Assistance to the Government of Serbia in Demilitarization of White Phosphorus Filled Ammunition and Napalm Powder

The project contributes to the Capacity Development Programme for Conventional Ammunition Stockpile Management for the Republic of Serbia (CASM) that has been established by the OSCE, UNDP and Ministry of Defence of Serbia in January 2012. The overall goal of the project is to improve safety and security of the ammunition stockpiles in Serbia, reduce risks to health and life of the civilian population living in the neighbourhood of the ammunition storage depots and prevent possible ammunition proliferation through demilitarization and disposal of surplus white phosphorus- and special chemicals filled ammunition, including napalm powder, in a safe, efficient and effective way.

Objective

The underlying objective is to improve the safety and security of citizens by limiting the risk of uncontrolled explosions or contamination from hazardous materials, as well as safeguarding against the illegal proliferation of ammunition to criminal or terrorist organisations. In making these improvements, the government of Serbia also contributes to the broader security situation in the Balkans.

Background

Serbia possesses significant stocks of outdated and unstable CA, including munitions consisting of hazardous and toxic chemicals. The threat of uncontrolled explosions, environmental contamination, and illegal proliferation are exacerbated by poor standards of PSSM at storage sites. For this reason, the Serbian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has targeted upgrades to the physical condition, infrastructure, and demilitarisation capacities of storages.

Activities

The project consists of 3 distinct components:

• the demilitarization and disposal of surplus stocks of WP and CS-filled ammunition and napalm powder;
• infrastructural development of ammunition areas and capacity development of ammunition management systems;
• infrastructural improvements to the demilitarization capacity of the Kragujevac site.

Results

• Disposal of 162 tonnes of napalm powder.
• Disposal of 525 tonnes of white phosphorus filled ammunition.
• Disposal of 94,279 pieces of special smoke ammunition.
• Demilitarization process safety upgrades in Kragujevac site, with antistatic floors introduced in January 2015, and internal CCTV system installed in 2016.
• Sprinkler (fire-fighting) system design prepared and approved by MoD.

UPDATE

The installation of the sprinkler system is the only remaining activity under this project. Its installation is on hold as a result of the explosions at the demilitarization facility in Kragujevac, which took place on 28 Feb 2017.

Information on the way forward will be provided to the donors pending feedback from the Ministry of Defence.

Funding gap

EUR 60,000