Muthana State Establishment

Muthana State Establishment was built in the early 1980's under the guise of a pesticide production plant dubbed "The State Establishment for Pesticide Production "SEPP", (its name changed later to Muthana State Establishment).

This Iraqi chemical weapon program was assisted by a wide variety of companies and governments .[2][3][4][5][6]

German companies helped Iraq to build Muthana facilities such as laboratories, an administrative building, bunkers early 1980s.

Other German companies provided Iraq with 1,027 tons of precursors of mustard gas, sarin, tabun, and tear gasses in all. This work allowed Iraq to produce 150 tons of mustard agent and 60 tons of Tabun in 1983 and 1984 respectively, continuing throughout the decade.

Between 1981 and 1991, Muthana establishment produced over 3,857 tons of chemical weapons agents part of them has been used against Iranian forces and civilian Kurdish.[7]

Al Muthanna essentially ceased production in December 1990 and refocused resources on dispersing Chemical Weapons stockpiles and equipment for protection against the anticipated bombing campaigns, which started in January 1991. During the Gulf War, production laboratories and facilities were destroyed. In addition one storage bunker was destroyed because of secondary explosion, and two others bunkers were severely damaged.

Between 1992 and 1994 the Muthana site was the main collection and destruction site for Chemical Weapons agents, precursor chemicals, and chemical production equipment. Between 1992 and 1994, the UNSCOM destroyed 30,000 pieces of ordnance, 480,000 liters of chemical agents, and more than 2 million liters of chemical precursors. Eventually, most of the facilities at the complex the Iraqi’s destroyed and sold for scrap.[9]

Munitions have been considered unstable and too dangerous for destruction, therefore filled in barrels and buried in Two sealed Cruciform bunkers. While the bunkers damaged by coalition airstrikes, collapsed, concealing unaccounted Chemical Weapons equipment and munitions in the debris.

UNSCOM decided to excavate several destroyed buildings at Muthanna. Since their ruin due to airstrikes in February 1991, access to the buildings had been considered impossible due to safety considerations. Nevertheless, UNSCOM decided that it should make a major effort to excavate the site. From 24 February to 10 March 1996, UNSCOM 129B, an international team of 26 inspectors, excavated six sections of buildings at Muthanna and searched a number of other areas and buildings. During this mission, the team discovered and retrieved documents and computer discs. In addition, the team removed some 80 munitions and components, including 122 millimetre artillery chemical warheads and 155 millimetre "binary" artillery shells.[10]