Number of certified IMS
facilities passes 200 mark

Two new facilities of the International Monitoring System (IMS) were certified on 29 March 2007.  This brings the number of certified monitoring facilities to 201, with 192 monitoring stations and 9 laboratories.  A total of 60% of all IMS monitoring facilities are now in place and certified.  The newly certified auxiliary seismic stations are AS 44 at Kappang, Indonesia, and AS60 at Ala-Archa, Kyrgyzstan.  The certifications confirm that the monitoring facilities meet all technical requirements set by the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO).  The stations are now included in test mode operation and have started transmitting data continuously to the International Data Centre (IDC) in Vienna. The IMS is part of the verification regime designed by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) to monitor compliance with the Treaty.  The complete network consists of 337 facilities located worldwide. Using four different technologies seismic, infrasound, hydroacoustic and radionuclide - 321 stations monitor the globe for nuclear explosions. They are supported by 16 radionuclide laboratories.  The IMS facilities send monitoring data to the International Data Centre (IDC) in Vienna where these data are analyzed.  Data are then distributed in the form of data products currently to 800 institutions in nearly one hundred countries.  The CTBT stipulates that the verification regime must be operational when the Treaty enters into force.  Until then, completed monitoring facilities run in test mode operation.  While 201 facilities are now certified, there are more stations that are in various stages of construction or contract negotiation.  The CTBTO Preparatory Commission plans to have 90% of the IMS network installed by 2008.      

For further information on the CTBTO, please see www.ctbto.org or contact:
Annika Thunborg, Chief, Public Information  
T    +43 1 26030-6375  
E    annika.thunborg@ctbto.org
M    +43 699 1459 6375       
I    www.ctbto.org