Dual Use of Scientific Knowledge and the Weapons of Mass Destruction

SPANEVELLO, R. A.

La Haya, Holanda

Conferencia; OPCW Academic Forum 2007; 2007

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)

Science is an intellectual adventure that implies the ideas of creativity and progress; it is an essential part of the modern culture that has transformed not only the material conditions of our lives but the very way in which we view the world. The primary objective of science is the construction of verifiable knowledge, constantly open to confirmation or rejection. One of the most appealing features of research is the great degree of personal freedom accorded to pursue exciting scientific opportunities, to exchange ideas freely with other scientist or to challenge conventional knowledge. Excellence in science requires such freedoms but there is a whole raft of questions about the dual use of science. Knowledge always has a dangerous side, you can use it for good or you can use it for ill Nowadays “dual use” is a term often used in politics and diplomacy to refer to scientific and technological research which can be used for both peaceful and hostile aims, however this concept has been present throughout the history of humanity, since ancient times. Writings of the Mohist sect form the 4th BC in China, describe the use of smoke from burning balls of mustard into tunnels being dug by a besieging army. Spartan forces besieging an Athenian city during the Peloponnesian War placed lighted mixture of wood, pitch, and sulfur under the walls hoping that the noxious smoke would incapacitate the Athenians. Also Solon of Athens is said to have used hellebore to poison the water in an aqueduct leading from the Pleistrus River around 590 BC during the siege of Cirrha. Another reference from the Renaissance is the letter sent by Leonardo Da Vinci to Ludovico Sforza (The Moor) Duke of Milan in the 15th Century in which he adviced to throw poison in the form of powder upon galleys. With the advent of the industrial revolution the “dual use” of scientific knowledge acquired an overwhelming relevance. Nuclear power and nuclear weapons provided an example, but neither Hertz’s discovery of the light effect on a metal plate nor Einstein’s development of the quantum mechanics could be considered harmful because they were dealing with scientific matters, not with the applications of this scientific knowledge. Evidently, scientists are concerned and some times involved in the applications of this acquired knowledge, however they are not the only actors of these applications of science, other members of the human society: politicians and citizens have the right and a responsibility on the applications of science. During their existence as independent nations, several countries in South America have shown their willingness to exclude the use of weapons of mass destruction in the region. The Mendoza Agreement on the Prohibition of Chemical and Biological Weapons signed in 1991 has been a good example that preceded the signature of the Chemical Weapons Convention.