“The mission of the OPCW is to implement the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in order to achieve the OPCW’s vision of a world that is free of chemical weapons and of the threat of their use, and in which cooperation in chemistry for peaceful purposes for all is fostered."

Chemical weapons should be seen in the context of other chemical substances that can cause harm to humans and the environment. Air pollutants are one of the many other categories of substances that compromise human and environmental safety. Outdoor air pollution is a substantial threat to human health, given that it was estimated to cause 3 million premature deaths worldwide in 2012. Due to their hazard to human and environmental safety, air pollutants are also a category of substances of concern to the OPCW. As citizens use these resources to build simple sensors, measure the levels of trace air pollutants, and share data with others, they will also come to appreciate the monitoring work done by OPCW to detect trace levels of substances listed on the CWC schedules of compounds.

Nurturing cooperation in chemistry for peaceful and responsible uses is also an integral part of the OPCW strategy for achieving a world free of chemical weapons, and preventing their re-emergence. OPCW hopes that citizens participating in this project by building and using tools for understanding and measuring priority air pollutants, will also develop an appreciation of the responsible uses of science and technology, and be able to more meaningfully take action toward better local air quality.

More information may be found at: Mahaffy, P. G.; Martin, B.; Ooms, K. J.; Tappenden, A. F.; Oliver, M.; Hislop-Hook, R.; Forman, J.; Mans, U.; Sabou, J. Citizen science and international collaboration through environmental monitoring with simple chemical sensors. Pure Appl Chem 2017, 89(2).

Project Members
- Dr. Jonathan Forman, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
- Dr. Peter Mahaffy, KCVS, The King’s University
- Dr. Brian Martin, KCVS, The King’s University
- Dr. Kristopher Ooms, KCVS, The King’s University
- Rachel Hislop-Hook, KCVS, The King’s University
- Mckenzie Oliver, KCVS, The King’s University
- Marc-Olivier Lajeunesse, KCVS, University of Alberta
- Alexander Shmakov, KCVS The King’s University


Other Contributors
-Dr. Melanie Hoffman, The King’s University
-Dr. Matthew Ooms, University of Toronto
-Dr. Sarah Styler, University of Alberta
-Dr. David Stone, Univeristy of Toronto
-Benjamin Bachman, The King’s University
-Chris Mostert, The King’s University