Nomenclature, Chemical Abstracts Service Numbers, Isomer Enumeration, Ring Strain, and Stereochemistry: What Does Any of This Have to Do with an International Chemical Disarmament and Nonproliferation Treaty?

Abstract

The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is an international disarmament and nonproliferation treaty that mandates a comprehensive ban on chemical weapons. This treaty entered-into-force in 1997 and has a nearly universal membership of world states. The CWC provides definitions for what constitutes a chemical weapon and describes chemicals for which verification measures and regulatory oversight are required. These chemicals, which must be declared to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for verification purposes, appear in three Schedules within the CWC. The Schedules list specific chemical substances and families of chemicals defined by molecular structure descriptions that allow a range of specified variable groups. The text of an international treaty provides a basis for laws and regulatory requirements at international and national levels that must be enacted to comply with treaty obligations. These laws and regulations must account for the "chemistry" that is described in the treaty text, which has been negotiated and agreed upon by world governments. In this paper, we look at some of the chemicals described within the CWC and discuss how atoms and molecules, nomenclature, and Chemical Abstracts Service numbers, isomer enumeration, ring strain, and stereochemistry influence the obligations of States to an international treaty. The material draws upon the authors' experiences from an interactive "Science for Diplomats" initiative that has provided a forum for engaging with chemical disarmament decision-makers to aid in their understanding of fundamental concepts in chemistry that have an impact on treaty implementation. We hope this article will spark interest from chemistry students and educators in the provision of science advice for policymakers and provide policymakers with an appreciation of the complexity and importance of understanding the language of chemistry in support of a world free of chemical weapons.

Comment on “Nomenclature, Chemical Abstracts Service Numbers, Isomer Enumeration, Ring Strain, and Stereochemistry: What Does Any of This Have to Do with an International Chemical Disarmament and Nonproliferation Treaty?”

“…I n the context of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), Pontes et al in a recent paper in this Journal emphasized the need for understanding the language of chemistry, which is relevant to any regulatory system for chemicals. 1 We completely agree. Unfortunately, that paper contains several erroneous numbers in tables and text, and for many given numbers, their origin is not transparent.…”

“…In the context of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), Pontes et al in a recent paper in this Journal emphasized the need for understanding the language of chemistry, which is relevant to any regulatory system for chemicals . We completely agree.…”

Reply to “Comment on ‘Nomenclature, Chemical Abstracts Service Numbers, Isomer Enumeration, Ring Strain, and Stereochemistry: What Does Any of This Have to Do with an International Chemical Disarmament and Nonproliferation Treaty?’”

“…In light of the corrections provided by Rücker, Meringer, and Wassermann, we also provide the following clarifications to the original paper …”

“…In light of the corrections provided by Rucker, Meringer, and Wassermann, we also provide the following clarifications to the original paper. 2 First, we refer to the final paragraph of the left-hand side of page 1721 (under the section on "Isomer Enumeration"). Three numbers appear in that paragraph estimating the number of Schedule 1A01 chemical structures derived from acyclic R 1 and R 2 alkyl substituents.…”

“…A letter by Rücker, Meringer, and Wassermann submitted to this Journal provides some highly appreciated corrections to enumeration estimates contained in our recent paper describing how the science of chemistry intersects with the text (and thus impacts on implementation) of the international chemical weapons disarmament and nonproliferation treaty, the Chemical Weapons Convention . We are grateful to the authors of the letter for their attention to our work and for providing the accurate enumeration values.…”