CBNW 2017 Vol 2

Detecting chem-bio threats

Ensuring sensor and PPE efficacy Eradicating deadly disease Improving medical countermeasures

2017 | 02

CBNW – Chemical, Biological & Nuclear Warfare 2017 | 02

Protecting our troops

Chemical weapons The new norm

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: A Nobel Cause battelle.org/cbnw

21ST-CENTURY WMD Nuclear cyber-attacks

CBRN FUNDING In the Age of Trump

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CONTENTS

05

Foreword Andy Oppenheimer relates the increasing versatility of CBRN.

06 08 08

Events and advertisers

SPECIAL REPORT: The new norm Col Hamish de Bretton Gordon reviews chemical weapon use in the Middle East.

28

Blowing in the wind Dai Williams reflects on the 1950s nuclear tests and CBRN planning.

20

60

21st-Century WMD Andy Oppenheimer looks at the threat to nuclear facilities from cyber-attacks.

28

Commitment to partnership Det. Supt. Ian Womersley explains the importance of multi-agency response.

32

Out of one hand Ilja Bonsen & Sophie Barthel discuss German readiness to new threats with Bundeswehr CBRN Defence Commander Col. Henry Neumann.

70 36

Loud and clear Dee Ruelas stresses the vital role of effective communications in mass-casualty incidents.

40

The fire is out…

Don I. Brazie reminds us that after a fire, recovery is not instant.

44

INTERVIEW: Tailored for protection David Oliver meets President of Paul Boyé Technologies Jacques Boyé.

US WMD Civil Support training scenario Team Incident Site.

52

14

24

ON THE COVER

COUNTRY FOCUS: No First Use Col H R Naidu Gade (Retd) asks if India’s nuclear weapons doctrine is due for review.

56

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: A Nobel cause Tina Naji meets OPCW Director-General, H.E. Mr Ahmet Üzümcü.

A political wilderness Brig Gen (Pa) Ret Xavier Stewart questions CBRN policy in the Age of Trump.

48

48

Ensuring protection Matthew J. Shaw relates countermeasures and funding for chemical and biological threats.

Smoke on the water Katja Kiukas puts naval CBRN monitoring in the spotlight.

64

Widening the perspective Henri Derschum presents a new decontamination system for the Bundeswehr Medical Service.

68

Innovation for MEDEVAC Fridtjof Heyerdahl, Espen R. Nakstad & Arne B. Brantsæter roll out a new medical transport isolator.

70

Garden of EDEN Eleonora Pacciani reviews EU projects for health preparedness.

73

Byron’s botulism Col (Ret) Zygmunt F. Dembek asks if Shake Shack Salmonella is next on the menu.

78

Perverted science Frank G. Rando links military toxicology to CBRN.

82

The ultimate toolbox Philip Tackett looks at GC/MS in the responder’s chemical ID toolkit.

86

BOOK REVIEW: David Oliver reviews Chemical Warfare Toxicology: Volume 2.

CBNW is published by React Media Publishing, 15 Heritage House, Chase Side, London N14 5BT. Telephone: +44 20 8886 2133 E-mail: tina@chembio.biz www.cbnw.co.uk

Publisher Tahmiena Naji | Editor-in-Chief Andy Oppenheimer AIExpE MIABTI Deputy Editors Dr. Salma Abbasi, David Oliver | US Correspondent Frank Rando Designer/Production Manager Mariel Tabora Foulds Printed by: The Manson Group, 8 Porters Wood, Valley Road Industrial Estate, St Albans AL3 6PZ. Tel: 01727 848440

©Lt Col William Oberholtzer (Retd)

ISSN 2051-6584. © React Media Publishing 2017. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used, reproduced, stored in an information retrieval system or transmitted in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of React Media. This publication has been prepared wholly upon information supplied by the contributors and while the publishers trust that its contents will be of interest to readers, its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The publishers are unable to accept, and hereby expressly disclaim any liability for the consequences of any inaccuracies, errors or omissions in such information whether occurring during the processing of such information for publication or otherwise.

No representations, whether within the meaning of the Misrepresentation Act 1967 or otherwise, warranties or endorsements of any information contained herein are given or intended and full verification of all information appearing in the publication of the articles contained herein does not necessarily imply that any opinions therein are necessarily those of the publishers.

CBNW 2017/02 03

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FOREWORD

CBRN:

T

a versatile repertoire

hree separate recent events involving the use of chemical weapons (CW) are changing the paradigm of their usage by state and non-state actors. These are: the use of banned sarin nerve agent in Syria by the al-Assad regime; the continuing terrorist use of chlorine and mustard agent in improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by ISIS; and the application of VX nerve agent in an assassination of one individual at a Malaysian airport.

In late April French Intelligence and Human Rights Watch confirmed the Syrian government most likely used a Soviet-made weapon containing the nerve agent sarin in its 4 April attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib Province, Syria, in which at least 80 died. The presence of a chemical warfare agent (CWA) on any component or fragment of a weapon, as well as degradation products, by-products, and additives, link the CWA used with the weapon - and possibly the perpetrator. Air-dropped bombs narrowed the suspects to forces with aircraft. French intelligence confirmed that hexamine, a hallmark of sarin produced by the Syrian government, was found in samples taken from the attack site. In early May Israeli military officials said information gathered by national intelligence services indicated the Assad regime still possessed 1-3 tons of CW after the OPCW had supervised the dismantling of Syria’s declared stockpile in 2014.

Although the ISIS self-proclaimed

caliphate has shrunk considerably since the onset of the US-led campaign against the group in Iraq and Syria, so long as it continues to control territory the group will continue to have a relatively safe haven to develop and gain experience with CB, and possibly R, weapons – although it is difficult, as in most cases of CBRN, to assess their true capabilities.

There are doubts as to how easily terrorists could obtain the materials for a mass CBRN attack or, significantly, the means and skills to weaponize. This could partly explain why IEDs remain the terrorist weapon of choice, along with low tech M.O. of guns, knives and trucks, all of which produce the desired instant, widespread, and horrifying media effect.

Meanwhile, at the other increasingly dangerous side of the world, on 13 February the half-brother of North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-nam, was killed with the nerve agent VX after two women accosted him briefly in a check-in hall at Kuala Lumpur airport. On 25 February one of the women arrested for the murder said she was paid to smear the victim’s face with “baby oil” as part of a reality show joke.

Precursors may have been smuggled into Malaysia and put together there immediately prior to use with commercially available chemicals. The attack has echoes of the murder with the rare radioisotope polonium-210 of Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko in London in November 2006, and of the lethal poisoning in September 1978 of a Bulgarian dissident, Georgi Markov, with a ricin-tipped umbrella - also in London. And that a similar signal was being sent out by the North Koreans: that they can carry out very nonconventional and targeted assassinations.

North Korea is reputed by South Korean intelligence and the CIA to hold a staggering 2-5,000 tons of various types of nerve agent. Possible delivery systems are multiple rocket launchers, FROG rockets, Scud and Nodong missiles, aircraft, and long-range artillery deployed in the DMZ and ballistic missiles. Amidst rising tensions over Kim Jong-Un’s enhanced belligerence to the region and beyond, fears grow that he could sell the means to launch CW to terrorist groups. While the world’s attention focuses on its nuclear ambitions, the pariah Far Eastern state is showing its CBRN repertoire may become increasingly versatile. zy

In this edition CBNW Publisher Tina Naji conducts an exclusive interview with the Director-General of the OPCW; Ilja M. Bonsen speaks to the Commander of the Bundeswehr’s CBRN Defence Command; David Oliver meets the President of Paul Boyé Technologies; Col Hamish de Bretton Gordon presents chemical weapon use in the Middle East as a new norm; Editor Det. Supt. Ian Womersley describes how the UK’s National CBRN Centre works with multiple agencies; Brig Gen Stewart discusses US CBRN funding in the Age of Trump; Dee Ruelas focuses on communications in CBRN emergency response; the founders of Epiguard outline how Ebola spurred their medevac innovation; Katja Kiukas looks at maritime CBRN monitoring; Zyg Dembek asks what comes after Byron’s Botulism; and Andy Oppenheimer warns of the dangers to nuclear infrastructure from cyber-attack.

CBNW 2017/02 05

EVENTS & INDEX EVENTS 2017

12-15

DSEi London London, UK

SEPTEMBER

www.dsei.co.uk

19-21

NCT USA Washington DC

SEPTEMBER

www.nct-usa.com

20-21

Emergency Services Show 2017 NEC, Birmingham

ADVERTISERS INDEX AIRBOSS DEFENSE ARGON ELECTRONICS (UK) LTD

85 4

BATTELLE

BC

BBI DETECTION

39

BERTIN SYSTEMS & INSTRUMENTATION

17

BIOFIRE DEFENSE

75

BRUKER

23

CRISTANINI

55

SEPTEMBER

www.emergencyuk.com

CQC LTD

37

31 - 1 OCT NOV

Ordnance, Munitions, Explosives Shrivenham, UK

DECON7 SYSTEMS

49

DXTERITY

67

ENDEAVOR ROBOTICS

31

ENVIRONICS OY

19

EPIGUARD AS

13

FLIGHT MEDICAL

35

7-8

www.symposiaatshrivenham.com

XXth International CBRN Shrivenham, UK

NOVEMBER

www.symposiaatshrivenham.co

13-15

NCT Middle East Doha, Qatar

NOVEMBER

www.nct-middleeast.com

21-24

Milipol Paris Paris, France

FLIR INC

IFC

I-BODI TECHNOLOGY

11

JOHNSON MATTHEY (TRACERCO)

45

KÄRCHER FUTURETECH GMBH

IBC

NOVEMBER

www.en.milipol.com

NBC-SYS

43

28-30

CBD S&T Conference Long Beach California, USA

OWR GMBH

59

NOVEMBER

www.cbdstconference.com

29-30

UK Security Expo 2017 London Olympia

NOVEMBER

info@uksecurityexpo.com

12-14

CBRNe Summit Asia 2017 Phnom Penh, Cambodia

DECEMBER

www.intelligence-sec.com

2018 FEBRUARY

MAY

2-4 JULY

06 CBNW 2017/02

NCT South America Bogota, Colombia http://www.nctsouthamerica.com

NCT Asia Pacific Tokyo, Japan www.nctasiapacific.com

NCT Europe The Netherlands www.nct-europe.com

PAUL BOYE TECHNOLOGIES

7

PROENGIN

77

RIGAKU ANALYTICAL DEVICES

27

SCOTT SAFETY

81

SHOW ADS NCT USA

63

CBD S&T CONFERENCE

72

ADVERTORIALS ARGON ELECTRONICS (UK)

83/87

BERTIN SYSTEMS & INSTRUMENTATION

87

BIOFIRE DEFENSE

88

CAMTECH

88

FLIGHT MEDICAL

89

HUGHES SAFETY SHOWERS

89

KÄRCHER FUTURETECH GMBH

90

PROENGIN

90

CHEMICAL WEAPONS

The new norm SPECIAL REPORT

Col Hamish de Bretton Gordon reviews chemical weapon use in the Middle East 8 CBNW 2017/01

CHEMICAL WEAPONS

On 4 April 2017 that red line was crossed again, when sarin was used most likely by Syrian forces, in an aerial bombardment on civilians in Khan Sheikhoun in northern Idlib province.

At least 87 died, with scores more injured Two days later on orders of the new Trump administration the US military fired over 50 Tomahawk cruise missiles on Shayrat airfield said to have been the launchpad for the chemical attack and previous raids. The airbase was used to store chemical weapons until the 2013 agreement to the destruction of the country’s declared chemical arsenal

When the international community didn’t act after the ‘red line’ was crossed on 21 August 2013, when up to 1,500 people were killed by the deadly nerve agent sarin in East Ghouta, the 100-year taboo over the use of chemical weapons was well and truly broken, possibly forever.

C

hemical weapons (CW) are now the ‘norm’. We hear regularly of threats of CW use to London and other capitals. UK Security Minister Ben Wallace and Commissioner of London Fire Brigade Danny Cotton last week stated this unambiguously. But in my opinion this is entirely of our own making.

On 29 April 2014 The Telegraph first published unequivocal evidence that Assad was using CW against his own people. This evidence was confirmed by the UN in October 2016, 18 months later, but not until a report released in early March by Reuters has President Bashir al-Assad and his military commanders been directly accused of these atrocities.

East Aleppo and other attacks

The defeat of opposition forces in East Aleppo is the case in point. On 17 of the last 21 days of the siege before Christmas, the regime dropped multiple chlorine barrel bombs which forced civilians out of underground shelters and into the open where they were shredded by mortars and artillery. This ultimately led to surrender after four years of opposition.

Although not widely covered, we see the same now in Wadi Barada north of Damascus that President Omar al-Bashir 

Local boys observe the cityscape of Qayyarah town on fire in the Mosul District, Northern Iraq, on 9 November, 2016. ©Mstyslav Chernov/Wikipedia

CBNW 2017/01 9

CHEMICAL WEAPONS of Sudan has used mustard agent on around 27 occasions in Dafur in 2016, allegedly killing over 250 of his people.

