Italy signs Facility Agreement

A Facility Agreement between Italy and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) was signed on 29 March 2006 by H.E. Ambassador Angelo Gabriele De Ceglie on behalf of Italy, and by Mr. Tibor Toth, Executive Secretary, on behalf of the Preparatory Commission. The Agreement grants the Preparatory Commission the necessary legal authority to carry out work on International Monitoring System (IMS) facilities on Italy?s territory. The CTBTO Preparatory Commission has now signed 34 Facility Agreements with States hosting IMS facilities. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which Italy ratified on 1 February 1999, bans any nuclear weapons test explosions or any other nuclear explosions. Compliance with the terms of the Treaty is monitored by a global verification regime. The 337-facility International Monitoring System (IMS), a key part of the verification regime, uses seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasound and radionuclide technologies to detect evidence of possible nuclear explosions. Under the terms of the CTBT, Italy hosts one auxiliary seismic station (AS050) and one radionuclide laboratory (RL10). The IMS network consists of 50 primary seismic stations, 120 auxiliary seismic stations, 60 infrasound stations, 11 hydroacoustic stations, 80 radionuclide stations and 16 radionuclide laboratories that monitor the earth for evidence of a nuclear explosion. Data from the IMS stations are transmitted to the International Data Centre (IDC) in Vienna, where they are processed and forwarded to the Member States for their review.

For further information on the CTBTO, please see www.ctbto.org or contact:
Annika Thunborg, Chief, Public Information  
T    +43 1 26030-6375  
E    [email protected]
M    +43 699 1459 6375       
I    www.ctbto.org