Biological Sampling and Analysis Procedures for the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) in Iraq
In: Politics and the life sciences: PLS ; a journal of political behavior, ethics, and policy, Band 14, Heft 2, S. 240-243
ISSN: 1471-5457
In June/July 1994, I was fortunate in having been selected by the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) to be the chief inspector (CI) of one of the most interesting inspections conducted by the commission, namely UNSCOM 84/BW6. This particular inspection was fascinating because of its complexity—the team not only conducted inspections of Iraqi biological research and production facilities, it also excavated a site that UNSCOM surmised might contain materials from Iraq's former BW program. As such, this inspection was the first time that UNSCOM collected environmental samples for analysis. In this paper I discuss my experiences during this inspection and comment on the effectiveness of sampling and analysis as a verification measure.