During the last four years I’ve been investigating CW use in Syria on several occasions with the help of the CBRN Task Force of the medical charity UOSSM (Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations), which I helped establish.

I was stimulated to do this because the official bodies of the UN were unable to get into Syria because of the confines of the Chemical Weapons Convention and I gauged CW would be increasingly used if we continued to do ‘nothing’ – and unfortunately they are.

©US Navy

ISIS firing chlorine

ISIS use CW regularly in Syria and Iraq,

THE ATTACKS IN APRIL Following the bombardment on 4 April Turkey’s Health Ministry said its preliminary tests showed that sarin nerve gas was used.

SARIN IN SYRIA: APRIL 2017 The 4 April sarin nerve agent attack is possibly a defining moment in CW use in the 21st century.

It is apparent that Syrian Airforce jets dropped a number of sarin-filled bombs along with high explosives. President Donald Trump reacted very quickly with air strikes on 7 April 2017 and destroyed Syrian aircraft used in this attack.

This appeared to restore the red line – but potentially bought the US and Russia into political conflict. It is clear to me, speaking to people on the ground, that the Syrian regime is to blame for this attack and claims that rebels or Al Nusrah set off the Sarin are ungrounded. The regime and Russians claimed they were bombing a rebel ammunition dump which contained sarin. Axiomatically, if you blow up sarin you destroy it.

It does suggest that claims that Assad held back some CW from the UN inspectors in 2013, as many, myself included, believed to be true.

and the Syrian regime has continued to use them to very good effect – of late, most notably and horrifically in April – to suppress the opposition. They are morbidly excellent weapons, especially in built up areas. They force soldiers into restrictive gas masks and civilians above ground.

In 2016 near Mosul I witnessed a chemical attack while with the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces, who I was training how to deal with an ISIS chemical attack. ISIS mortar teams fired 20x 122mm mortar bombs containing chlorine, the original CW from World War I, at our positions. It caused casualties and fear in these most battle-hardened of fighters.

ISIS saw how effective chlorine was against their forces in Syria and now uses 10 CBNW 2017/01

©US Navy

Above & below: USS Ross (DDG-71) fires a Tomahawk land attack missile on 7 April 2017. The cruise missiles were launched by the US onto the Syrian airfield shortly after the chemical attack on Idlib.

CHEMICAL WEAPONS them regularly in Syria and Iraq – and no doubt would do the same in Western capitals if they could, with apparent impunity. We must expect to see the same horrific paralysing psychological impact on civilians if chlorine is used here – as I’ve seen in Syria and Iraq. And we should prepare the public for this rather than stick our heads in the sand as some on the peripheries would suggest.

Scorched earth

We are at the beginning of the end of the campaign to liberate Mosul from ISIS, but some are predicting that the terrorists will drift away at some stage to fight another day in Syria.

The 100-plus suicide bombers already seen in the first week of the assault would suggest that ISIS will throw the kitchen sink at the Coalition to stave off losing Mosul.

With Mosul gone, so is most of the Caliphate – with a final battle in Raqqa to come. But the War hinges on Mosul.

In this upcoming apocalypse, ISIS will fight with every means available and this will include the use of their extensive CW capability. Built up over two years from 2014, they have been making mustard agent (gas) and fashioning toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) into improvised weapons which they have been testing against the attacking Peshmerga of Iraqi Kurdistan.

Twenty times in the past 12 months ISIS have fired at Peshmerga troops in the Makmour area, mortars and rockets containing the blister agent mustard gas and chlorine, a choking gas. These have killed few but injured many.

Passing on deadly expertise

The Kurds know all about chemical weapons. Saddam Hussein tried to exterminate the Kurdish people in the 1980s Anfal Campaign, killing up to 200,000. Most notably, 5,000 were killed in a single day at Halabja on 16 March 1988 by the deadly nerve agent sarin, which Assad also used at Ghouta on 21 August 2013 to such horrific effect.

It is now Saddam’s Ba’athist scientists who are developing ISIS’ CW capability. In both Saddam’s and Assad’s massacres the death toll was so high because innocent civilians were attacked who had no way or knowledge to save themselves.

The Ghouta attack in Syria has kept Assad in power for three years and prevented the fall of Damascus. I believe this has had a profound effect on ISIS when planning their defence of Mosul.

Not least because Assad has prevented ISIS taking the strategic military base at Deir Ezzor for the last two years with the use of chlorine barrel bombs in the main. Chlorine is a choking agent which damages the lungs and can be fatal if troops and civilians do not have gas masks.

Setting Mishraq on fire

The first deadly element of the defence of Mosul was seen in October 2016 when ISIS set fire to the Mishraq chemical plant 30 km south of the city. This is putting thousands of tonnes of deadly hydrogen sulphide and sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere which is mixing with poisonous fumes from oil fires to produce a deadly cocktail.

To date nine people were reported dead and 1,000 injured by choking fumes. By March 2017 the cloud was sitting over the military base at Qayyarah, forcing US military personnel into gas masks and others indoors. From a military perspective this is a good move by ISIS as it cuts through the advancing Iraqi army, not all of whom have gas masks, as they march towards Mosul. If this toxic cloud were to move eastwards to more populated areas this could be of grave concern.

Again, there is precedent: Saddam Hussein set fire to 

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CBNW 2017/01 11

CHEMICAL WEAPONS

An Iraqi soldier trains in CBRN defence at Camp Taji in October 2016. ©US Army/Spc. Craig Jensen

➊

“I know chemicals are not as dangerous as bombs and bullets, but my men have few gas masks and they fear chemicals.”

COMMANDER, PESHMERGA BLACK TIGERS OF SECTOR 6, GENERAL BAZARNI, NEAR GWER ON AUGUST 2016

1 2

➋

3 4

Looking at an ISIL mortar firing position 2 km away on the frontline at GWER 25 km from Mosul.

This 122-mm rocket just landed near our position north of Gwer, originally thought to be chemical.

This Peshmerga Modified BMP2 was captured from ISIL near Mosul.

The author is pictured with all Peshmerga Battalion CBRN officers after training.

Courtesy of the author

Mishraq in 2003 as the US Coalition advanced into Iraq. It burned for two months, causing thousands of casualties and allegedly burnt a hole in the ozone layer.

ISIS capability

➌

➍ 12 CBNW 2017/01

To underestimate ISIS capacity for terror is an error, and to underestimate its ability to conduct chemical warfare would be very unwise. ISIS scientists have developed an extensive, if crude, chemical arsenal including mustard agent (gas), chlorine, and other TICs. CW are extremely effective for defending built-up areas and cities, as it puts attackers into gas masks which are exceedingly difficult to fight in ‘hand to hand’. And if they don’t have masks as some Peshmerga and Iraqi Army don’t, this could make them think twice about entering the city.

The psychological effect of these abhorrent weapons is of most use to the defender, and the fear of them which must be overcome by the attacker.

This is achieved by good training and leadership which the Coalition must continue to provide to Baghdad and Erbil.

In mid-February 2017 coalition forces retook Mosul University which has always been known as the centre of the ISIS CW programme. Here they found a sophisticated mechanism for loading agents into rockets and the ability to manufacture mustard agent, using precursors readily available from the oil industry.

Without impunity

On 2 March 2017 there were reports of chemical attacks by ISIS from West Aleppo into Eastern Aleppo. There were 12 civilian casualties showing clear symptoms of a blister agent attack – most likely mustard agent.

Last year, 2016, saw the same level of use of CW as 1916 – and 2017 has continued in a similar vein. The use of CW could be explained by what has been the non-existent ‘red line’ – but also by the fact that they are extremely effective and relatively easy to use. zy Col. Hamish de Bretton Gordon is Chemical Weapons Expert and advisor to NGOs in Syria & Iraq.

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INTERVIEW

This interview was conducted before the 4 April 2017 bombardment with sarin nerve agent on Syrian civilians in Khan Shaykhun, Idlib province, in which at least 80 died.

As part of a US-Russianbrokered agreement following the August 2013 Ghouta sarin bombings by the Syrian regime, it was required to declare all its chemical weapons stocks, including nerve agent materials, for disposal by mid-2014.

From April the OPCW is investigating the incident under the on-going mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM): “to establish facts surrounding allegations of the use of toxic chemicals, reportedly chlorine, for hostile purposes in the Syrian Arab Republic.”

Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, H.E. Mr Ahmet Üzümcü, addressed the opening plenary of the conference. ©IB Consultancy

A NOBEL cause The OPCW was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013. ©OPCW

14 CBNW 2017/01

INTERVIEW CBNW: Thank you very much for agreeing to speak to CBNW. Please could you kindly outline your role in OPCW as Director General?

AÜ: I was elected to this position in 2009.

Since then I have been fulfilling my duties within the parameters of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), and under the guidance of the Policy-Making Organs of states parties, which are the Executive Council and the annual Conference.

So my task is to head the Technical Secretariat of the OPCW, which has the role of overseeing the implementation of the Convention supported by the states parties. This allows a better implementation of the Convention at domestic level – which is extremely important.

Over the past 20 years the Secretariat has proved to be well equipped to deliver what’s expected to be delivered, and I believe it will continue to do so. There have been several instances where quite a high degree of expertise and experience was delivered, especially in the implementation and verification mechanism

based on the Convention.

We have routine inspections under Article VI of the Convention. We run a total of 241 inspections in one year at the same time. We also verify the destruction activities of the existing stockpiles of States Parties. So all this requires great technical expertise. We run several training activities for the inspectors, and our other technical staff we recruit.

CBNW: What have been the high and low points of your time in office from your appointment in 2009?



In an exclusive interview for CBNW, Publisher Tina Naji meets the Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, H.E. Mr Ahmet Üzümcü ©OPCW

©OPCW

OPCW inspectors collect samples as part of a mock inspection exercise.

CBNW 2017/01 15

INTERVIEW AÜ: The high point of course was the Syria mission. This was a very big challenge to the Organization – which was not really prepared to run missions in conflict zones. Nevertheless, we anticipated certain roles for the OPCW after the conflict started in March 2011 in Syria. Knowing this country possessed chemical weapons, we knew those CW could be needed to be addressed at a certain stage – and it happened.

So we didn’t know how many of our staff would volunteer to go there. In the end there were enough volunteers. We didn’t know how many countries would support this mission. We had sufficient support both financially as well as in kind, and everything in fact went more or less smoothly, and we were able to deliver. But this was a real challenge.

And just a week after we deployed our experts to Syria, we heard the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize, which was also a big surprise to us. It clearly was an important morale boost. I don’t really have an example of any disappointment or low points during the past six and a half years. Of course more could be done in certain instances, but I believe that the OPCW has proved to be one of the most effective international organizations that I have ever seen.

CBNW: That leads into the question that you received the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the OPCW, a fantastic achievement. Please could you outline how that has boosted the work and role of the organization?

AÜ: I was expecting the Nobel Peace Prize at a certain stage.

I thought it would be a little later when we were to reach a level of over 90% in destruction of existing stocks. So it happened a little earlier than I thought, but it was timely in the sense that we were at the beginning of a very challenging mission.

And I believe that our experts, our staff, at the Secretariat did receive it very well. They were very p?roud of being recognized by a very prestigious Award, and they thought that the international community and the public were aware of what they had been doing, and of their efforts.

Below left: The UN Security Council meet to discuss the alleged use of chemical weapons in the Khan Shaykhun area of southern Idlib, Syria, in early April 2017.

Below right: Depiction of a chemical barrel bomb allegedly dropped on Idlib Governerate between March and May 2015. Nine gas cylinders (green) are presumably filled with chlorine or chloride compound. The flasks with potassium permanganate (pink) would then have been used to oxidize the compound, resulting in Cl2.

The potassium permanganate may be responsible for the purple– red colour occasionally seen in pictures and video footage of impact sites.

©UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

16 CBNW 2017/01

And I think it helped to have an effect to do even better in Syria – and when I asked the volunteers who were deployed once, whether they would be ready to go back all of them said – without exception – that they were. They went to very remote areas in Syria, into very vulnerable safety and security situations.

But it did work, indeed.

CBNW: What is your response to the use of VX on a targeted traveller passing through Kuala Lumpur airport?

AÜ: Once the incident was reported by the Malaysian government, we were in touch with the Malaysian Embassy in The Hague, and we offered some assistance if they needed it. And the Malaysian authorities came back and asked for some laboratory material.

And our laboratory in the Netherlands, in The Hague, did ship them.

The Executive Council of the Organization discussed this issue and expressed serious concern over the incident. It asked me, as Director-General, to provide any assistance that the Malaysians would require. They also asked Malaysia to provide more information once the investigation was concluded. Finally, they decided to remain apprised of the matter.

It’s interesting that this is happening for the first time not in a country at war, but in a public place prone to affect others. People in the vicinity could have been affected. So this was taken very seriously by the OPCW. CBNW: Does it seem to have been precursor chemicals where there are no controls, and to get round detection?

