In 1988, the RIHTOP as a head institute of the Russian Ministry of health was assigned the function for carrying out studies on health monitoring of staff involved in chemical demilitarization. Based on the Federal Law "On chemical weapons destruction" and the Presidential Federal Purposeful Program "Destruction of CW-agents stockpiles in Russia", several specific areas of research were selected by the RIHTOP as deserving high priority at that time and for the nearest future.

The areas of high priority include:

• development of safety standards (health standards) for chemical substance contents (including toxic agents to be disposed) in different media;
• comprehensive hygienic and clinical/physiological evaluation of adverse work-related factors and their health effects;
• development of medical and hygienic basis to provide safety of communities and workers handling with highly toxic compounds, including other specific hazardous factors they are exposed to;
• carrying out studies, where the set of sanitary, medical, biological and chemical/analytical aspects are considered in complex;
• devising and perfecting methods to determine highly toxic substances in environmental objects;
• risk assessment of exposure to chemical factors in relation to health of communities;
• designing and implementing a Register to provide information on present and former workers of ecologically dangerous productions, as well as population groups living in vicinity to CW agents storage and/or destruction facilities;
• innovative activity that is directed towards designing software tools to treat medical and biological data;
• designing databases and program products for medical purposes;
• scientific evaluation and hygienic expertise of industrial projects for chemical demilitarization facilities.

Foreground areas of investigations that the RIHTOP deals with may be identified in short as follows:

• toxic and hazardous compounds, including military nerve agents;
• development of health standards;
• development and perfection of methods for analysis of highly toxic compounds;
• clinical examinations of exposed population groups;
• risk assessment in relation to health of communities;
• protection of the environment
• production of computer expert systems;
• development of a Register.

Long-term Research Areas:

• Developing health standards for highly toxic substances in air;
• Developing methods to determine highly toxic substances in air and other media;
• Hazard evaluation of materials used in construction structures of conversion plants;
• Searching for new pharmaceuticals to correct pathological conditions;
• Pre-clinical product development testing for pharmaceuticals;
• Liquidation of terrorist act consequences;
• New information technologies, including those to be used with palmtop;
• Hygienic evaluation of personal protective equipment;
• Workplace validation in relation to labor conditions;
• Medical provision of staff involved in chemical demilitarization;
• Refining method base for prenosological diagnostics;
• Development of computer-aided diagnostic systems;
• Development of training programmes for medical staff.