For the purposes provided in this Decree, the following terms are defined in accordance with the provisions of the Convention and its Annexes:
3.1 First Response Forces: For the purposes of this regulation, first response forces are understood to mean police and emergency forces.
3.2 Convention: Refers to the United Nations Convention of January 13, 1993, on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, ratified by the Legislative Assembly through Law number 7571 of February 7, 1996.
3.3 ANAQ: National Authority for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (Autoridad Nacional para la Prohibición de las Armas Químicas).
3.4 Chemical weapons: Chemical weapons means the following, together or separately:
- a)Toxic chemical substances and their precursors, except where intended for purposes not prohibited by the Convention, as long as the types and quantities involved are compatible with such purposes; b) Munitions or devices specifically designed to cause death or harm through the toxic properties of the substances specified in subsection a) that are released by the use of those munitions or devices; or c) Any equipment specifically designed to be used directly in connection with the use of the munitions or devices specified in subsection b).
3.5 Toxic chemical substance: Any chemical substance which, through its chemical action on life processes, can cause death, temporary incapacitation, or permanent harm to humans or animals. This includes all chemical substances of that class, regardless of their origin or method of production, and whether they are produced in facilities, as munitions, or otherwise.
3.6 Precursor: Any chemical reactant which takes part at any stage in the production by whatever method of a toxic chemical substance. This includes any key component (componente clave) of a binary or multicomponent chemical system.
3.7 Key component: The precursor which plays the most important role in determining the toxic properties of the final product and reacts rapidly with other chemicals in the binary or multicomponent system.
3.8 Defined organic chemical substance (SQOD): Any chemical substance belonging to the category of chemical compounds consisting of all compounds of carbon, except for its oxides, sulfides, and metallic carbonates, identifiable by its chemical name, structural formula, if known, and Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry number, if assigned.
3.9 PSF chemical substance: A defined organic chemical substance (sustancia química orgánica definida, SQOD) containing the elements phosphorus, sulfur, or fluorine.
3.10 PSF plants: Production plants which have produced by synthesis more than 30 tonnes of a PSF chemical substance.
3.11 Old chemical weapons:
- a)Chemical weapons produced before 1925 b) Chemical weapons produced between 1925 and 1946 that have deteriorated to such an extent that they can no longer be used as chemical weapons.
3.12 Riot control agents: Any chemical substance not listed in a Schedule of the Convention, which can rapidly produce in humans sensory irritation or disabling physical effects which disappear within a short time following termination of exposure to the agent.
3.13 Facility: In the context of Article VI of the Convention, it means any of the industrial establishments defined below ("industrial complex" (complejo industrial), "plant" (planta) and "unit" (unidad)) a) "Industrial complex" (factory, exploitation) means the local integration of one or more plants, with any intermediate administrative level, under a single operational control and with common infrastructure, such as:
- i)Administrative and other offices; ii) Repair and maintenance workshops; iii) Medical center; iv) Utilities; v) Central analytical laboratory; vi) Research and development laboratories; vii) Central effluent and waste treatment area; and viii) Warehouses b) "Plant" (production facility, factory) means a relatively self-contained area, structure, or building comprising one or more units with auxiliary and associated infrastructure, such as:
- i)A small administrative section; ii) Storage/handling areas for inputs and products; iii) An effluent/waste handling/treatment area; iv) A control/analysis laboratory; v) A first-aid medical section/related medical services; and vi) Records linked to the movement into, around, and out of the complex of declared chemical substances and their inputs or chemical substances formed from them, as appropriate.
- c)"Unit" (production unit, process unit) means the combination of items of equipment, including vessels and their arrangement, necessary for the production, processing (elaboración), or consumption of a chemical substance.
