Disarming Iraq - UNMOVIC Statements 8,9,10 Dec.

Disarming Iraq

UNMOVIC/IAEA Press Statement on Inspection Activities in Iraq

10 December

An UNMOVIC Biological team carried out inspection at two sites, National Project for Controlling Brucellosis and Tuberculosis (NPCBT); and Saddam Center for Biotechnology (SCB). The NPCBT was declared and monitored before 1998. The site inspection was a re-baseline inspection based on the Iraqi declaration of 1 October 2002. The site has limited equipment for small batch production of animal vaccine and diagnostics. The SCB is a newly declared site and a detailed baseline inspection was completed. The team confirmed the location of a third site in Baghdad related to communicable diseases, which was newly declared. The team accomplished the inspection objectives smoothly.

The IAEA inspected a large number of sites today.

At Tuwaitha, a team continued to take a physical inventory of nuclear materials from Iraq’s past nuclear programme. This work should be completed by the end of Thursday.

A team investigated an outlying site of the Al Qa Qaa explosives plant. (The main Al Qa Qaa complex was inspected on Monday.) The outlying site, called Sumood-4, is near the city of Mussayib and was associated with a past program. Sumood-4 is co-located with the Sadda Cement Factory. The cement plant was also inspected for dual-use capabilities. The same team inspected the Al Furat State Company for Chemical Industries in Mussayib. The Al Furat plant is a large chemical production site that produces large quantities of industrial chemicals, as well as some food items.

Inspections were made at a complex of sites belonging to the Al Karama facility. The individual sites inspected comprised of Ibn al Haytham, the associated stores of the Military Industrialisation Committee (MIC), the Al Fatah Company and the Al Sumood factory. The primary aim of the inspections was to carry out a review of current activities of the site as well as the activities since 1998, and also to ascertain the disposition and use of various machine tools and items of equipment that were previously known to the IAEA.

One other team has departed Baghdad for the Qaim Phosphate Complex near the town of Al-Qaim on the western border of Iraq. Qaim was previously associated with Iraq’s production of uranium from ores found in the area. The team is tasked with verifying the status of destroyed equipment at this site and an inspection to determine that no uranium extraction activities have been resumed.

Hiro Ueki
Spokesman for UNMOVIC and the IAEA in Baghdad

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Disarming Iraq

UNMOVIC IAEA Press Statement on Inspection Activities in Iraq

9 December

An UNMOVIC team carried out an inspection at the Falluja II site of the Al-Tariq Company. This site is located in the Falluja district about 100 km west of Baghdad and is nearby to the Falluja III site, which was visited yesterday by the same inspection team.

The Fallujah II site comprises the headquarters of the Al-Tariq Company and a factory area. Only the factory area was inspected. Two separate chemical plants are in the factory area and their major activity is the production of phenol and chlorine. The chlorine plant is currently inoperative.

The site contains a number of tagged dual-use items of equipment, which were all accounted for. All key buildings were inspected in addition to the chlorine and phenol plants. The objectives of the visit were successfully achieved.

The IAEA inspected three sites: Tuwaitha, Ash Shakyli and Al Qa Qaa.

Tuwaitha is a large complex site. Five teams were deployed to the site. They utilised a wide range of inspection techniques, ranging from visual inspections to sampling for detection of any potential radiological activity using Gamma surveys, water sampling and swipe sampling techniques. The team also started to take a physical inventory of nuclear materials from Tuwaitha’s, which are the last known remnants of the past nuclear programme.

A detailed inspection was made of Ash Shakyli. All buildings were inspected and sampled for the detection of radiological materials.

An IAEA team at Al Qa Qaa began inventorying known explosive materials from the past nuclear programme that were previously under the control of the IAEA. Other tasks involved inspecting a number of key buildings and outdoor sites within the huge Al Qa Qaa complex.

Hiro Ueki
Spokesman for UNMOVIC and the IAEA in Baghdad

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Disarming Iraq

UNMOVIC/IAEA Press Statement on Inspection Activities in Iraq

8 December

An UNMOVIC team carried out an inspection of the Falluja III site of the Al-Tariq Company. This site is located in the Falluja district about 100 km west of Baghdad.

Falluja III is a chemical factory engaged in the production of pesticides, insecticides and rodent poisons. A research and development department is also located at the facility and is concerned with new formulations and synthetic processes for local production of active ingredients.

The site contains a number of tagged dual-use items of equipment, which were all accounted for. Additionally, all key buildings at the site were inspected. The objectives of the visit were successfully achieved.

The IAEA inspection team went to the State Establishment for Geological Survey and the associated Geo-Pilot plant facilities. These facilities had previously been involved in the mapping of ore assays and developmental processing of those ores. The team conducted its inspections without delay.

An additional 25 inspectors arrived in Baghdad today. 21 are from the IAEA and 4 from UNMOVIC. The total number of inspectors currently in Iraq is 15 UNMOVIC inspectors and 27 IAEA inspectors. Another 25 to 30 inspectors, all from UNMOVIC, are expected to arrive in Baghdad on 10 December.

Hiro Ueki
Spokesman for UNMOVIC and the IAEA in Baghdad

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