Mustard gas stockpiles still in Libya

Belgian Defense Minister Pieter de Crem said Wednesday that Libya still retains about 11 tons of mustard gas meant to be destroyed. Ousted dictator Moammar Gadhafi entered Libya into the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in 2004 and declared the country had 1.4 metric tons of raw materials to produce chemical weapons and 55 tons of mustard gas. By March 2011, 55 percent of that stockpile had been destroyed, Ria Novosti said. The country still had 11.25 tons of mustard gas to deal with, the disposal of which was interrupted by the uprising that ultimately killed Gadhafi. Mustard gas can cause large blisters or chemical burns on exposed skin and eyes, as well as bleeding and blistering in the respiratory system. RIA Novostri reports the mustard gas was produced at a chemical plant in Rabata, about 60 miles south of Tripoli. Stockpiles are located Rabata, al-Jufra and south of Sirte.