VERIFIN, the Finnish Institute for Verification of the Chemical Weapons Convention, is located at the Department of Chemistry at the University of Helsinki. VERIFIN is one of the world's leading institutes in the field of analysis of chemical warfare agents in environmental samples. VERIFIN is an accredited and designated laboratory of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and a National Authority of Finland defined by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) working under the guidance of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

VERIFIN was also involved in the MERCW project and will thus help create a link to the data and knowledge gaps which stemmed from that project. Drawing on this experience, VERIFIN will act as the leader of CHEMSEA's analyses and methodology optimisation process. The developed methodologies for CWA analysis will be applied in for the sediment and bore water analysis. VERIFIN will also analyse CWA metabolites using chromatographic techniques to contribute to the ecological risk assessment and they will evaluate the accumulation of CWAs in benthic fauna and fish. VERIFIN will assist SYKE in hosting the 3rd project conference in Helsinki. 

Key contacts:

• Paula Vanninen - Director & methods and analyses coordinator (Paula.Vanninen@helsinki.fi)
• Harri Koskela - Laboratory manager & project information officer (Harri.T.Koskela@helsinki.fi)
• Martin Söderström - Coordinator (Martin.Soderstrom@helsinki.fi)
• Ullastiina Hakala - Laboratory manager (Ullastiina.Hakala@helsinki.fi)