The 8th edition of the highly successful European NCT event series, NCT Europe 2018, took place from July 3rd to 5th at the Dutch National Training Center at the Bredero Barrack, Vught, The Netherlands.
The three-day event featured multinational CBRN capability demonstrations, live C-IED and EOD exercises, multiple workshops for civil and military responders, an annual conference and a large indoor/outdoor industry exhibition.
Daily multinational training sessions
A new feature of the 2018 event was the NCT CBRNe Training, in which CBRNe teams from across Europe came together to take part in daily practical sessions on a variety of scenarios.
Each team was matched with a team from a different country - in a move that reflected the increasing need for a more collaborative, multinational and multidisciplinary response to major CBRNe incidents.
The daily CBRNe training sessions saw Dutch fire crews paired with German military; and French police partnered with Austrian ambulance teams.
And, while the sessions weren't open to public viewing, video links of relevant aspects of the training were available for attendees to watch on a screen in the exhibition area.
Insights from industry experts
The NCT Plenary included speakers from The Netherlands, USA, South Korea, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Brazil, Poland and the UK.
Among the experts representing the UK were:
- Professor Peter Blain - Consultant in Emergency Response Medicine to the Health Protection Agency/Public Health England (PHE)
- Professor John Simpson - Head of the Emergency Response Department and Deputy Director of the Health Protection Directorate, PHE
- Mr Stephen Johnson - Lecturer in Forensic Exploitation and Intelligence at the Cranfield Forensic Institute, Cranfield University
Indoor/outdoor industry exhibition
The indoor/outdoor industry exhibition welcomed more than 40 exhibitors, with the outdoor area providing scope for the demonstration of larger CBRNe solutions and products.
Representatives from Argon Electronics showcased a range of intelligent, computer-based CBRN training systems designed to support training in contamination avoidance, reconnaissance, search and survey, and monitoring and control.
CBRNe simulator demonstrations
NCT Europe attendees were able to view, and handle, actual examples of a wide variety of Argon products including:
- The LCD3.2e-SIM - a simulator detector for the Smiths LCD3.2e that responds to safe electronic sources that simulate chemical vapors, toxic industrial substances (TICs) and false positives.
- The LCD3.3-SIM - a simulator detector for the Smiths LCD3.3
- The AP4C-SIM Chemical Hazard Detection Simulator - Argon's simulation training system for the Proengin AP4C detector
- The RDS100-SIM - a 3-Probe Simulator Set that provides instructors with a training system for their students to experience the operational features of the Mirion/Canberra RDS-100 probe
- The PDR-77-SIM - a Beta/Gamma radiation safety training simulator probe for use with the Miron/Canberra PDR77 survey meter
- The FH 40 G-SIM - a simulator survey meter for the Thermo FH 40 G-SIM
- The Thermo EPD Mk2 - A radiation hazard detection simulator providing dosimeter training to simulate HP07 and HP10 dose, 1st and 2nd HP10 alarms, HP07 alarms and chirp dose
Exhibition attendees also had the opportunity to experience first-hand the PlumeSIM instrumented training system which is currently in use by many leading training facilities including the US Marines.
And demonstrations of the the app-based version of PlumeSim (PlumeSIM-SMART) provided exhibition participants with insight into its application within tabletop and field emergency planning exercises for both command officer and operator training purposes.
