CBRN / HazMat Training Blog

In recent blog posts we’ve discussed the significance of providing realistic training opportunities for military crews and first responders who are tasked with emergency hazmat response.

Alongside the importance for hands-on training using true-to-life simulator detectors, it is also vital for trainees to experience the wearing of their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in HazMat training scenarios if the full physiological effect of the scenario is to be experienced.

Personal protective equipment provides first responders with protection from potentially serious, and in some cases life-threatening, exposure to harmful chemical, biological or radiological hazards.

From transport companies to military bases, industrial units and medical facilities, the handling of hazardous materials (HazMat) requires strict regulatory compliance to ensure there is no risk to public safety.

Crucially too, effective response to any hazardous substance release relies on the expertise and training of highly trained hazmat response teams, whether they be first responders or military crews.

Materials that are classed as hazardous are wide-ranging - including in-organic chemicals (such as chlorine, ammonia and hydrogen fluoride;) toxic gases that can be inhaled (such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen, argon, oxygen or hydrogen;) explosives; flammable liquids and solids; organic peroxides; toxic, infectious and corrosive substances and radioactive materials.

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.

With the increase in intensive industry and manufacturing, the fire service and first responders are increasingly being called upon to handle chemical HazMat situations where there is risk of exposure to a wide range of hazardous substances.

Emergency response crews face two basic challenges when confronted with potentially dangerous industrial chemical incidents - they need to know how to operate their life-saving detection equipment and they need to use that equipment to ascertain that the air is suitable for normal unprotected breathing and safe from contaminants or represents an explosive atmosphere.

The complex issue of emergency preparedness has been recently highlighted by the US Chemical Safety Board (CSB), in their offering of a stark warning to the US chemical industry in the wake of the Arkema chemical fires in Crosby, Texas.

Providing first responders and senior management with access to high quality, realistic and regular HazMat safety training opportunities is crucial in ensuring that they are thoroughly equipped to handle any real-world response, whatever the context.

The vital importance of wide-area HazMat emergency preparedness was brought into sharp focus in two recent toxic chemical incidents on both sides of the Atlantic in August 2017.

On August 31 in the US town of Crosby, Texas, floodwaters caused by tropical storm Harvey led to a power shutdown at a chemical plant, which resulted in a series of small explosions and the release of what the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) described as “a hazardous smoke plume.”

A 1.5 mile exclusion zone was placed around the plant, and while evacuation of residents immediately outside the exclusion zone was not mandatory, the Texas commission on environmental quality urged local residents to stay inside, keep windows and doors closed and to limit physical activity.

Meanwhile on the South Coast of the UK, an unidentified chemical plume swept over the seaside area of Beachy Head over the August Bank Holiday weekend, resulting in more than 150 beachgoers requiring hospital treatment for symptoms ranging from streaming eyes and burning throats to vomiting and respiratory problems.

Toxic plumes have the potential to drift significant distances, as was evidenced in January 2013, when a foul-smelling gas cloud that originated in Rouen, France, prompted thousands of calls to the emergency services all across England’s South Coast and as far north as South-East London.

Fortunately these types of wide-area public emergency HazMat incidents are fairly rare. But they do highlight the crucial importance for first response teams and management to have hands-on training to handle unexpected chemical hazard events with speed, confidence and efficiency.

An essential requirement of every CBRNe and HazMat responder is to be able to provide rapid, safe and effective response in the event of a civil or military emergency.  And critical to that preparedness is the creation of Real Experience Training scenarios which ensure personnel can demonstrate their proficiency in handling any situation with confidence and control.

The ever expanding array of fielded detection systems has generated a critical need for versatile new platforms that deliver the highest possible standards in training. As such, hazardous material detector simulators have a vital role to play in creating realistic CBRNe and HazMat safety training exercises that are scalable, versatile, repeatable and, above all else, safe.

In this blog post we explore 7 key factors to keep in mind when sourcing simulator detectors for your training scenarios.

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.

Major technological or industrial accidents are thankfully relatively rare. However, when an incident does occur it can have devastating consequences.

Just recently, a factory worker died following an accident in a Northampton factory where ammonia leaked into the air. He inhaled the colourless gas that was used as refrigerant to cool down the site and production process, resulting in deadly burns and swellings in his airways. 22 more people, including brewery workers, firefighters and Police Officers, had to be treated in hospital.

Last month we were delighted to attend the first SIM OPS (le forum de la simulation operationnelle) conference and exhibition at EDS (écoles militaries de Saumur) in the Loire Valley, France. Exhibiting with our French representatives, APVL ingenerie, who did a great job in making the arrangements, we were hosted on site by CDNBC (centre de défense nucléaire biologique et chimique).