AÜ: Our experts looked at this. It is very difficult to draw any conclusions whether some precursors were smuggled into the country and put together there and used.

So I think we have to wait and see

©OPCW

INTERVIEW because – as I understand – VX can be produced with different methods.

For example, commercially available chemicals could be synthesized.

Respirators are tested in the OPCW equipment store.

CBNW: What does it say about detection of chemicals coming into the Malaysian airport, or airports in general, would you say?

AÜ: Actually this issue is to be discussed soon, and already is by several countries.

The OPCW will also address this issue at our open-ended Working Group on Terrorism.

I intend to invite States Parties to exchange information and best practices.

It is important to ensure that they take the necessary measures at domestic level for prevention. The OPCW clearly cannot get involved in helping the States Parties to take those measures. But we provide a platform for sharing experiences, best practices, and making recommendations for the consideration of our States Parties.

CBNW: Before it was decontaminated, what could have been the effects on passengers and staff who were there at the time and shortly afterwards?

©OPCW

AÜ: VX is a persistent agent intended for use by the military for terrain control. It doesn’t evaporate – so you need direct contact with it to be affected. It is less damaging than agents like sarin, which can be inhaled. But it could still have been dangerous and harmful to people in the immediate vicinity.

CBNW: Syria was said to have dismantled its CWAs by mid-2014. How can you verify this and confirm that they do not have any leftover stocks, and the means to deliver them?

AÜ: A process begun in April 2014 with Syria resulted in a Declaration Assessment. We have consulted with them and

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sent experts 18 times to visit sites in Syria, to take samples and report back their findings to the States Parties. We expect Syria to answer questions as a result. I have undertaken consultations with their Deputy Foreign Minister.

Our goal is to help the Syrian authorities to complete their Declaration and demonstrate to other States Parties that they have declared everything in their CW programmed that they possessed.

We are not yet there: there are still questions to be clarified and documents to be delivered to the OPCW. But we hope we will make progress.

CBNW: As for chlorine, which both the Syrian state and ISIS terrorists have used and continue to use against civilians – is there any hope on the horizon for its control?

Or does its ubiquitous use and trade make this impossible and totally unrealistic?

AÜ: Chlorine is a substance used on a daily basis in all our countries and we don’t think it could be controlled. Indeed, chlorine was used in Syria to harm civilians. The OPCW fact-finding mission determined its use, as did the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) mandated by the Security Council. It is clearly unacceptable that toxic chemicals are being used as a weapon, and I hope that those who did it will be held accountable.

There is a strong intervention long established by the CWC to prevent such uses, but we need to make every effort to keep the integrity of this norm.

CBNW: ISIS has used chemical weapons in their IEDs. In areas they occupied which are being reclaimed by Iraqi and Kurdish forces, what will the clean-up-entail?

AÜ: ISIS used sulphur mustard, both in Iraq and in Syria. Our experts found it was a rather rudimentary agent – probably manufactured by ISIS itself. We don’t know what kind of expertise they possess.

There are allegations that some Iraqi experts who took part in Iraq’s earlier CW programme could have played a role within ISIS. This is very worrying, especially given the number of foreign fighters who may go back to their countries of origin with the same know-how to use such weapons.

In terms of decontaminating those areas, I think the Iraqis are capable of doing it, and I am sure they have. But if they haven’t, they would tell us and we would provide assistance.

18 CBNW 2017/01

CBNW: Is OPCW involved in investigating the recent chlorine attacks on Syrian civilians, and also in Mosul?

Our fact-finding mission is continuing to work on those allegations of use.

When the investigation is completed, we will submit our reports to the Executive Council of the OPCW and UN Security Council. If the findings confirm use, the JIM will take over.

As to the allegations of use in Iraq, we provide assistance to the Iraqi government. We help them investigate and will submit our report to the Iraqi government which will share it with other States Parties.

CBNW: One is state, the other terrorist. The problems of not only treating the victims but assigning blame must be huge. Can you tell us more about investigating these assaults?

AÜ: Proving allegations of use by non-state actors is not easy. We don’t have any communication with non-state actors. But we do try to reach out to witnesses and victims. Our experts interview the medical personnel who help those victims. And we try to be quite confident before we draw the necessary conclusions. The same applies to medical procedures during other investigations of alleged CW use.

In terms of consequences and follow-up actions, there could be differences; we will see how the UN Security Council will act. Regarding allegations of use in Mosul, we have offered assistance to the Iraqi government. But so far they haven’t come back to us. If they do, we are ready to send our experts to Iraq. ❚❙

POLICY Now that Donald J. Trump is President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief, he is responsible for the national security of our nation and has moral, political, economic and military obligations in strategic leadership. He will be faced with the juxtaposition of deterrence and preemption on security matters

T

oday, he is faced with collaboration, coordination, communication and command constructs in decision-making processes as it relates to CBRN and weapons of mass destruction proliferation and potential threats in a divided Congress – creating a political wilderness.

Turbulent environment

The global strategic environment remains turbulent. Balancing liberty and security is a delicate societal challenge. There are two paradigms – neo-conservatism and neoliberalism – that divide the United States. This dichotomy makes it difficult for Mr. Trump to provide the balance required to please all parties. He will have to make hard and decisive choices soon.

Some have already been made, such as the dispatch of cruise missiles to bomb the Syrian airfield implicated in launching chemical attacks on civilians in Idlib province in April 2017.

With modern technology that delicate balance is tested every day. The gathering of megadata to ensure that information is rapidly screened to reduce CBRN or terrorism threats and to garner actionable information in a timely manner to produce intelligence is at the crux of the matter. To complicate matters further, his desire to bring back waterboarding is an antithesis to the moral high ground our

nation has always stood for.

Mr. Trump has articulated on numerous occasions that our porous borders do not hinder our adversaries’ capability to transport not only illegal immigrants but potential terrorists who have the opportunity to smuggle drugs and WMD into the US.

Syria, Iran, and North Korea

The use of chemical weapons in Syria during the Obama administration which crossed his ‘Red Line’ was never addressed militarily. Since then, Syria has continued to use CW on its citizens.

ISIS has used a blister agent (most likely mustard agent) in Mosul and North Korea was able to smuggle VX (a deadly nerve agent) through airports to Malaysia to assassinate Kim Jong-Nam. In addition, North Korea and Iran continue unabated to launch missiles with the potential to deliver CBRN/WMD products. With all the intrigue that’s going on in Washington DC and elsewhere over Trump’s election, the majority of people are preoccupied with political infighting. The US must be concerned by the expanding threat posed by North Korea, which reached crisis point in April as a further nuclear test by Pyongyang was anticipated. The DPRK’s willingness to sell nuclear weapons or radiological materials to anyone with the financial wherewithal is of deep concern.

North Korea has also placed two satellites in orbit. KMS-3 was launched on 9 April 2013, followed by KMS-4 on 7 February 2016. Both satellites approach the US from a southern trajectory to which our missile defences are blind. The unspoken $64,000 question is whether or not they carry nuclear devices. They are both on the ideal track and altitude (400 km HOB) to – if detonated – create an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) that would blanket most of the US, Canada and Mexico. Given our over-dependence on micro-circuitry, we would be living a circa 1800s existence within 72 hours.

Fighting ghost wars

The use of CBRN/WMD continues to reverberate throughout the international community. Mr. Trump realizes that he is dealing not with a theoretical matter but events that occur more and more frequently. Nations are now embroiled in ghost wars unlike any we have ever experienced. The enemy is among us, virtually undetectable. He wears no uniform; there are no front lines to delineate friend from foe. It is obvious that this enemy has the advantage of years of planning, abundant resources, and the ability to strike at the time, place, and manner of his or her choosing.

Will President Trump be able to provide clarity, understanding, vision, leadership and direction through  unambiguous policy in this complex

A political wilderness

Brig Gen (Pa) Ret Xavier Stewart asks if CBRN and WMD will be countered in the Age of Trump

©Dr. Bruce Teft

©Mariel Foulds

20 CBNW 2017/01

POLICY

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©Russavia/Wikipedia

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©Dr. Bruce Teft

1 2 ©Dr. Bruce Teft

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3 4

One of many chemical weapons terrorist scenario exercises conducted in the US. The Korean Peninsula at night shows the ROK lit up while North Korea is chiefly in darkness.

Iran continues unabated in violation of agreements with UN and USA to launch missiles with the potential to deliver CBRN/WMD. Complex Coordinated Attack involving CBRN multiple incidents was conducted at the Lancaster Facility, PA with over 1,000 participants and 60 federal, military, state, county and local agencies.

➍

©Xavier Stewart

©Xavier Stewart, Exercise Director/Lt Col (retd) William Oberholtzer

Left: The 3rd Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team out of Fort Indiantown, PA respond to a CBRN incident.

CBNW 2017/01 21

POLICY and uncertain time? Will he reduce his communication through Twitter and provide substantive, resolute guidance to the leaders who command our elements of national power to bring the full force of these assets to curtail CBRN/WMD proliferation, and deny the enemy access to these deadly agents?

President Trump must realize that history is replete with examples that might in and of itself cannot win wars but diplomatic solutions, nation building and winning the hearts and minds of a people plays a more important role than first thought.

Police and EMTs arrive on scene immediately after the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. As well as facing growing volatility in foreign conflicts, the continuing threat of domestic-based terrorism will fully exercise the new Administration.

©Wikipedia

Pittsburgh SWAT Team in Level B PPE arrests a suspect in a terrorist incident in a mock CBRN exercise Westmoreland County, PA.

©X. Stewart, Exercise Director/Lt Col (retd) William Oberholtzer

Volatile and complex

Now more than ever the historical lessons of Vietnam, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq should be clear in the minds of our leaders that military success is not always sufficient to overcome and win ideological and sectarian differentiation.

We must understand the core issues at hand. This is where Foreign Service Officers play a pivotal role.

The current security environment is volatile, ambiguous, increasingly uncertain, and complex. Policy-makers and strategic leaders who have an appreciation for and understanding of culture will be able to formulate the strategic tools for success in nationbuilding if they consider other nations’ history, values, ideology, politics, religion, and other cultural dimensions.

This broad-based cultural awareness will enable these leaders to look at policy development and formulation through the lens of that particular nation.

I hope President Trump sees and understands the important role the State Department plays in these and other issues of national and international significance and that his desire to cut funding to this agency is reconsidered.

The United States will have to become vigilant to this expanding CBRN/WMD threat and implement processes and data collection tools that will provide actionable situational awareness to agencies in a timely manner to thwart this new threat – while holding in balance the civil liberties we so cherish.

However, I fear this will be the decade of continued indecisiveness, volatility, uncertainty and lack of clarity – not just from the United States, but our partners in this political wilderness. ❚❙

First responders deal with the immediate aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing by right-wing extremist Timothy McVeigh on 19 April 1995, in which 168 died in the worst act of homegrown terrorism in the nation’s history.

Dr Xavier Stewart is a retired Brigadier General (PA), currently President and CEO of Stewart and Associates, a company that helps the US Government combat WMD and develops national policies on homeland defence. He was Commander, 3rd Weapons of Mass Destruction-Civil Support Team, US Army from 1998-2005 for FEMA Region III.

The views expressed in this paper is that of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, the US Government and Stewart and Associates.

22 CBNW 2017/01

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CYBER-ATTACK

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WMD

Andy Oppenheimer looks at the rise in cyber-attacks and focuses on specific threats to nuclear facilities

In April, UK government officials warned that terrorists, foreign spies and hacktivists were looking to exploit “vulnerabilities” in the nuclear industry’s internet defences and electronic security systems. Along with multiple, constant and other cyber-attacks on political, commercial and even military organizations, the fastest-rising crime of this century is committed by states as well as terrorists and other non-state actors

I

n a worst-case scenario, a physical or cyber-attack on nuclear power plant (NPP) could trigger a meltdown incident similar to the Fukushima disaster in March 2011, which is still under extensive clean-up with effects lasting many years. Specifically, their command and control functions – Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems – would be prime targets, as they control the reactor coolant, core temperature, and other vital safety components.

State attack: Stuxnet

The hallmark case is the Stuxnet worm, codenamed ‘Olympic Games’: two main consequential attacks that

24 CBNW 2017/01

were launched by the US and Israel with the aim of destroying Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme. Similar efforts are possible in attempts to halt North Korea’s nuclear weapons effort, reaching crisis point in 2017.

In autumn 2010 reports emerged of a new strain of malware rapidly propagating on the Internet. It turned up in Minsk, Belarus, where a computer security firm discovered a computer belonging to a customer in Iran was caught in a reboot loop – shutting down and restarting repeatedly – despite efforts by operators to take control of it. Computers in Iran were doing the same.

When they found malicious files on one of the systems, the world’s first digital weapon was uncovered – and had spread to computers elsewhere.

Stuxnet was designed to target previously unknown weaknesses in MS Windows with ‘zero-day exploits’ – which altered the operation of the SCADA systems in the Natanz enrichment plant. After about 13 days after infection, it was triggered to speed up or slow down the centrifuges until they self-destructed.

