VZCZCXRO8917
PP RUEHSL
DE RUEHC #7596/01 2341837
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 221819Z AUG 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AUSTRALIA GROUP COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHVB/AMEMBASSY ZAGREB PRIORITY 3162
RUEHKV/AMEMBASSY KYIV PRIORITY 1131
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY 5526
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMCSUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 087596 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PARM ETTC
SUBJECT: AUSTRALIA GROUP: CLARIFYING NOMINAL SIZE AND 
ROTOR DEFINITIONS (#2 OF 4) 
 
¶1.  (U) This is an action request.  Please see paragraph 2. 
 
-------------- 
ACTION REQUEST 
-------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Drawing on the background below, Department 
requests AG country Embassies provide the non-paper in 
paragraph 6 to appropriate host government officials and 
elicit a response. (Note: This is the second of four cables 
conveying U.S. proposals. End Note)  In delivering this 
non-paper, posts should indicate that the U.S. is sharing 
this non-paper as part of preparations for the September 
21-25 AG plenary and that we would appreciate hearing their 
views or any suggestions they may have on the non-paper. 
Also, request Embassy Canberra provide the non-paper to the 
AG chair for circulation as an official AG document. 
 
------------------ 
REPORTING DEADLINE 
------------------ 
 
¶3.  (U) Embassy should report results of this demarche by 
cable before September 7.  Please contact ISN/CB Andrew Souza 
at 202-647-4838 or via e-mail for further information. 
 
---------- 
BACKGROUND 
---------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The manufacturing process for many chemical warfare 
agents can be extremely caustic, requiring equipment that is 
made of specialized corrosion and heat-resistant materials. 
To help limit the proliferation of chemical weapons, the 
40-country Australia Group (AG) has agreed to require 
government permission for exports of this specialized 
chemical production equipment.  For this year's AG plenary 
session, the United States will present three proposals to 
refine this control list for dual-use chemical equipment. 
One proposal, detailed herein, is to clarify the meaning of 
two terms that are currently undefined, 'nominal size' and 
'rotor.' 
 
¶5.  (SBU) AG-controlled valves have a nominal size of greater 
than 1 cm.  U.S. producers of AG-controlled valves have 
encountered some difficulty determining nominal size when a 
valve's inlet and outlet ports are of different diameters. 
To resolve this issue, the United States is proposing that 
'nominal size' be defined as the smallest port on a valve. 
The term 'rotor' has also caused some confusion for U.S. 
manufacturers of AG-controlled pumps, as the term is used to 
describe different components in centrifugal and vacuum pump 
designs.  While vacuum pump rotors do come in contact with 
the chemical being pumped, centrifugal pump rotors do not. 
Therefore, AG countries are only concerned about the 
characteristics of vacuum pump rotors because they could help 
determine whether a particular design is appropriate for 
chemical warfare agent production.  The United States 
believes adding a parenthetical indicating that the term 
'rotors' applies to vacuum pump rotors only should eliminate 
this confusion. 
 
--------- 
NON-PAPER 
--------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Begin text of non-paper: 
 
AG-In-Confidence 
 
AUSTRALIA GROUP 
 
Australia Group Doc 
AG/Jul09/CL/USA/xx 
 
Clarifying the Terms 'Nominal Size' and 'Rotor' 
 
Issue 
 
Should the Australia Group (AG) provide exporters with 
 
STATE 00087596  002 OF 003 
 
 
explicit definitions of the terms 'nominal size' and 'rotor' 
used in the Control List for Dual-Use Chemical Manufacturing 
Facilities and Equipment and Related Technology and Software? 
 
Background 
 
At the April 2008 AG Plenary, the United States tabled a 
non-paper on clarifications to controls on dual-use chemical 
equipment.  One of the issues discussed in the paper was the 
absence of any definitions for the terms 'nominal size' and 
'rotor' used in the control list for dual-use chemical 
equipment.  Based on our discussions with AG members, during 
the 2008 plenary, the United States believes we should 
consider clarifying the control list to address this issue. 
 
Discussion 
 
Nominal Size 
 
From our experience, exporters sometimes ask for a definition 
of 'nominal size' in the control for valves.  This term is 
generally understood in the U.S. valve industry to mean the 
size of the inlet and outlet ports, or more specifically, the 
size of the pipes or tubes which connect the valve to the 
process.  To provide greater clarity, we recommend adding a 
technical note to the control for valves defining the 
'nominal size' as the smaller of the inlet and outlet port 
diameters. 
 
Rotor 
 
The term 'rotor' is identified in the control for pumps, but 
it is not defined.  The definition most often used in U.S. 
industry is to reference a vacuum pump part.  It is also used 
by some to refer to a shaft attached to an impeller in a 
centrifugal pump or to a shaft with impeller and bearings 
attached. In order to clarify the intent of the control, we 
recommend adding a technical note to the control for pumps 
indicated that the term 'rotors' refers to vacuum pumps only. 
 
Recommendation 
 
The United States recommends that the following technical 
notes be added to entries 6 (valves) and 8 (pumps) on the 
Control List for Chemical Equipment Manufacturing Facilities 
and Equipment and Related Technology and Software: 
 
¶6. Valves 
 
Valves with nominal sizes greater than 1.0 cm (3/8") and 
casings (valve bodies) or preformed casing liners designed 
for such valves, in which all surfaces that come in direct 
contact with the chemical(s) being produced, processed, or 
contained are made from the following materials: 
 
a. nickel or alloys with more than 40% nickel by weight; 
b. alloys with more than 25% nickel and 20% chromium by 
weight; 
c. fluoropolymers; 
d. glass or glass-lined (including vitrified or enamelled 
coating); 
e. tantalum or tantalum alloys; 
f. titanium or titanium alloys; 
g. zirconium or zirconium alloys; 
h. niobium (columbium) or niobium alloys; 
i. ceramic materials as follows: 
¶1. silicon carbide with a purity of 80% or more by weight; 
¶2. aluminum oxide (alumina) with a purity of 99.9% or more by 
weight; 
¶3. zirconium oxide (zirconia). 
 
Technical note: The 'nominal size' is defined as the smaller 
of the inlet and outlet port diameters. 
 
¶8. Pumps 
 
Multiple seal and seal-less pumps with manufacturer's 
specified maximum flow-rate greater than 0.6 m3/h, or vacuum 
pumps with manufacturer's specified maximum flow-rate greater 
than 5 m3/h (under standard temperature (273 K (0oC)) and 
pressure (101.3 kPA) conditions), and casings (pump bodies), 
preformed casing liners, impellers, rotors or jet pump 
nozzles designed for such pumps, in which all surfaces that 
come into contact with the chemical(s) being processed are 
made from any of the following materials: 
 
STATE 00087596  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
a. nickel or alloys with more than 40% nickel by weight; 
b. alloys with more than 25% nickel and 20% chromium by 
weight; 
c. fluoropolymers; 
d. glass or glass-lined (including vitrified or enamelled 
coating); 
e. graphite or carbon-graphite; 
f. tantalum or tantalum alloys; 
g. titanium or titanium alloys; 
h. zirconium or zirconium alloys; 
i. ceramics; 
j. ferrosilicon; or 
h. niobium (columbium) or niobium alloys; 
 
Technical note: The control term  rotors, refers to vacuum 
pump rotors only. 
 
End non-paper. 
 
¶7.  (U) Please begin all responses with AUSTRALIA GROUP and 
slug for ISN. 
 
¶8.  (U) Department thanks posts for their support. 
CLINTON