CBRN / HazMat Training Blog

Ionizing radiation is an invisible force that is constantly around us, whether it be in the form of man-made radioactive materials such as medical radiotherapy or nuclear fuels, or in harmless naturally occurring radioactive sources (NORMs) that can be present in such things as foodstuffs, in the ground beneath our feet and within our own bodies.

In the US and UK, the amount of radiation that civilians are exposed to in their daily life generally falls well within safe parameters for annual individual radiation exposure (approximately 0.62 rem, or 620 millirem annually, in the US and approximately 270 millirem per year in the UK.)

But for military personnel or emergency teams, who may be called upon to respond to a range of unpredictable and potentially hazardous radiological incidents, the possibility to be exposed to high levels of ionizing radiation presents a much more serious threat.

The potential threats of radiation exposure can be many and varied - from occupational exposure in the course of civilian radiation operations (such as radiopharmaceutical incidents, hospital irradiator incident or industrial radiography) through to accidental release, illegal disposal or large-scale radiological events.

Any type of exposure to radioactivity carries with it some degree of risk. But exactly how that exposure affects an individual will depend on a variety of factors, including the energy of the radiation emissions, the activity (or disintegrations per second) of the radioactivity, how quickly the radioactivity dissipates in, and from, the body, and where in the body the radioactivity is concentrated.

In this blog post we explore three elements of radiation safety - the units of measurements used to measure radiation exposure, the effects of radioactivity on the body, and the three key factors that will determine an individual’s exposure to ionising radiation.

The ability to be able to respond to any emergency CBRNe or HazMat situation, whether it be an accidental event or a deliberate act of aggression, is a vital necessity for military personnel and first response teams.

A civilian HazMat incident that occurs during the transport of hazardous materials by road, air, rail or ship is just one example of a scenario where specialist HazMat safety expertise will be required.

While hazardous materials regulations are in place to avoid and mitigate the impact of accidental spillage, any incident that involves a hazardous substance has the potential to cause environmental harm and will require a fast and emphatic response from trained emergency crews.

Likewise too, military teams need to be trained and equipped to handle any CBRNe incident such as the release, deliberate or otherwise, of a hazardous material or chemical warfare agent (CWA).

The US military for example uses a wide variety of materials to aid its national defense mission - from petroleum products and solvents to chemicals and explosives  - and all of which can pose a hazard if improperly handled.

It is essential that military personnel, both uniformed and civilian, are trained in the safe handling, storage, transport and disposal of hazardous materials and that they are instructed on the potential dangers that these hazardous substances can present both to individuals and the environment.

Ensuring the operational readiness of the military and first response teams to handle any potential Hazardous Materials (HazMat) or Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosive (CBRNe) event continues to be a complex and exciting challenge for HazMat and CBRNe trainers.

In this final blog for 2017 we provide a roundup of news, innovations and developments in the world of CBRNe and HazMat training over the past year.

The 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), signed and ratified by 192 state-parties globally, is a multilateral treaty that bans the use of chemical weapons under international humanitarian law, and requires their destruction within a specified period of time.

The treaty prohibits the developing, producing, acquiring, stockpiling, or retaining of chemical weapons; the direct or indirect transfer of chemical weapons; the use of chemical weapons by the military; the assistance, inducement or encouragement of other states to engage in CWC-prohibited activity; and the use of riot control agents as a method of warfare.

Thankfully, acquiring, producing, and dispersing chemical agents is more easily said than done, as many CWAs are dangerous to acquire and handle; require highly sophisticated expertise and technology to produce and are often difficult to disperse in a sufficient quantity to inflict harm.

Nonetheless, it is vital not to underestimate the inherent risk to global security of any deliberate chemical attack. With that awareness comes an increasing need for military personnel and first response teams to be prepared for the unique challenges of an act of chemical warfare.

Prominent world events, such as the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the Ebola outbreak and the use of chemical weapons in countries such as Syria and Iraq, highlight the vital importance for the US military and first response units worldwide to be prepared for the most demanding of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive (CBRNe) challenges.

Irrespective of how a release happens, and whether it be accidental or deliberate in nature, it is essential that response teams have the requisite skills to be able to identify, secure and work within any potentially hostile environment.

To this end, the creation of realistic, immersive and compelling scenarios, that accurately portray the challenges that teams will face in the field, is pivotal to effective training.

Research has shown that experiential learning is an incredibly powerful training tool, but when you are working with high-risk substances such as toxic chemicals or radiation, how can CBRNe instructors ensure the most realistic student experience whilst also maintaining the highest levels of safety?

In this blog post we discuss the significance of safety within the context of CBRNe training scenarios and explore the options currently available to provide safe and realistic hands-on training experiences.

Realistic CBRN and HazMat training scenarios have a crucial role to play in providing first responders and military personnel with life-saving knowledge and preparedness for CBRN incidents.  

A cornerstone of the CBRN training process is the design and delivery of hands-on scenarios that prepare participants, with as much realism as possible, for the physical, environmental and psychological challenges of real-life CBRN events.

In this blog post we explore the key qualities of effective CBRN instruction, the importance of creating authentic training scenarios and the vital contribution of electronic simulation detectors in delivering effective CBRN and HazMat training.

With the growing risk worldwide of chemical and radiological threat within both military and civilian settings, there is an increasing need for a high quality and cost-effective means of incorporating support for CBRN and HazMat Hazards into existing training systems.

While in some cases, CBRN Hazard capability can be achieved by standalone technology (such as the wide-area, instrumented training system PlumeSIM,) in other situations it can be helpful for users to be able to simulate a scenario that replicates a combination of hazards that includes, but is not necessarily limited to, specific CBRN threats. In such circumstances too, it can also be preferable for users to be able to incorporate any additional CBRN hazard capability into their own existing simulation system.

Argon Electronics' range of CBRN response training simulators has received high praise from the Police National CBRN Centre, following a recent chemical weapon threat HazMat training exercise at the Bristol City Football Ground in which trainees were required to provide security and safety for a half-marathon event.

The use of simulators brought a degree of realism to the exercise from the very start, with the release of simulated chemical agents taking place even while the commanders were still delivering their briefings, as Officer Paul Lacey from the Avon and Somerset Constabulary Police Headquarters, explained.

Live training systems such as SAAB’s Gamer have been in use by many organisations worldwide for a number of years to deliver effective training in a Live environment. Support for CBRN, however has been minimal, and in general has not extended beyond monitoring if the respirator has been donned.

Argon Electronics and SAAB Training Systems have cooperated to address this limitation by implementing an integration between Argons’ PlumeSIM Live CBRN training system and SAABs’ Gamer system.

This effort has resulted in the ability to generate CBRN threats within PlumeSIM that are reflected within the Gamer EXCON in real time. PlumeSIM also provided integration with Argons’ extensive range of Radiological and Chemical Warfare training simulators and their associated After Action Review capability.

One of the ongoing challenges for CBRN and HazMat training instructors is the creation of realistic, sophisticated and engaging operational scenarios that give emergency crews and first responders hands-on, real-time experience of a range of potential CBRN incidents.

And while historically chemical warfare agent (CWA) training was more likely to have been carried out in private, specialist training areas such as a military base, for first responders there is an increased need for life-like CBRN or HazMat scenarios that can take place in civilian settings.

Simulation training, incorporating the use of simulator detectors, provides one crucial piece of the puzzle, utilising cutting-edge, computer-based simulator technology to replicate how actual devices will react when exposed to a range of invisible or near invisible chemical agents.

The use of electronic simulators provides the opportunity for trainees to become confident and proficient in the handling, reading and interpretation of their devices.