CYBER-ATTACK

US sailors assigned to Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command take their stations. ©Institute for Science and International Security

“The Stuxnet virus was far more dangerous than the cyberweapon that is now lodged in the public’s imagination.”

“Every piece of code in there served to get inside Iran’s nuclear facility – real-world physical destruction.”

RALPH LANGNER, FOREIGN POLICY, 19 NOVEMBER 2013

SYMANTEC ENGINEER ERIC CHIEN, STORYVILLE: ZERO DAYS, BBC4, JULY 2016

The virus masked its presence while controlling and monitoring the systems it infected. Only after years of undetected infiltration did the US and Israel allegedly unleash the second variation of Stuxnet on the Natanz enrichment plant to attack the centrifuges themselves and self-replicate in many computers.

In March 2017 a study by research organisation Rand of 200 security flaws, 40% of which are not yet publicly known, suggested that zero-day vulnerabilities can lie dormant for up to ten years. This gives hackers sufficient time to develop sophisticated exploits for a range of software.

The second attack – unleashed just as the systems had been restored after the first attack – bypassed computers that were ‘air-gapped’ (unable to be accessed remotely) from the Internet, by infecting them via an infected USB flash drive. The first version of Stuxnet was only detected with the knowledge of the second.

The US managed to set back the programme without bombing facilities. Stuxnet also did not set out to blow

up a plant or similar ISIS-style apocalyptic goal, but instead instructed 1,000 centrifuges – 20% of the running equipment – to self-destruct. It caused damage by wreaking physical destruction on equipment controlled by computers rather than simply hijacking computers or stealing data from them.

“A daily occurrence”

A report released by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) in January 2016 highlighted the potentially catastrophic consequences of cyberattack on a nuclear facility.

Some 23 cyber incidents have occurred at nuclear facilities since 1990. These included in December 2014, a cyber-attack by the North 

CBNW 2017/01 25

CYBER-ATTACK THE ‘CYBERCALIPHATE’ High on the list of cyberterrorism proponents is ISIS, which along with al-Qaeda has declared ‘electronic, digital and cyber Jihad’ on the West. ISIS set up its ‘CyberCaliphate’ in 2016 to engage in high-profile hacks using malware, hacking tools, and advanced encryption.

Well-educated young jihadists are trained on Dark Web Forums and, unlike uneducated rank-and-file recruits with criminal records, are recruited separately as ‘clean skins’, aiming at distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks to disrupt infrastructure. In January 2015 ISIS is said to have hacked into US Central Command, making its Twitter and YouTube accounts host pro-ISIL videos.

“Reports of actual or attempted cyber-attacks are now virtually a daily occurrence.”

IAEA DIRECTOR GEN. YUKIYA AMANO, AUGUST 2015

Koreans on the ROK’s main energy supplier, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP).

North Korean hackers reportedly leaked internal documents from KHNP by using Internet protocol addresses in China to access the KHNP network.

They published designs, manuals, and other information about South Korean reactors on Twitter, along with personal information about workers. The hackers were trying to paralyse the South Korean NPP system, but other attacks could go a step further and trigger an accident.

Spread of radioactivity to North Korea itself is most likely not factored in. In early March the ROK increased the alert to its second-highest level, out of five ©Institute for Science and International Security

Above: This satellite image of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility shows the approximate location of two vast cascade halls that can hold at least 50,000 centrifuges.

Right: How Stuxnet wrought its damage on centrifuges at the Natanz plant.

26 CBNW 2017/01

levels level against cyberattacks directed at the South’s major agencies and businesses. The NTI report stresses that, while there are stringent safety regulations for NPPs and other nuclear facilities, addressing cyber risks has not caught up in many countries where nuclear power is a burgeoning form of energy. The increasing complexity and connectivity across systems – even when ‘air-gapped’ from the Internet – means any solution must work to reduce complexity. This is a tall order as we approach widespread use of AI (artificial intelligence) in industry, commerce, and infrastructure.

UK National Cyber Security Centre

On 15 February, HM the Queen inaugurated the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) in central London. As part of the UK’s signal intelligence agency GCHQ and a £1.9 billion (US$2.4 billion) five-year programme to boost cyber defences in the UK, the NCSC began work last October, its mission to secure the internet in the UK and respond to and manage cyber incidents.

Hackers could target the UK’s electricity supply’s smart grid technology and management systems in power plants which would trigger blackouts.

The NCSC will work closely with law enforcement, including the National Crime Agency (NCA) to support cyber security awareness campaigns. Its first major publicly known task has been to investigate the source of the vast worldwide malware attack which brought down NHS computer systems and other systems in more than 70 countries in mid-May - with North Korea or its proxies a possible suspect.

US Cyber Command

The US Army Cyber Command in defending against state and non-state cyber-attack has had to build up its capabilities. Army cyber personnel perform both offensive and defensive missions, including against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Ongoing operations are aiming to deploy a series of ‘implants’ in ISIS networks.

Units are being put into action as fast as they can be trained.

The US DoD is commissioning civilians with cybersecurity expertise into the Army, which should help fill capability gaps.

As well as state-launched attacks, cyberterrorism is 21stcentury asymmetric warfare, where smaller and often more technically-capable groups are a huge challenge to bigger adversaries. They launch their broadsides in cyberspace, where there are no borders. Fighting the last war is not an option if we are to prevent a 21st-century cyber-WMD. zy

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MULTI-AGENCY RESPONSE All photos ©the National CBRN Centre

Head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing’s National CBRN Centre Det. Supt. Ian Womersley explains the importance of partnerships in protecting and preparing against the chemical threat in the UK – and outlines how the emergency services work to strengthen the UK’s CBRN capability

Commitment to partnership 28 CBNW 2017/01

MULTI-AGENCY RESPONSE Recent reports in the European media highlight chemical terrorism as a potential threat to the continent’s cities, pointing to the reported use of chemicals in Syria and Iraq by ISIS.

A

s its lead delivery officer, I believe it is the National CBRN Centre’s commitment to partnership working that helps it make an impact.

Responsible for operational preparedness, the Centre supports, strengthens and assures the UK emergency services’ CBRN capability, working within the Counter Terror Policing network.

Joined-up emergency services

Originally created in 2000 as a Police-led unit, over the years the Centre has matured into a tri-service operation, integrating firefighters and paramedics

Above: The National CBRN Centre trains over 300 emergency staff a year.

Above right: The National CBRN Operations Centre provides 24/7 support to suspected CBRN incidents.

into its leadership and delivery teams.

The CBRN threat requires a multi-agency team response. Attend any meeting across our business and you’ll find a diverse mix of skillsets and experience.

Police officers with years of investigative experience work closely with paramedics who specialize in mass casualty and hazardous incidents, alongside firefighters who have managed the response to chemical, biological or radiological scenarios.

The perspective gained from bringing these individuals together is invaluable, particularly throughout our daily interaction with scientific, health and civil experts in partner agencies. In fact, working with an open, collaborative

mindset is the only way to strengthen the UK capability against a changing CBRN threat.

Learning from the frontline

The approach can also be witnessed at tactical and strategic CBRN training courses run by the Centre, with multi-agency role play and scenario building integral to refining the response.

As over 300 Police, Fire and Ambulance responders pass through the Centre’s training programme each year, intelligence on local capability and operational learning is fed back into the national strategy.

Out in the field, an established regional network of practitioners has access to tactical support from the 24/7 Operations Centre and a secure online platform of resources.

As a national Centre, we have to listen to what’s happening on the ground across the emergency services, in partnership with

the security services. Much of the guidance and doctrine we develop for responders comes from challenges they report to us, alongside a robust testing and exercising schedule.

Our solutions are tri-service where possible – placing joint operational principles at the heart of our strategy. The CBRN response carries a multitude of interdependencies across Police, Fire and Ambulance, and we work hard to make it  as proportionate, flexible, agile and scalable as possible.

“The threat to the United Kingdom from chemical agents has not changed.

It remains a low-risk scenario, but that does not mean we are complacent. Identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities in our protection of the public and in preparation of the emergency response is how we stay ahead of the curve” CBNW 2017/01 29

MULTI-AGENCY RESPONSE

“Our primary goal is to protect the public from terrorism, but simple first-aid advice on dealing with a chemical contamination may just as easily save lives within accidental or criminal scenarios. It is good practice to equip people with life-saving knowledge, whatever the end use. It’s just as important as fire safety advice.”

Fast CBRN response

A key focus for UK CBRN policy has been to promote the early improvisational treatment of victims, encouraging individuals to remove contaminated clothing and wipe or wash themselves clean while waiting for help to arrive. The change in policy is a response to scientific tests revealing the dramatic improvement in recovery rates from those who take action to remove the contaminant within the first 15 minutes of exposure.

However, embedding and maintaining the policy for new and existing responders requires a continual effort. Thankfully, for many across the emergency services, CBRN is not an everyday occurrence, or a front-of-mind threat. This does create challenges for us when it comes to cutting through the daily issues our responders face, ensuring they recognise a CBRN incident when they attend a call-out, and acting quickly.

The Centre will broaden its awareness and training to initial emergency responders during 2017, as well as consider further target audiences across key industries that may benefit from understanding the signs and symptoms of a chemical, biological or radiological event. Businesses will also be offered bespoke, detailed advice on how to protect their staff and premises.

Despite the subject matter, I do not believe an awareness campaign should cause alarm to the UK public.

Working within UK Counter Terror Policing

The Centre’s new home at the heart of Counter Terror Policing is a continuation of its partnership approach. Transitioning from the Home Office via the national College of Policing in 2016 means CBRN is now embedded as a thematic area of activity within UK Counter Terrorism.

Forming part of the government’s CONTEST counter terrorism strategy and tapping into the Counter Terrorism network is essential. There’s a phrase that we keep coming back to at the Centre, which is that ‘you don’t know what you don’t know.’ I’ve lost count of the occasions an innovative solution or even a seemingly innocuous question has arisen from joint conversations with our new colleagues, only to alter the direction of our strategy, or simply open up new lines of activity.

A recent example at the Centre is a project with Counter Terrorism Policing analysts to map chemical vulnerabilities arising from incident logs in its Ops Centre. The project will highlight priority areas for community awareness campaigns The National CBRN Centre is relaunching its International Journal, published quarterly for the CBRN community. If you wish to subscribe, contact cbrncomms@west-midlands.pnn.police.uk

Det Supt Ian Womersley

and joint initiatives to target-harden.

Often, our Ops Centre will provide tactical CBRN support to incidents that contain a chemical component, but will not have a terrorism link. Our project will involve analysis of these cases to identify chemical vulnerabilities within the UK which could be exploited by those with terrorist intent.

Further afield

It is not just national partnerships that are being strengthened through the Centre’s activities. A particular CBRN vulnerability identified by the Centre is easy access to specialist knowledge, enabled by an increasingly connected world where information and expertise is transferred instantly across borders.

Combined with the fast flow of people and goods, it is a challenge for mitigating the CBRN risk. We place collaboration with global partners at the heart of our programme of work. Through virtual and physical networks, we are driving activities to support CBRN knowledge exchange between peers, to strengthen responder skillsets with training and doctrine and to actively collaborate on opportunities to choke access routes and target harden.

It is our duty to be at the forefront of our field in ensuring we protect and prepare the UK by growing our community and developing those international relationships. ❚❙

Det Supt Ian Womersley is Head of the National CBRN Centre and Operational Development Unit. After joining West Yorkshire Police in 1988, in 2006 he joined West Yorkshire’s Counter Terrorism Unit as a Detective Inspector. In 2009 he was seconded to London as Chief Inspector to implement recommendations of ‘Stockwell Learning the lessons-HMIC’ and in 2015 he became Head of the National CBRN Centre.

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COUNTRY PROFILE

Against the backdrop of the changing security environment and heightened Islamist terrorist activity in Germany, Ilja Bonsen and Sophie Barthel spoke to Commander of the Bundeswehr CBRN Defence Command (BwCBRNCmd) Col. Henry Neumann about German reactions to new threats – and the importance of international collaboration in the field of CBRN defence

Out of one hand

32 CBNW 2017/01

COUNTRY PROFILE Col. Neumann gives a presentation during the NCT Europe 2016 event in Amsterdam.

T

he terrorist attack in the heart of Berlin in December 2016, when a truck was driven into a Christmas market leaving 12 people dead and 56 injured, is only one of several such atrocities that recently took place in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.

In response to new asymmetric threats posed by non-state actors since 9/11, countries made first attempts to combine their CBRN capabilities. Yet it was not until 2009 that NATO published its Comprehensive, Strategic-Level Policy for Preventing the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and Defending against Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Threats.

NATO 2009 Policy

This stated the Alliance’s mission to work actively to prevent the proliferation of WMD, to protect its allies from WMD threats  ©IBC

“As a framework nation, you must be able to provide the frame; you must be able to offer capabilities and capacities. Despite all our multinational efforts, this remains the most important part of our work – today and in the future.”

