Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) Forensic Science Center (FSC) will assist a national laboratory from the North African nation of Morocco under an international program over the next year.
As an Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)-designated laboratory for more than two decades, LLNL will work with a Moroccan lab - the Casablanca-based National Laboratory of Scientific and Technical Police (DGSN) - to help it achieve its OPCW designation.
The partnership of the two labs, through the OPCW's twinning initiative, was commemorated in a signing ceremony at the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C. on June 14 with representatives from the U.S. and Moroccan governments and laboratories.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Mallory Stewart provided senior representation for the U.S., and she met with Ambassador Youssef Amrani, Moroccan ambassador to the United States, Morocco's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General Ismail Chekkori and the head of the Institute of Forensic Science and National Security, Taoufik Sayerh.
"This agreement represents a great opportunity to bring our expertise at the Forensic Science Center to bear on the international stage," said LLNL FSC Director Audrey Williams. "Counterproliferation requires international cooperation and benefits from strong partnerships around the world."
In Stewart's view, the OPCW designated laboratory network plays a pivotal role in the organization's verification regime and its capacity to investigate alleged chemical weapons use.
"With the continued challenges to the global norm against the use of chemical weapons by countries like Syria and Russia, the strengthening and expansion of the designated laboratory network is more important than ever. The OPCW Twinning Initiative will allow the Moroccan DGSN laboratory to work closely with LLNL to advance excellence in the field of chemical forensics," Stewart said.
The OPCW Laboratory Twinning Program aims to enhance the capacity of laboratories aspiring to become part of the network of OPCW designated laboratories through partnerships with member states who have OPCW designated laboratories and wish to share their knowledge and experience.
LLNL chemist Armando Alcaraz, who attended the June 14 signing and who has served as the principal investigator for the FSC's OPCW work for more than 20 years, said Livermore was selected to mentor the DGSN laboratory and help them enhance their skills in the use of analytical methods for analyzing compounds subject to the Chemical Warfare Convention (CWC), as well as their performance in OPCW proficiency tests.
"For the OPCW Laboratory Twinning Initiative, the Morocco forensic laboratory specifically requested LLNL to mentor their laboratory, as LLNL's Forensic Science Center is specialized in the analysis of chemical threat agents, has been an OPCW designated laboratory since 2003 and is active in other CWC verification activities," Alcaraz said.
Under the one-year memorandum of understanding between the two labs, it is expected that LLNL scientists will visit the Moroccan lab, provide an assessment of their capabilities and offer a plan to enhance their capabilities.
In turn, it is expected the Moroccan scientists will visit LLNL's FSC to observe how the Lab researchers analyze OPCW proficiency test samples and to receive mentoring on the Livermore center's methods of operation.
The U.S. delegation that attended the signing ceremony also included Deon Anex, an LLNL employee on assignment in Washington D.C., and James Henkel, both from the Department of Energy Office of Nonproliferation and Arms Control; as well as Kathleen McCormac-Miller and Siobhan Powers, both from the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence and Stability.
The event's Moroccan delegation also included Hakima Yahya, head of the National Police Scientific and Technical Laboratory; Rokia Ghchime, head of the Department of Risk Management; and Younes Sassi, political officer for the Moroccan Embassy.
The OPCW oversees compliance for the CWC treaty, which has been in force since 1997. Under the CWC, the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons is banned, as is the transfer of chemical-weapon-related technologies.
