40 years ago:

16 August 1985     A German newspaper reports that there are differences of opinion between the governments of the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany on what assurances had been given about the future of US chemical stockpiles in Europe. The article notes that Alfred Dregger, head of the CDU parliamentary group, believed he had returned from a visit to Washington DC with an assurance that the US merely wanted to withdraw ‘old and obsolete’ chemical weapons and not deploy new weapons, such as binary munitions, to Europe. However, US Secretary of Defense said later that no such assurance had been given and that he had only talked about possible considerations. Dregger is reported as noting that the peacetime storage of chemical weapons in West Germany is neither militarily nor politically meaningful.[1]
     [1] Wolfgang Borgman, ‘Disunity over chemical weapons plan’, Stuttgarter Zeitung, 16 August 1985, as translated and reproduced in German Tribune, 1 September 1985, p 2.

45 years ago:

4 August 1980     In Geneva, the Ad Hoc Working Group on Chemical Weapons reports to the Committee on Disarmament.
     [Note: the report lists agreed civilian uses of chemicals that could be exemptions under a convention: medical; scientific and research; industrial; agricultural; and riot control — no mention is made of ‘law enforcement’]
     [1] CD document CD/131/Rev.1, 4 August 1980 [extracts reproduced in Documents on Disarmament 1980, pp 328-34.]

50 years ago:

14 August 1975     In Geneva, Japan submits to the CCD a paper entitled ‘Working Paper Concerning the Scope of Chemical Agents that have Justification for Peaceful Purposes and an Example of a National Verification System’.[1]
     The contents of the paper are later described in the following terms:[2]

The control system established under the Japanese domestic ‘Law Concerning the Screening of Chemical Substances and Regulation of their Manufacture, etc.’, may offer an example of the functions of the national organ as suggested in CCD/420 [see 30 April 1974] and CCD/430 [see 12 July 1974], for ensuring compliance with the obligations of a CW convention. The law is intended to screen chemical substances which require control prior to their production or importation, and to place the necessary controls on the substances thus screened in order to prevent pollution.
     The law provides for: (a) the examination of any chemical substances listed, at any time; and (b) the obligation to report intended production or import of any substance not on the aforementioned list, prior to its examination. These new substances are classified as ‘harmless’ or ‘specified’ substances. Specified substances are to be kept under observation.

     [1] Japan, ‘Working Paper Concerning the Scope of Chemical Agents that have Justification for Peaceful Purposes and an Example of a National Verification System’, CCD document CCD/466, 14 August 1975.
     [2] Canada, Compendium of Arms Control Verification Proposals [Third Edition], Volume 3, May 1987, 450pp at p 200.

55 years ago:

5 August 1970     US plans for sea-dumping of chemical weapons prompts the following entry in the Central Intelligence Bulletin, produced each day by the CIA: ‘UK-Bahamas: London is in a quandary over US plans to dump obsolete nerve gas close to the Bahamas. Foreign Office officials, obviously concerned with Acting Prime Minister Hanna’s criticism, have proposed sending a technical group to Washington—with observers from the Bahamas and Bermuda—for ecological briefings. While wishing to accept and ratify Washington’s conclusions, the British officials suggested that the US action might be delayed pending completion of the experts’ report. They left open the possibility of an unfavorable finding.’[1]
     [1] United States, Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Bulletin, 5 August 1970, formerly marked ‘secret’, approved for release in redacted form 17 March 2004, CIA-RDP79T00975A016800100001-4, 13 pp at p 7.

18 August 1970     In Geneva, the UK introduces a second revision of its draft Biological Weapons Convention, which now includes toxins[1] [see 10 July 1969 for the original text and 26 August 1969 for the first revision]. A general change therefore is that wherever ‘microbial or other biological agents’ had been referred to the text now reads ‘microbial or other biological agents or toxins’.
     Article I now reads: ‘Each of the Parties to the Convention undertakes, insofar as it may not already be committed in that respect under the Treaties or other instruments in force prohibiting the use of chemical and biological methods of warfare, never in any circumstances, by making use for hostile purposes of microbial or other biological agents or toxins causing death, damage or disease to man, other animals, or crops, to engage in biological methods of warfare.’
     Article II.a.i now refers to ‘microbial or other biological agents or toxins of types and in quantities that have no justification for prophylactic or other peaceful purposes’ instead of ‘microbial or other biological agents of types and in quantities that have no independent peaceful justification for prophylactic or other purposes’.
     [Note: there is occasionally some confusion caused by the change in document numbering when the ENDC became the CCD [see 26 August 1969] — CCD/255/Rev.2 is the second revision of ENDC/255.]
     [1] CCD/255/Rev.2, plus working paper ‘Verification of Chemical Weapons Arms Control Measures’, CCD/308, reproduced in The Disarmament Negotiations 1970, Cmnd 4725, pp 89-93. The introduction in the plenary session is reported in document CCD/PV.488.