The TEP 90 is a highly mobile containerized compact decon system recently fielded by the Bundeswehr. ©Kärcher Futuretech

CBNW 2017/01 33

COUNTRY PROFILE should prevention fail, and to be prepared for recovery efforts should the Alliance suffer a WMD attack or CBRN event.

During the Wales Summit in 2014, the heads of state of NATO articulated a vision of common capability development by clusters of nations, approving a concept that was meant to offer new impetus for multinational cooperation in the NATO Defence Planning Process.

This is known as NATO’s Framework Nations Concept (FNC).

Against this backdrop the German Bundeswehr was prudent and Germany one of the first NATO nations that repositioned and integrated its traditionally strong CBRN Defence capabilities into a new type of organization in order to maintain its very high level of preparedness in prevention, protection and recovery in times of a changing security environment.

Reorganizing CBRN defence in Germany

The Bundeswehr CBRN Defence Command (BwCBRNCmd) was created in 2013 under the command of Col. Neumann, who has been part of the German Bundeswehr for over 40 years.

He explains: “CBRN defence responsibilities of the German Bundeswehr became part of the Joint Support Service as a so-called Capability Coordination Command subordinated to the Territorial Tasks Command in Berlin. The command comprises almost all qualified CBRN defence personnel, except the Medical

The Kärcher Futuretech Light Decontamination System can also be moved by helicopters.

©Kärcher Futuretech

34 CBNW 2017/01

©Rheinmetall Group

CBRN defence capability and CBRN-EOD, which is part of the Army’s Engineer Branch.”

He continued: “We concentrated capabilities to provide an overarching service out of one hand.”

As well as these organizational changes, the Colonel emphasized that the Bundeswehr has also put a lot of effort into the development of his Command’s actual capabilities. The introduction of a mobile Chem-Lab, a mobile Rad-Lab, as well as a mobile Bio-Lab and the development of a Special CBRN Defence Platoon with scientifically trained personnel are just some examples.

TEP 90 for decon

Furthermore, the Joint Service Decon System – the TEP 90 – has only recently been fielded and will be supplemented by a caged system, which allows the

The ABC Fuchs is a reliable workhorse for the Bundeswehr. The NBC reconnaissance vehicle has been upgraded and modified based on experience acquired during many missions.

command to sustain decontamination operations. In order to support expeditious operations, light decon systems have been introduced that can also be moved by helicopters. In case of mass contamination, the Command possesses heavy decon systems.

It’s not just CBRN defence equipment that has been developed in Germany. Col. Neumann is also constantly advancing his command’s soft skills. Whether this includes CBRN defence-related education and training for enhanced and qualified CBRN defence personnel – or, training for military and civilian personnel in the area of occupational safety, environmental protection, and firefighting for the Bundeswehr – “we are always looking into enhancing our capability in order to support our troops in operation and to contribute to the safety of our soldiers.”

International cluster CBRN protection

“Germany’s CBRN Defence Forces have always been deeply engaged in the multinational business. Therefore, we proposed to open a cluster,” Col. Neumann said. As chair of the cluster, the main organizer and provider of the collaborative environment, Germany is one of the pioneering countries that started to improve NATO’s CBRN defence forces, which long counted as the capabilities with the longest and strongest interoperability.

However, as Col. Neumann highlighted, the success of cooperation always belongs to every contributing nation. For instance, Germany has recently been working with the Czech and Polish forces, which contributed to the development of the cluster in an extraordinary way.

COUNTRY PROFILE

“The very well established Recce Vehicle Fuchs has been upgraded and comprises the most modern reconnaissance technologies.”

But why is international cooperation in the field of CBRN defence so important to Germany? First, the German Bundeswehr has a long tradition in contributing to NATO’s CBRN defence.

Moreover: “the Cluster CBRN Protection is a good example how NATO and Partner States can work together. If we do it in a smart way, we really can come to synergies, close a capability gap, save money and be better in CBRN defence.”

Adding to this, CBRN defence constitutes a rather small niche capability within the German military, as in any military. Col. Neumann argues that all national CBRN Defence Forces can only overcome their weakness by putting all capabilities together and organize it in the best way possible.

Secondly, when returning to Germany in 2012 after spending eighteen months on operations in Kabul, Col. Neumann concluded that the increased threat level, and the fact that the use of WMD can no longer be ruled out, requires tighter collaboration of the nations of the Alliance.

Since then, Col. Neumann aimed to support the FNC by providing his command and taking the lead in the cluster project. Lastly, he added: “taking over such a role is an outstanding training for my formations and will help me to prepare them for any operation they might have to face.”

The FNC and the way ahead

So far, the cluster project is not fully settled yet because of its dynamic nature – as nations can join and leave the cluster according to their own national decision. But, as Neumann emphasized: “we have now a substantial core of nations contributing to the cluster. We have established an initial operational capability with the Cluster Support Cell (CSC). The Czech Republic has sent the former Director of the CoE (Centre of Excellence), Colonel Jiri Gajdos, as a

Liaison Officer.”

Other participating nations are also invited to take over responsibilities and work within the CSC – as it is intended to become the main means to run the cluster.

Against the background of an uncertain future with regards to WMD and CBRN threats, Col. Neumann stated that even though the BwCBRNCmd is in a very good position, the first and most important point is to maintain and increase German CBRN defence capabilities in the future.

Col. Neuman will host a capability demonstration showcasing the German Bundeswehr CBRN capabilities and will present during the NCT Europe conference in Sonthofen, Germany, 27-29 June 2017. ❚❙ Dr Ilja Bonsen is CEO of IB Consultancy and organizer of the NCT CBRNe event series. Sophie Barthel works as an Analyst at IB Consultancy. She holds a B.A. in Political Science and Public Administration and a MSc. in EU Politics, in which she specialized in the international relations of Europe.

CBNW 2017/01 35

FIRST RESPONSE

Loud

& clear Dee Ruelas explains how to ensure that emergency communications work well in mass-casualty and CBRNE incidents

Practice, practice, practice: when doing exercises, large or small-scale, use injects with communications failures and snafus just as you do with other skills. ©US Govt

Mass casualty and CBRNE incidents have, by their very nature, multiple moving parts.

In order to effectively manage such situations, well-practiced communication skills with varied, appropriate communications technologies are vital. They are the life and death of every event; civilian and military, local and

A

Emergency Communications Centres and well-trained dispatchers are the lifeline for any event. Interoperability and continued training in CBRNE incident responses are vital to helping them to help you.

global.

©Harris County Tx

t the onset of or in preparation for an imminent event, emergency communications is a critical tool in warning and preparing the public.

Whether a dangerous chemical dispersal from a hazardous spill as the result of a train derailment; a large multivehicle wreck on the highway; a bio-terror attack in a large metropolitan area; a contagious disease epidemic or pandemic; a bombing or radiological event, or a

natural event such as earthquake, flood or tornado, warning the public in a timely fashion is vital for survival and resilience.

36 CBNW 2017/01

Communications training

Knowing how much information to release, when and how to release and how to word it to prevent panic is essential. Co-ordinating with and using the media is also part of the communications puzzle. The Public Information Officer is a key player here.

In the United States, emergency communications is one of the main support functions in the National Response Framework. Public Safety Dispatchers should have basic awareness training in CBRNE incidents with an understanding of different events’ terminology, equipment and procedures.

This training is provided at multiple venues throughout the country and available to all agencies.  During an emergency, the loss of

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Left: The Mobile Command Post is a vital communications resource.

Below left: This new satellite communications tower was raised in Belize to improve communications capabilities. From local communities to national communications infrastructure: replace ageing, technologically out-of-date equipment. Update; upgrade; replace.

Below right: Amateur radio operators are a valuable asset in emergency communications.

They can operate from the scene or from their home base.

©US Govt

©Marion County Indiana, Amateur Radio Emergency Communications

effective communications causes what was once ‘organized chaos’ to devolve into the unthinkable. Leaders must have and maintain a capability-based approach towards their communications needs for specific missions as well as the unexpected.

Intuitive thinking will be required once they size up a scene. There is nothing to compare with, or replace, good old-fashioned preparedness. Incident Commanders should consider in advance and drill for ‘all-hazards’ event scenarios.

Depending on the size, location and nature of the event, the type of communication links used may vary.

New technology is integral and changes need to be kept abreast of. For instance, in more remote, wilderness-type locations or during events where major damage to infrastructure has occurred, satellite phones may be considered immediately 38 CBNW 2017/01

rather than later.

Infrastructure-independent communications are now available so their integration into your equipment cache should be a priority. Couriers should always be an option in one way or another. Multiple command post sites with satellite links, hand-held radios or ham operators are another viable choice.

Communications determine the success or failure of an operation.

Rapidly changing technology

Effective and seamless communications is a life-and-death determinant for emergency responders. Regular assessment of personnel and physical capabilities must be completed in order to identify and correct deficiencies vis-a-vis training; equipment procurement and upgrade – and through various partnerships with other stakeholders.

When multiple agencies are involved the need for interoperability and mutual aid frequencies is required. All participants must be able to communicate with each other throughout the event. Mass casualty incidents are not the place to

realize you do not have the means to talk to the folks who are working a kilometre away from another community.

New technologies such as datacasting, which involves partnering with Public Television, has proven quite effective in large events and venues such as SuperBowl LI and the Republican Presidential Debate – both held in Houston, TX. It was also helpful in rescue and recovery efforts during severe flooding in 2016. This provided first responders visual and audio access to areas that had degraded or where there were non-existent wireless signals – thereby providing invaluable communications backup for wireless not previously available.

Use all methods

Indeed, it is far too easy to be lulled into a false sense of security when considering communications technology today. The means and methods are many and diffuse. Social media spreads information faster than wildfire. It can be used as a very effective method to notify entire communities, even regions of impending disasters – or to update in real time as

FIRST RESPONSE emergencies unfold.

We must be willing to use all methods available to us, or we may be caught in a serious shortsighted deficit of our own making. Whether we are looking at a local weather event, a hazardous materials incident, or bio-terror attack, our emergency communications across the globe need to be protected, planned and practiced at all levels. Further, we must continue to learn from mistakes previously made.

Learn from history

Consider the devastating lessons learned in New York City during 9/11.

Communications interoperability and mutual aid frequencies, or the lack thereof, was a major problem. So, too, was the inability of Public Safety Communication Officers to maintain contact with the first responders once they were inside the Twin Towers.

Police could not speak to Fire and dispatchers could not understand or contact responders. Garbled, unclear, and broken communications may have led to the deaths of far too many on that terrible day.

A wildfire situation in very rough or

mountainous terrain can result in poor communication capabilities if you are dependent upon line-of-sight communication. A group of 19 wildland firefighters lost their lives in Yarnell, Arizona in 2013.

They had no idea that the fire was coming back up on them in the canyon they were in and could not escape the inferno, due to poor communications reception.

The 7/7 bombings on the London transit system also resulted in communications challenges. These tragedies occur all over the world. Severe weather destroys cell towers and local telephone services; other natural disasters destroy major communications infrastructure.

Communications works hand in hand with community preparedness and participation; planning, risk management; intelligence; information sharing and dissemination. These functions are vital to any operation and affect all other areas of the operation.

Ultimately, it all comes down to communications. Period. If you can’t send them, warn them, update them, know where they are, supply them, re-route them, organize them or call them off, and if they cannot talk to each other, you can’t get it accomplished.

It is that simple. zy

Know your equipment

Dee Ruelas is a Health, Safety and Emergency Preparedness consultant and Instructor in Arizona with 40 years’ teaching experience. She is formerly a radiological technologist, emergency medical technician, public safety communications dispatcher, and Director of the Community Emergency Response Team for Tucson CERT. She also volunteers for the American Red Cross and teaches for Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health and is a FEMA CERT Instructor.

Know your equipment and its capabilities.

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RECOVERY

The fire is out

– now back to work?

Don I. Brazie reminds us that after a fire, recovery is not instant

Not so fast: you have entered the Recovery Phase.

R

ecovery after a fire at a hospital has affected the daily operations of the hospital and will take time. Patients, families and staff must be reassured that everything is fine and they are safe.

Clean-up and the recovery phase of getting back to normal everyday operations has started.

Before patients can be moved back into their rooms, verification must be done to show the hospital has done

40 CBNW 2017/01

its due diligence to ensure patients that their health was never jeopardized and that the rooms are safe for them to return. Hospitals must be aware of any possible legal risks that might occur.

Air quality inside the hospital is a priority. To ensure no smoke residue has entered the hospital, ‘wipe tests’ should be conducted in patients’ room walls, windows and floors, and in hallways, furniture, ventilation system and the emergency stairwells.

If test results show any smoke residue, everything will need to be washed or replaced.

All HVAC (heating ventilation air conditioning) air filters should be replaced. Any air filters in the patient rooms and hallways must be replaced to be safe. It is important to remember to keep track of these costs to submit to your insurance company.

Outside recovery

At the same time as the inside work

RECOVERY

The fire is out. Some 33 ICU (intensive care unit) patients were evacuated out of the hospital safely, and all other patients were ‘horizontally evacuated’ to the other side of the hospital while staying on the same floor. Some patients who were being discharged this day were discharged a few hours early.

