In the UK, it is not unusual for first responders to be in possession of very little (or, in some cases, nothing) in the way of detection, identification or monitoring (DIM) equipment in the course of carrying out their daily duties.
In the event of a major incident however (such as a terrorist attack, major fire, flood or a collapsed building) they may be called upon to support the activities of a specialist Hazardous Area Response Team (HART).
In an ideal world, an emergency response team would know exactly what kind of radiological hazard they were attending before they arrived on the scene of an incident. This might be via a resource such as a central database that lists the addresses of properties that are known to contain specific sources of ionising radiation.
In other cases, such as a road traffic accident for example, that risk might not become apparent until responders reach the incident and are confronted with a clear visual warning in the form of a trefoil.
Exhibitions, trade-shows and conferences can provide an invaluable opportunity for HazMat and CBRNe practitioners to view, try and compare the very latest developments in chemical warfare, equipment, machinery, tools and technologies.
In this blog post we highlight seven internationally recognized HazMat and CBRNe events that will be taking place around the world in 2019.
As HazMat incidents become ever more challenging, complex and unpredictable, there is a growing reliance on the knowledge and expertise of highly-skilled teams across a variety of agencies.
A more recent case in point was the operational response to the Novichok nerve agent poisonings in Salisbury in the UK in 2018. This event, which garnered enormous international attention, brought together the skills of police, fire crews, paramedics, the military and specialist HazMat teams over the course of the incident - from initial response to containment, decontamination and the ensuing investigation.
Large-scale releases of ionizing radiation are thankfully a rare occurrence. But with just over sixty commercially run nuclear power plants currently in service in the US, and fifteen operational nuclear reactors located across seven plants in the UK, the risk of an accidental release, however minor, is one that must be meticulously trained for.
While regulations exist to guide HazMat training requirements for first responders, the reality is that many personnel still don't consider themselves to be adequately skilled in the use of their equipment.
Sometimes it's because there simply isn't enough time to carry out regular and structured training programmes. Sometimes this lack of preparedness comes as the result of budget cuts where training is one of the first things to go.
A tabletop exercise can offer an easy-to-execute and cost-effective means of simulating an emergency CBRN or HazMat situation in order to test operational response, to exercise your command structure and to improve the functionality of your team.
The less formal and low-stress nature of the training environment however, means there is also the risk of delivering a far from authentic learning experience.
Radiation training has always been an inherently challenging exercise for first responders. After all, how do you ensure that your crews recognize and understand the very real dangers of this silent and invisible threat?
Thankfully exposure to dangerous levels of ionizing radiation is not something that most first response teams are likely to encounter that frequently. But having the right training - and having access to the resources and equipment to be able to train as often as necessary - is absolutely essential.
The ability to deliver consistent, engaging and true-to-life chemical hazard detection training scenarios relies on regular access to realistic, hands-on equipment.
What's vital is that these training tools replicate not only the readings and the responsiveness of real detectors, but that they also provide trainees with an authentic experience that recreates the potential challenges that they will face in actual incidents.
Chemical manufacturing facilities are full of potential hazards which, if mishandled, can present a very real risk both to the safety of workers and to the wider communities in which those factories are located.
Even when the most stringent of precautions are taken, accidents can occur - whether due to human error, insufficient training, a natural disaster or an incident that results from a malicious act.
Depending on the nature of the event, HazMat response teams will be required to work with police, paramedics or environmental health agencies to identify the threat, reduce harm and resolve the situation.