POSSIBLE MUSTARD GAS CACHE LOCATED IN FALLUJAH

S E C R E T BAGHDAD 001249 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/19/2018 TAGS: CWC IZ OPCW PARM PREL SUBJECT: POSSIBLE MUSTARD GAS CACHE LOCATED IN FALLUJAH Classified By: Political Military Minister Counselor Marcie B. Ries. R easons: 1.4 (b) & (d). ¶1. (S) SUMMARY: Following a lead from a local source, Coalition Forces located a metal tank buried under two meters of concrete near Fallujah in Anbar province on March ¶18. A non-intrusive test resulted in a positive reading for the blister agent mustard (HD). The tank appears to be intact. Further testing will not take place until specialized teams arrive in-country. The site remains secured by MNF-I, while further determination is made on the nature of the site and USG and/or GOI treaty obligations. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (S) Acting on information from a local source, Coalition Forces identified and unearthed a corner of a large metal tank buried under approximately 2 meters of concrete on March ¶18. Upon further clearing of the area around the tank, MNF-W secured the site and ordered preliminary, non-invasive testing. The testing was conducted on April 8 using a Portable Isotopic Neutron Spectroscopy (PINS),an instrument which permits the identification of chemical compounds without opening the container. The results of the scan indicated the presence of the blister agent mustard (HD). This test does not provide any information about the amount of the chemical inside the container, i.e. traces or significant quanities. More intrusive testing is required to determine this. That testing, however, will not occur until specialized teams arrive in Iraq. The date of the burial has been tentatively placed between 1991 and 1994, based on interviews with local residents, earlier reports from former officials and prelimary observations of the type of tank and concrete method of capping the tank. ¶3. (S) On April 21, representatives from several USG agencies met to discuss next steps. Among the issues raised were whether the GOI or MNF-I has responsibility for control of the site, and who bears the legal and financial responsibility for eventual site clean up. ¶4. (U) We note that the GOI has passed legislation for accession to the Chemical Weapons Convention but must await publication in the Official Gazette before presenting its accession to the UN. ¶5. (S) Post will work with MNF-I to resolve the above-mentioned issues and determine the nature of this site, i.e., whether it is a chemical weapons cache or a storage area for hazardous material waste products, how long the material has been buried, whether there is anything else buried there, plus treaty obligations for the USG and/or GOI. BUTENIS