Clean-up has started outside where there is oil and fire retardant from where the transformer burned. This transformer, located outside the hospital, was close to a couple of HVAC air intake vents, major walkway and cafeteria for employees. Since the fire was out and smoke never entered the hospital, leadership wanted to move the patients back into their rooms, continue surgery, deliver babies and conduct other medical procedures.

©US Marine Corps/Lance Cpl. Janessa K. Pon

is being done, the recovery phase is going on outside. This fire was near two emergency back-up generators, which continued to run even though they had transformer cooling oil on them. Since this hospital was about 40 years old, the emergency fuel tanks were above ground, separated only by wall. Cooling oil which did not burn and fire suppressant was everywhere and needed to be cleaned up.

Notification to the City Waste Water Treatment Departme nt is critical, informing them that there will be some oil coming their way in the sewer system while putting out the fire. Having an agreement and a

good relationship with the waste water department, our plan was to notify them if a mass-casualty event occurred where we had to wash patients with an unknown substance.

PCB-free?

The one question that came up from the Waste Water Department and County Air Quality Department was “Did the transformer contain PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls)-free cooling oil?” They needed to see the certificate, which just happened to be located on the door inside of the transformer that burned. Regulatory agencies and the Fire Department

would not allow anyone into the area until they received verification that the transformer was PCB-free. It took time for the electricity company, who owned the transformer, to bring a hard copy down to the hospital.

The Fire Department, in level B suits personal protective suits (PPE), were the only ones permitted into the area. Once the certificates were received showing no PCB, clean-up continued inside the area. Cooling oil was removed and collected from the burned transformer and was disposed of as hazardous waste.

After a 10-hour clean up inside and outside, the all-clear was given and  CBNW 2017/01 41

RECOVERY © Don I. Brazie

And there may be panic: as this fire/explosion happened the February after 9/11, someone ran through our hospital yelling the hospital had been bombed by a terrorist. We never found out who it was.

Emergency lights

This aerial view of the site shows white tanks at far left with 12,000 gallons of fuel. Near bottom of right side of picture is the new tan-coloured transformer. To the left is the third greyish transformer. Emergency generators are under the 3-square roofs at the top of the picture.

patients were transported back to their rooms. The 28 ICU patients transported to our outpatient surgery centre were taken back to the hospital and five remained at our sister hospital.

One of the most interesting and useful information we learned from this event was that there were no fire codes for restrooms to have emergency lights. The restrooms inside the hospital were dark when you closed the door. Flashlights and batteries were brought in from facilities and after a trip to the store.

As part of our after-action report (AAR) we stocked every nurse station with 12-hour emergency light sticks – which you break and shake and which provide light for many hours.

This shot shows the burned transformer with the doors blown off. The copper bus-bar was the fuse link that melted causing the oil to leak.

The media

During any hospital drill or incident, communications is always a priority – keeping staff, patients and families informed. Media must be briefed regularly and kept away from the patients.

Media will quickly jump on a story involving a hospital. One Vice-President who was across the country called from his hotel gym – asking what was going on as he was watching his hospital on the news. One helicoptered reporter stated they were over the fire and described “what looks like oxygen storage tanks next to the fire.” Oxygen was not stored near the fire.

The ‘Looky-Lous’ will also come out in force, to see what’s going on and to get their picture on the news. Keep them away from the area for their safety. Utilize hospital security and local police to assist with crowd control.

KEEP RECORDS UP TO DATE The top priority is to document everything before an event occurs, based on this incident:  Know what your insurance company covers and does not cover for emergencies, and review it often  Take lots of pictures and obtain written statements from anyone who was in the area  Interview staff and physicians transporting patients down the street to the outpatient surgery centre  Interview the electrical company who owned the transformer  Obtain video news coverage of the incident  Keep copies of certifications like PCB-free documentation in multiple locations  Keep track of all expenses, including staff, supplies, services (S3)  Keep track of what services had to be cancelled, including surgeries, outpatient services, laboratory services, dialysis, X-rays, physician visits, and estimated costs  Don’t forget costs of start-up for computers and medical equipment to verify they were not damaged during any surges

42 CBNW 2017/01

© Don I. Brazie

Community help

It is important to have a good working relationship with community partners. MOUs (Memoranda of Understanding) are great and emergencies help bring communities together.

Two pizza and two sandwich shops showed up and carried on providing food for staff, patients and fire fighters. The local grocery store brought over a small trailer filled with bottled water, fruit drinks and juices.

Following the incident, I gave a presentation to the electricity company on our lessons learned. When they realized that the second transformer only 2 m away was burned on the outside, but never inspected, they immediately stopped the meeting and had a new transformer scheduled to be replaced the next day. When the second transformer was opened, the PCB-free certification was burned and many wires were starting to melt.

It is important to be prepared for any emergency incident.

Conducting after-action reports, developing improvement plans and conducting your vulnerability analysis for all hazards is a start. You cannot have a plan for every emergency, but you can develop plans or guidelines to help determine what to do with different emergencies.

No two emergencies are identical. If you plan and exercise your plans, your organization will be better prepared to respond. As Benjamin Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” ❚❙ Don I. Brazie CEM MSL has been involved in healthcare emergency management and preparedness for over 18 years.

He obtained his Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) certification through the International Association of Emergency Managers in 2006, obtained a MSc in Leadership: Emphasis is Disaster Preparedness, and has completed the FEMA Emergency Management Institute Professional Development Series training.

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INTERVIEW

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SWAT Team CBRN PPE

The CLD500 ventilated decontamination coverall.

Tailored for

All photos ©Paul Boyé Technologies

PROTECTION CBNW Deputy Editor David Oliver meets Jacques Boyé, President of Paul Boyé Technologies For more than a century the name of Paul Boyé has been involved in the design and manufacture of military uniforms and protective equipment.

The emblem of the company is the Pyrenean chamois antelope – a strong, agile animal that is resistant to extreme conditions, chosen for both its qualities and the mountain birthplace of the Boyé family.

44 CBNW 2017/01

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INTERVIEW CBNW: Could you provide a short history of the company – and how it became involved in the market?

JB: The mobilization in 1914 of Pierre Boyé’s tailoring workshop to produce the French Army’s famous sky blue wool greatcoat was the starting point of an industrial adventure. We became dedicated to the manufacturing of uniforms as well as administrative and military protective equipment. Inseparable family and corporate values led four generations to build the history and future of the company, throughout time and crises.

Paul Boyé Technologies specialized in designing uniforms and protective equipment for extreme environments. Their products are optimized between levels of protection, operator mobility, and systems ergonomics.

As a leader in CBRN protection, with more than five million CBRN suits supplied around the world, Paul Boyé Technologies designs and manufactures combat clothing and protective equipment for armed forces, Special Forces, homeland security, and law enforcement.

CBNW: How many staff do you employ and how many are involved in research and development?

JB: Paul Boyé Technologies has two production units in France and employs a workforce of 243 and 1,200 people worldwide.

Paul Boyé Technologies Research & Development department interacts with our customers and users during each step of the product development process, from design to mass production. We employ more than 10 people, including engineers and doctors, who have several tasks. These include innovative material research and prototyping; material qualification; material safety; ergonomics and thermal comfort and the management of our laboratories, including the textile and chemical laboratory.

The R & D teams within the group are capable of starting up and developing studies in numerous areas of interest for public bodies, French or European, in a high-confidentiality situation. Our workshops work to French Defence and NATO confidentiality standards.

The products developed by the R & D department and approved by accredited laboratories are made to international standards and norms. Paul Boyé Technologies is actively involved in national and European research programmes, and is the owner of a number of patents.

CBNW:: Can you explain the products marketed under your four main brands?

JB:: The brands were created for a better understanding of what we offer.

They reveal the multidisciplinarity of our R&D unit.

TIGRE-range products are destined for soldiers, and especially their ballistic protection. The TIGRE bulletproof vest is combat proven and currently in use within the French Army. This bulletproof vest is modular in order to suit the mission – which may be static, turret or combat fighting.

It has interchangeable elements for the neck, 46 CBNW 2017/01

shoulders, arms and pelvis and equipped with a quick release system.

The vest can be removed in less than two seconds.

A brand created for protection is the VIATEK half-mask respirator, which can be used equally by the public at large and by civil defence workers in health crises such as SARS, avian influenza Type H5N1, or in areas contaminated by radioactive dust.

FRIOTEK is the brand of our cooling vest aid in the fight against hyperthermia.

This patented development introduced

by Paul Boyé Technologies guarantees a homogenised and non-aggressive coolness for up to three hours, thanks to its specialized fabric assembly. Cooling is progressively diffused towards the interior, without excessive humidity.

OLMEX is a range of fabrics developed by Paul Boyé Technologies and local partners to control all the steps of material fabrication, offering total traceability and to promote a local industrial base.

CBNW: What are its advantages of your CBRN PPE over other products in the market?

JB: Paul Boyé is a recognized expert in the design and production of combat and protective equipment clothing.

It has gained experience in this area over more than a century.

Our key aim is to develop for each user the exact PPE to fit the mission.

Paul Boyé Technologies develops and selects protective materials to achieve the best balance between protection and comfort. Cumulating in our design experience, this resulted in protective clothing – with ergonomics tailored for action.

Our company applies this know-how in all CBRN-related clothing, including the ventilated decontamination coverall, the CB combat garment, and chemical protective undergarments.

Paul Boyé Technologies has skilled experts offering not only the production of CBRN clothing, but also the management of R&D and important acquisition programmes to integrate the development, qualification and further production of PPE. This has been successfully applied in France, Sweden, Norway and the US. CBNW: Who are your main customers in the civil sector?

JB: They include the French Interior Ministry for Police, the Gendarmerie and

INTERVIEW

President of Paul Boyé Technologies, Jacques Boyé

Civil Defence (fire fighters, emergency response teams, paramedics), the Ministry of Health for hospitals, emergency medical teams (SAMU – Service d’Aide Médicale Urgente), and international organizations such as the EU, UN, OPCW (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) and IAEA. In the industrial sector our customers include petrochemical companies and oil and gas companies.

CBNW: What percentage of your business is in the military sector?

JB: The percentage of our business in the military sector worldwide accounts for 45% of turnover.

CBNW: What are the advantages of your bulletproof vests over other products in the market?

JB: Following a long and reputable history of providing high-quality protective garments worldwide, Paul Boyé Technologies continues to demonstrate itself as a leader of innovation and technical expertise by providing a range of ballistic protective products. The R&D department has combined the best balance between ergonomic design and ballistic protection.

Our ballistic vest affords the

maximum protection required in today’s hostile environments while providing the maximum comfort and manoeuvrability required during operations. The flexibility of our ballistic vests allows them to be used in any situation – from training duties to high-intensity conflict situations. It has a proven history, with the vest seeing service in the French Army and other countries worldwide.

CBNW: Can you explain what training you offer to customers?

JB:: The following are areas where we can supply a CBRN solution are Individual Protective Equipment (IPE); detection, identification and monitoring; and hazard management and command and control (C2) to include warning and reporting. Training includes maintenance and equipment care policies and procedures, and technical and user documentation.

CBNW:: Where do you see the greatest potential growth sector for your safety and security devices?

JB:: The increased terrorist threat and attacks prompted civilian sectors to equip their units with CBRNE and ballistic protective equipment.

Indeed, following the latest terrorist attacks in several European countries, the interior ministries of most countries have significantly increased their orders for ballistic vests currently used

by French police forces. Because of these tragic events, civilian sectors are acquiring more CBRNE protective equipment ❚ and ballistic protection. ❚❙ CBNW 2017/01 47

COUNTRY FOCUS India spelt out its nuclear doctrine and the operationalization of its nuclear deterrent in January 2003. It is well accepted in India that nuclear weapons are to deter the use and threat of use of nuclear weapons by its adversaries.

However, the Indian strategic community has been debating India’s nuclear doctrine since its inception.

S

ince its independence, India has faced serious security threats from its northern neighbours China and Pakistan, and has fought wars with both countries over unresolved territorial disputes. Faced with the prospect of having to confront these two nucleararmed states, India conducted a series of nuclear tests in 1998, and declared itself a state armed with nuclear weapons (NW).

6. Pakistan’s resort to TNWs and terrorism.

No First Use

The most controversial element of the Indian nuclear debate is undoubtedly India’s NFU pledge. Moderates amongst the security strategists are optimistic about nuclear deterrence and expect that achieving deterrence is relatively easy if nuclear weapons capability exists. They consider NFU to be the centrepiece of

political and bureaucratic system is manifestly incapable of handling any emergency as dire as a nuclear strike.

They also point out that the NFU principle is unenforceable and highlights its “insufficiency”, proposing that it frees Pakistan from fearing an Indian nuclear riposte to either terrorism or limited war.

Credible Minimum Deterrence

A second important aspect of India’s nuclear doctrine is Credible Minimum

No First Use The Indian Air Force’s Jaguar attack aircraft are believed to have a secondary nuclear-strike role.