3.14 Chemical weapons production facility: A chemical weapons production facility means:
- a)Any equipment, as well as any building housing such equipment, that was designed, constructed, or used at any time since January 1, 1946:
i. As part of the chemical substance production stage ("final technological stage") where material streams would contain, when the equipment is in operation:
1. Any chemical substance listed in Schedule 1 of Annex No. 1 on chemical substances; or 2. Any other chemical substance that has no application, in quantities above one tonne per year, in the territory of a State Party or in any other place under its jurisdiction or control, for purposes not prohibited by this Convention, but which can be used for chemical weapons purposes; or ii. For filling chemical weapons, including, inter alia, the filling of Schedule 1 chemicals into munitions, devices, or bulk storage containers; the filling of chemicals into containers that form part of assembled binary munitions and devices or into chemical submunitions that form part of assembled unitary munitions and devices; and the loading of the containers and chemical submunitions into the respective munitions and devices.
- b)The following are not considered included:
i. Any facility whose production capacity for the synthesis of the chemical substances specified in point i of subsection a) is less than one tonne; ii. Any facility in which a chemical substance specified in point i of subsection a) is produced as an unavoidable byproduct of activities for purposes not prohibited by the Convention, provided that such chemical substance does not exceed 3% of the total product and that the facility is subject to declaration and inspection under the Annex on Implementation and Verification; nor iii. The single small-scale facility for the production of Schedule 1-A chemicals for purposes not prohibited by the Convention, referred to in Part VI of the Verification Annex.
3.15 Approved equipment: The devices and instruments necessary for the fulfillment of the inspection team's obligations that have been homologated by the OPCW Technical Secretariat in accordance with the regulations prepared by it under paragraph 27 of Part II of the Verification Annex of the Convention. It may also include administrative supplies or recording equipment used by the inspection team.
3.16 Purposes not prohibited:
- a)Industrial, agricultural, research, medical, pharmaceutical, or other peaceful purposes; b) Protective purposes, namely those related directly to protection against toxic chemical substances and against chemical weapons; c) Military purposes not connected with the use of chemical weapons and not dependent on the toxic properties of chemical substances as a method of warfare; d) Maintenance of order, including domestic riot control.
3.17 Production: (of a chemical substance): Its formation through chemical reaction.
3.18 Processing: (of a chemical substance): A physical process, such as formulation, extraction, and purification, in which the chemical substance is not converted into another.
3.19 Consumption: (of a chemical substance): Its conversion into another substance via chemical reaction.
3.20 Declaration: Official document issued by the States to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons or another State, regarding substances and facilities controlled by the Convention, in the territories under their jurisdiction.
3.21 Inspection mandate: The instructions given by the Director-General of the OPCW to the inspection team for carrying out a specific inspection.
3.22 Challenge inspection: Inspection requested by a State Party of any facility or location in the territory of any other State Party or in any other place under its jurisdiction or control for the sole purpose of clarifying and resolving any question concerning possible non-compliance with the provisions of the Convention, which shall be conducted anywhere and without delay by an inspection team designated by the Director-General and in accordance with the Verification Annex.
3.23 Observer: A representative of a requesting State Party or a third State Party to observe a challenge inspection.
3.24 Point of entry / Point of exit: The place designated for the arrival in the country of the inspection teams for the purpose of conducting inspections in accordance with the Convention, or for their exit after completing their mission.
3.25 Perimeter: In the case of a challenge inspection, the external boundary of the inspection polygon, defined either by geographic coordinates or by description on a map.
3.26 Inspection team: The group of inspectors and inspection assistants assigned by the Director-General of the OPCW to conduct a specific inspection.
3.27 In-country escort: The individuals specified by the inspected State Party and, as appropriate, by the host State, who wish to accompany and assist the inspection team during the entire period in the country.
3.28 Confidential information: Information shall be considered confidential, in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 7975, Law on Undisclosed Information, published in La Gaceta No. 12 of January 18, 2000.
3.29 OPCW: Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (Organización para la Prohibición de las Armas Químicas, OPAQ) 3.30 Schedule: Refers to Schedules 1, 2, and 3 of the Annex on chemical substances of the Convention.