining whether the legitimate commercial activities and interests of chemical, biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms in the United States would be significantly harmed by the limitations that would be imposed on access to, and production of, the compounds included in the five chemical families identified above, if the CWC States Parties were to agree to add these chemical families to โSchedule 1โ in the CWC โAnnex on Chemicals,โโ BIS said.
Comments must be received by September 13, BIS said.