©SSgt Matthew Hannen/USAF

Col H R Naidu Gade (Retd) asks if India’s nuclear weapons doctrine is due for review The need for review

While the NFU remains the most controversial element of India’s nuclear doctrine, other aspects of the doctrine have also been debated. The adequacy of the doctrine for dealing with Pakistan’s reported development of tactical nuclear weapons (TNWs) and its efficacy in deterring China are being discussed.

Prof Rajesh Rajagopalan mentions the six major issues that kindle the Indian debate as: 1. India’s NFU commitment 2. Credible minimum deterrence 3. Nuclear retaliation to CBW attacks 4. Command-and-control aspects 5. Massive retaliation 48 CBNW 2017/01

India’s nuclear doctrine and that the NFU posture provides multiple advantages.

It obviates the need for the expensive nuclear weapons infrastructure that is associated with a first-use doctrine, and it puts the onus of escalation on the adversary without preventing India from defending itself.

The hardliners in the strategic community reject these arguments. They advocate that an NFU posture is only possible for a country that has extreme confidence not only in the survivability of its national nuclear forces sufficient to muster a devastating retaliatory strike, but also in the efficacy of its crisis management system. And that the Indian

Deterrence (CMD), which refers to the quantity of nuclear forces that India needs to deter potential nuclear adversaries. The moderates are less concerned about the quantity or quality of nuclear weapons and point out that credibility is a function of how well the command and control – the essence of deterrence – functions.

That is, to maintain a command-andcontrol chain from the political level to the implementing level that demonstrates its survivability under the worst conditions of decapitation attack. The level of punishment is achievable so long as India has a  survivable retaliatory force and

COUNTRY FOCUS KEY FEATURES OF INDIA’S NUCLEAR DOCTRINE:  Building and maintaining a “credible minimum deterrent”  A No First Use (NFU) posture  NW to be used only “in retaliation” against a nuclear attack on Indian territory, or on Indian forces anywhere  Nuclear retaliation to a first strike will be “massive” and designed to inflict “unacceptable damage”  Non-use of NW against non-nuclear weapon states  Retain option of retaliating with NW in the event of a major attack against it with chemical and biological weapons (CBW)  Nuclear retaliatory attacks to be authorized only by civilian political leadership through the Nuclear Command Authority  Continuance of strict controls on export of nuclear and missile-related materials and technologies  Participation in FMCT (Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty) negotiations  Continued moratorium on testing  Continued commitment to the goal of a NW-free world through global, verifiable and non-discriminatory disarmament. maintains an assured capability for counterstrike.

The hardliners want much larger nuclear arsenals and worry about the slow pace of India’s NW development.

They suspect that Indian leadership might not maintain even the CMD,

especially given what ‘concessions’ India made to Washington for the US-India nuclear deal. They visualize a much grander role for NW in India’s rise as a great power leading to a genuinely independent strategic role for India.

Maintaining the credibility of India’s

threat of “unacceptable damage” requires that the size of India’s nuclear arsenal be a function of its threat perceptions, suggesting that size has to be open-ended and not fixed. In light of long-standing China-Pakistan collusion, India should seek a capability sufficient to inflict “unacceptable damage” on both Pakistan and China.

Punitive not massive

Most strategists fear that India’s threat of massive retaliation to any nuclear attack is empty. Some argue that India should consider substituting “punitive” for “massive” in the doctrine. They are equally dismissive of massive retaliation, arguing that threatening such retaliation in response to Pakistani tactical nuclear first use undermines Indian deterrence by violating the principle of proportionality. The lack of compatibility between massive retaliation and minimum deterrence is also an issue.

Deterring CBW

Some moderates disagree, arguing that it hardly makes the Indian nuclear deterrent more credible. Chemical and biological weapons are outlawed anyway – and if non-state actors were to use these weapons, nuclear deterrent could not in any way be effective because it is not designed to counter such actors.

The Indian Army’s Agni II missile is often included in military parades.

©Agência Brasil/Wikipedia

50 CBNW 2017/01

COUNTRY FOCUS

©DRDO, India

A new BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with an extended range of 450 km from the earlier 290 km was successfully test-fired from the integrated test range at Balasore off India’s Odisha coast on 11 March 2017.

©South Front Analysis Intelligence

Hardliners presumably support nuclear use in response to a CBW attack – arguing that it leaves an option open, as India has given up its CBW capacity.

Command and control

The nuclear doctrine clearly states that the political leadership will determine how and when to employ the nuclear deterrent. Moderates accept the command-and-control arrangements detailed in the doctrine and point to the NFU as a critical factor in reducing pressure on Indian command-and-control systems.

For hardliners, the deficiencies of the command-and-control arrangements are yet another indicator of the weaknesses of India’s nuclear doctrine. They contend that India’s nuclear deterrence will not be effective unless potential adversaries

©The Quint

accept that India has the operational capacity to employ its NW. India’s de-alerted and de-mated nuclear posture elongates the logistics chain and increases the number of potential targets, rendering the delivery system or warhead inoperable if even one of the targets is hit.

Terrorism and TNWs

The doctrine’s capacity to deal with challenges of Pakistan’s tactical nuclear weapons and terrorism has become a contentious issue. On Pakistan’s sponsorship of terrorism, moderates generally suggest non-nuclear measures.

On Pakistan’s reported move to deploy TNWs, there is a consensus that counter deployment of Indian TNWs provides no answer. However, some suggest that India acquire TNWs, but only to prevent

a rapid Chinese breakthrough.

There is a near consensus in the Indian strategic community that India’s nuclear doctrine needs to be periodically re-examined. This does not mean, however, that everyone in the strategic community agrees that the doctrine needs to be revised. The Indian government might release a new edition of the nuclear doctrine, given the strong consensus among India’s strategic elite about the need for periodic review. ❚❙ Col H R Naidu Gade (Retd) is Chief Consultant with CBRNe Secure India, a forum for proliferating knowledge on the threats from CBRNE materials and their disastrous consequences, and has served as Chief CW Inspector with the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

CBNW 2017/01 51

NUCLEAR WEAPONS

I

n 1958 five further tests were held at Christmas Island (now Kiritimati). In 2,300 atmospheric tests since 1945, 500 megatons (mt) of weapons were detonated – producing some 500+ tons of fission and fusion products.

Starting from highly enriched uranium and/or plutonium, plus depleted uranium (DU) tampers and other materials, the nuclear fireballs or plasma were furnaces of rapidly decaying daughter products with high gamma emissions and short half-lives (caesium, strontium, iodine, etc.)

The nuclear debris clouds also contained larger quantities, by mass, of uranium and other oxides and nitrides. These had lower gamma emissions, but moderate to very long half-lives. Uranium and other alphaemitters were much harder to measure in the field – so they attracted far less attention during most of the tests.

These fission products were combined with tens of thousands of tons of atmospheric, marine and terrestrial vapours, liquids, and solids. These were blasted or sucked up (entrained) by many of the blasts, neutron active and returned to earth as radioactive fallout or rainout after minutes, hours, weeks and years – depending on particle size and meteorological conditions.

Testing resilience

Integral to the series was testing operational resilience of our own military forces – both manpower and equipment – to the immediate and cumulative effects of atomic weapons and nuclear warfare. How long could a pilot and crew remain fully operational after exposure to nuclear

2017 is the 60th anniversary of the UK Grapple atmospheric nuclear weapons test series in the Pacific. It included Britain’s first 1.5-megaton field bomb, Grapple X at Christmas Island. It had life-long consequences for the military and civilian personnel involved.

flash, blast, prompt and ongoing radiation?

Likewise on the ground, how soon could infantry enter an irradiated target zone with varying levels of protection – from none to full PPE? How long could they work? And at sea, how effective were protection and decontamination procedures for vessels near to nuclear explosions, or sailing through target areas with atmospheric fallout and marine radiation contamination?

Learning from the past

How can all of this be useful for CBRN planning and response now? Alpha monitoring was rarely reported other than for cloud samples returned to the AWRE (Atomic Weapons Research Establishment) labs in the UK. Fallout sampling on Christmas Island – air, dust and water – was sparse or not fully reported.

Gamma emissions were (and still are) easiest to monitor.

Short half-life isotopes decayed fast, and levels gave the appearance of having largely dissipated within 3-4 hours.

This allowed personnel to enter recently irradiated areas at ground zero for 20-kiloton (kt) atomic tests, and to wash

Dai Williams reflects on the effects of the UK nuclear test series in the 1950s and their relevance to present-day CBRN planning and response

Blowing in the 52 CBNW 2017/01

NUCLEAR WEAPONS The courage and commitment of the 20,000 military and civilian personnel deployed in the UK nuclear test series deserves recognition in its 60th anniversary year. Special mention is to aircrews in Canberras and Shackletons who flew extreme sorties to collect crucial radiological and meteorological data for the tests, and ground crews who kept them operational.

Some 3,000 still survive with humour and dignity, many with potentially radiogenic cancers or other conditions. Sadly the absence of fallout charts, chromosome testing and more detailed contemporary records makes it difficult for them to win compensation. But these experiences may be crucial to remind CBRN planners and responders of the crucial role of frequent meteorological briefings and regular, frequent environmental monitoring to anticipate potential dispersion scenarios and responses. down nuclear cloud sampling aircraft, with minimal PPE. With no alpha detection, the hazards of internal radiation and need for dust masks from uranium oxides were not evident to personnel.

Where Met matters most

The most serious risks at the time depended on local and regional meteorological conditions. The effects of conventional weapons and high-explosive munitions – blast, heat and shrapnel – are fairly obvious, and relatively localised. Nuclear weapons include other unpredictable agents that disperse quickly over large areas. These are inhaled, ingested, deposited or re-suspended with severe impact on human or other species and eco-systems.

In the case of radioactive materials, impacts depend on type of energy, concentrations and exposure pathways.

A full nuclear explosion creates many of these hazards.

Humans respond to radiation exposures with an astonishing range of resilience and vulnerabilities.

Nuclear weapon design affects its size and yield, as does the target location – over land or sea, or both, and the altitude (or depth) of a detonation. For larger devices over 100 kt, the Pacific Test planners expected the fireballs and nuclear cloud to rise through the troposphere into the

stratosphere, to be dispersed around the world far from Christmas Island, with a minimal risk of local fallout.

Witnessing Grapple Y

A crucial witness was Flt Lt Joe Pasquini, Sniff Boss Navigator at the April 1958 Grapple Y test. The Canberra Sniff Squadron was specially adapted for sampling nuclear clouds by flying through the upper cloud between 45 minutes to three hours after H-hour.

Flt Lt Pasquini graphically described seeing the cloud stop and spread out at the tropopause – the boundary layer between the troposphere and the stratosphere 55,000 feet up in the tropics.

The tropopause boundary effect is the same meteorological phenomenon

“…watching the bomb suck up the Pacific Ocean into the sky” EYE WITNESS DEREK FIDDAMAN ON UK DESTROYER HMS COSSACK

that causes the flat anvil shape of very high thunderclouds. Only one small puff or chimney broke through for Grapple Y. Because all the UK nuclear test clouds were held below the tropopause, local fallout and rainout greatly increased on and near Christmas Island. US reports indicated that tropical tests over 8 mt yield breached the tropopause.

Rainout and precipitation

©National Geographic

wind

Some veterans reported torrential rain up to an hour after Grapple Y. Did it come from low-level cumulus or from the major mushroom cloud canopy 55,000 feet above? There were insufficient rainwater sampling points to record localized rainfall on the island.

Photographs of the Grapple series  tests show the development of a

Main image: The orange troposphere layer at 55,000 feet held all UK nuclear test clouds below the white stratosphere, flattening and spreading the mushroom clouds. This contained most fallout in the troposphere, increasing fallout, rainout and blow-back risks. ©NASA

CBNW 2017/01 53

NUCLEAR WEAPONS

➊

©Nuclear Weapons Archive

➌

➍ ➋

©Nuclear Weapons Archive

©AWE

©Nuclear Weapons Archive

©Photo by Tom Oates, 2011

➊ ➋ ➌

Forecast winds for UK Mosaic 2 test at Monte Bello 1956.

➍

Grapple Y at 3.5 Mt was UK’s largest nuclear bomb. It produced a cloud held below the tropopause and upper winds caused high blow-back risk.

Mosaic 2 fallout charts for NW Australia compiled by Bateman in 1957.

These air sampling reports from Christmas Island showed the severity of regional and global fallout from US, Russian and UK tests in 1958.

connection between sea and the stem, sometimes thin like a waterspout.

But in the case of Grapple X, 2-3,000 feet high was a small mountain of water vapour, marine and terrestrial dust from the tip of the island nearest to surface zero.

Wind shifts and blow-back

In the two largest UK tests – Grapple X and Grapple Y – upper winds (45-55,000 feet) were drifting the main cloud to the east of the Island at 10-11 knots for many hours. Most local fallout from the nuclear cloud – below the tropopause – descended east of Christmas Island as dust and rainout into the lower level trade winds. It blew back across the island where both of the New Zealand weather ships were patrolling 54 CBNW 2017/01

offshore. A study of the crews showed a higher-than-average level of chromosome defects.

