The Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program (CBWNP) researches the proliferation of chemical (including toxin) and biological weapons and develops strategies for halting and reversing their spread. CBWNP has its main office in Monterey, California, and is represented at the CNS office in Washington, D.C. CBWNP's research agenda has included: monitoring and assessing biological cooperative threat reduction activities in Russia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus; assessing both the proliferation potential of the anti-plague systems of the former Soviet states and their probable benefits for international public health; appraising the biosecurity implications of emerging technologies, such as synthetic biology and protein engineering; monitoring developments related to international biological and chemical arms control; and researching and assessing potential toxin-related problem areas of interest to the State of California.

The Program's products include reports, journal articles, books, occasional papers, profiles of country CBW capabilities, and the "ChemBio and WMD Terrorism News" listserv. CBWNP staff members also help to maintain a comprehensive database of terrorist incidents involving CBW and radiological/nuclear materials, and prepare in-depth case studies of the acquisition and use of CBW by terrorists and proliferant nations. Further, the Program augments CNS community-building efforts by training Monterey Institute students and visiting scholars from the Newly Independent States and China in technical and policy issues related to CBW nonproliferation.

CBWNP is the lead unit within CNS for activities undertaken as part of the Centers for Public Health Preparedness (CPHP) program. This program, which is funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and administered by the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH), aims to train state and local health officials to improve preparedness for natural and man-made catastrophic events. The four CPHPs in California are CNS, the Center for Infectious Disease Preparedness at UC Berkeley the Center for Public Health and Disasters at UCLA, and the School of Public Health at Loma Linda University.

CBWNP is active in coordinating preparedness training for catastrophic events caused by human activities, particularly chemical and biological terrorism. As such, staff members are skilled in designing and executing tabletop exercises based on Department of Homeland Security guidelines and client needs. CBWNP is presently accepting proposals for projects that fall under this activity; please contact the department for information.
CBWNP's director is Dr. Raymond A. Zilinskas. Other full-time CBWNP staff members include CBWNP senior fellows Dr. Jonathan B. Tucker, Dr. Burke Zimmerman, and Dr. Ken Coleman. CBWNP also employs graduate student research assistants (GRAs) drawn from the Monterey Institute's student body, whose work for the program forms an integral part of their training in nonproliferation. The GRAs for Spring 2008 are Ben Brodsky, Paula Humphrey, and Joshua Newman.

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