Above: Oblique view of a British ‘Yellow Sun’ nuclear bomb photographed under the wing of a Vickers Valiant bomber at RAF Cosford Aerospace Museum, UK.

Comparisons with UK incidents

Background image: Smoke over Hampstead Heath from the 11 December 2005 Buncefield fire – a major conflagration caused by a series of explosions at the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal.

Historical reconstruction of weather conditions for hazardous CBRN agents can be made from physical meteorological records and digital archives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Its HYSPLIT dispersion modelling simulation system enables the plotting of a smoke plume from explosions and accidents – especially deposition and dispersal over populated areas.

CBRN planners can reconstruct major incidents with accurate meteorological conditions, such as the Windscale fire in October 1957

and the Buncefield Oil Storage depot fire in December 2005.

The full story about the hazards of the UK nuclear tests is emerging gradually. Believing that fallout would disperse safely in the stratosphere and to the west apparently led to failing to monitor ‘safe’ upwind locations for potential blow-back risks – hence failing to take relevant PPE precautions. ❚❙

FUNDING An unmanned aerial system flies near a guided-missile destroyer during a live-fire demonstration of counter unmanned aerial systems (UAS) technology.

Ensuring PROTECTION Matthew J. Shaw asks if recent developments will push chemical and biological threats, countermeasures and funding to the forefront

All photos courtesy Battelle

The assassination of a North Korean dissident using the VX nerve agent has sparked concern about the ability and willingness of bad actors to use deadly chemical weapons. At the same time it has reignited debate about the vulnerability of warfighters and civilians alike to attacks by weapons of mass destruction, what measures are available to detect and counter them, and the funding of effective countermeasures against such sinister threats

T

he vulnerability of population centres to WMD attacks has been a longtime concern in the era of global terrorism.

The latest VX attack -combined with the use of CW in Syria and other global incidents, and the megaphone of one of the world’s richest men -- has provided new urgency.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who has spent much of the last 20 years funding a 56 CBNW 2017/01

global health campaign, warned a conference of the world’s top security officials that tens of millions of people could be killed by bioterrorism.

The VX attack and the stark warning about bioterrorism came on the heels of yet another worrisome development: the effective weaponization of commercial drones by ISIS terrorists to drop explosives. An emerging fear is that drones could be used to deliver mass-killing

weapons, such as a chemical or biological materials.

ISIS drones and Chinese pathogens

The weaponization of drones by ISIS forces in Iraq “is serious enough to prompt U.S. and Iraqi commanders to issue warnings to soldiers near the front lines,” the Washington Post reported in February. It also said that a far bigger worry, according to US officials, is the

FUNDING

“We ignore the link between health security and international security at our peril. The next epidemic could originate on the computer screen of a terrorist intent on using genetic engineering to create a synthetic version of the smallpox virus... or a super contagious and deadly strain of the flu.”

During a simulated chemical attack, a man helps another civilian with her MCU-2P gas mask.

BILL GATES, FEBRUARY 2017

Battelle’s REBS system automatically and continuously collects samples for autonomous identification of aerosolized threats, including bacteria, viruses and toxins.

potential for future attacks against civilians.

“Islamist militants have long discussed the possibility of using drones as remote-controlled missiles that can deliver explosives or even unconventional weapons such as deadly nerve agents. In recent weeks, the notion of terrorist drones has moved a step closer to reality, terrorism experts say.”

At the same time, the Chinese government is planning to build as many as seven biosafety level-4 laboratories, which are configured to allow work on the world’s most dangerous pathogens.

The Chinese government maintains that the labs will be used to develop treatments for highly contagious diseases

such as the Ebola virus.

Nonetheless, the breadth of the programme has sparked concerns.

According to a February 2017 article in Nature: “Some scientists outside China worry about pathogens escaping, and the addition of a biological dimension to geopolitical tensions between China and other nations.”

Funding the countermeasures

The ability to protect troops and civilians from the breadth of chemical and biological threats rests on scientific and engineering ingenuity to develop and field robust and reliable countermeasures.

The development of these systems in turn depends on adequate funding.

Therein lies the rub.

Although the Trump administration is seeking increases in defence spending, it is unclear how that money will be used, whether Congress will agree to the spending priorities – or whether any of the increases would flow to chem-bio programmes.

In the meantime, the US Department of Defense’s chem-bio annual budgets are under intense pressure. For 2017 they are expected to decline significantly by about $200 million from approximately $1.4 billion in 2015.

Despite the expanding lists of chem-bio threats, the relative ease of acquiring and using them, and several examples that demonstrate our adversaries’ willingness  CBNW 2017/01 57

FUNDING and even for naturally occurring diseases.

A Battelle scientist tests military equipment against a live chemical warfare agent.

Training: As one of the world’s most trusted advisors on chem-bio issues, Battelle provides a wide range of training capabilities – from training emergency responders at the tactical level who are responding to a possible terrorist attack to commanders and government leaders at the operational and strategic levels who are managing the overall response.

Elimination: Battelle is a leader in the science behind CW demilitarization. The organization provides expert technical,

to use them, fewer resources for developing and fielding much-needed chem-bio solutions are available.

Battelle ‘s expertise

That’s where Battelle enters the equation to help make every research dollar count.

As the world’s largest independent and non-profit research and development organization, Battelle is one of the few with the expertise to develop and field chem-bio detection, protection and countermeasure systems. What’s more, it helps companies and government agencies develop their own systems to counter the threats.

The organization’s panoply of chem-bio-related expertise represents the entire cycle of response – all the way from assessing the threat to their elimination.

Characterization and assessment: Battelle is equipped to characterize, assess, model, predict and measure the full range of chem-bio threats – using a vast and unique mix of highly regulated chemical surety and biosafety laboratories, an array of instrumentation and methods, and myriad subject matter experts with countless years of experience working in the chem-bio arena.

Combined, these resources and assets are critical to successful decision-making for clients in intelligence, defense and homeland security.

Test & evaluation: One of the focuses of Battelle’s work is the creation of state-ofthe-art test and evaluation systems that supply an extensive range of information for developing protection, detection, and decontamination gear and methods. This information provides the government – and developers – with critical data that can be used to steer a development in the acquisition cycle or illuminate an area for 58 CBNW 2017/01

CRISPR-Cas9 lets scientists cut and insert small pieces of DNA at precise areas along a DNA strand.

additional research.

And when it comes to the development of systems to counter chem-bio threats, the ultimate standard for validating performance is operationally relevant live-agent testing, for which Battelle is a world leader.

Detection: Battelle threat detection solutions are among the most effective and cost-efficient available because of the collective expertise spanning dozens of interrelated scientific disciplines and industries. The solutions include systems like the Resource Effective Bioidentification System (REBS). For less than a dollar per day, REBS continuously collects aerosol samples and automatically identifies dangerous pathogens, ranging from bacteria to viruses and toxins and even mixed threats.

Medical countermeasures: Battelle operates the world’s largest non-governmental containment laboratories that help clients deliver effective diagnostic and therapeutic solutions for the potential victims of chem-bio warfare,

scientific and operational services to mitigate current and future threats presented by highly toxic chemicals.

This range of essential chem-bio countering capabilities is in high demand as officials stress the growing terrorism threat from weapons of mass destruction.

CIA Director John O. Brennan confirmed in 2016 that ISIS had used chemical weapons and that its fighters still have the ability to develop small quantities of chlorine and mustard gas, that “we have a number of instances where ISIL has used chemical munitions on the battlefield, and that they have access to chemical precursors and munitions that they can use.”

Brennan’s comments underscored the progress that terrorists have made. But even more important, they highlight the need to double down on the efforts of friendly governments to develop and field systems that will ensure protection against these insidious threats. ❚❙ Matthew J. Shaw is Vice President of CBRNE Defense at Battelle.

Agile Solutions.

by OWR

Portable CBRN equipment for highly mobile units.

Casualty and Personnel

Decontamination

by OWR

Chosen by Bundeswehr Joint Medical Service.

OWR GmbH

74834 Elztal-Rittersbach · Germany

welcome@owrgroup.com · www.owrgroup.com

MARITIME MONITORING

Smoke on the

Naval vessels and their crew are vulnerable to CBRN threats in offshore, littoral and harbourrelated activities, both in peace and wartime missions. The threat may take many forms.

I

f it turns out to be contaminated food, drink or other harmful supplies onboard – in the form of airborne biological releases in littoral waters, a naval port facility, or as chemical releases on a beach front – such attacks may incapacitate the whole fleet. Being aware of maritime CBRN threats and evaluating vulnerability of ships to CBRN attacks is a good start on the road of getting prepared.

Realistic assessment of security measures, their effectiveness, and the implementation of reliable CBRN monitoring systems are essential steps. The need to maintain CBRN instrumentation and competence as well as crew skills through regular training cannot be ignored either.

Concept of naval CBRN monitoring

CBRN monitoring/detection, provisional identification, protection and 60 CBNW 2017/01

decontamination are all valued elements in naval vessels. The modular and scalable structure of EnviScreen CBRN Monitoring Systems by Environics enables the delivery of cost-effective and easily expandable solutions to naval customers according to their existing and future needs.

Environics builds its naval CBRN Monitoring concept on the general principles and recommendations for special equipment and systems of naval vessels. It aims to: 1 Protect maritime personnel from CBRN threats and their hazardous effects by giving fast response and early-warning; 2 Provide situational awareness and guidance; and 3 Enable further analysis and timely and correct countermeasures at the time of threats.

EnviScreen CBRN naval monitoring turnkey systems incorporate sensor integrations, data communication, databases, system services and user interfaces. CBRN releases from both outdoor and indoor air are monitored in the CBRN-protected zones of the naval vessels with respective field-proven detectors.

Measurement and event data from

the integrated sensors is collected and harmonized by data processing units and eventually visualized in real time in the control centres of the vessels, by dedicated system software. The software provides a graphical user interface for sensor management, and for displaying event and measurement data and end-user specified, event-related, guidance for the operators.

As well as fixed monitoring installations, Environics supplies additional CBRN capabilities in the form of hand-held and portable instrumentation for CBRN detection and identification needs, as well as other system supporting components, personal protective equipment, and devices and tools for decontamination.

Applying core technologies

Environics applies its core technologies for chemical (CWAs/TICs) and biological and radiation detection/identification – complementing third-party instrumentation and EnviScreen Operix system software in its naval solutions.

The harsh operating environment, not only in the form of variable temperatures, salty and corrosive conditions – but also challenges presented by EMI/ EMC (electromagnetic compatibility/

MARITIME MONITORING

The versatile EnviScreen Operix 2016 provides system operators with a graphical user interface complemented with optional software modules with client, integration, reporting and training features.

water interference), shock and vibration – sets high requirements for performance and tolerance of the system components. This has been taken into account both in our application-based product development and the selection of complementing products – to guarantee uncompromised CBRN detection performance and completion of the mission.

As part of this approach, Environics has developed rugged, military grade versions of the bioaerosol detector (Rugged ENVI BioScout), chemical detector (ChemProDM), and a robust data processing unit (Rugged Master Module) to be applied in naval vessels and also in another demanding field of application – in armoured CBRN reconnaissance vehicles.

Environics’ own product portfolio offers several complementing products to fixed installed naval monitoring systems: ChemPro100i Chemical Detectors with optional accessories of the CBRN kit, ENVI Assay System Gold immunoassays, and RanidVision backpack and portal solutions for radiation detection and identification. Maritime CBRN monitoring

Katja Kiukas puts naval CBRN monitoring in the spotlight

relates also to other areas of applications provided by Environics.

One of the latest military grade launches in Tactical Area CBRN monitoring – the EnVision GOSSAMER – can be adapted for temporary surveillance needs in the maritime context, such as in seaport facilities. Furthermore, the Border CBRN Monitoring Concept includes in-house solutions for screening of passengers, freight and trucks in sea ports.

Other Environics physical system components R&D include the system software EnviScreen Operix. This has been intensively modernized to provide new user experience, improving features

for system operators. As standard, the EnviScreen Real-time Operation Tool acts as a graphical user interface for real-time situational overview and sensor management. The EnviScreen System Server provides a CBRN event and measurement database and system services in naval vessels.

However, optional software modules are available to expand capabilities beyond this. Versatile EnviScreen Operix provides real-time situational awareness simultaneously from multiple locations, via its client options. For CBRN reporting and hazard area plotting there are Web  and ATP-45 based services available.

©Finnish Defense Forces

The naval CBRN monitoring concept is built on principles and recommendations for special equipment and systems of naval vessels.

CBNW 2017/01 61

MARITIME MONITORING For integration of CBRN monitoring data to third-party systems like ship control and automation systems or battle management systems, the EnviScreen creates possibilities. Depending on the requirements, these integrations can be realized in the Modbus Gateway, ASCII serial interface and API level. The information provided via these interfaces is used, for example, for shutting down ventilation, initiating CBRN filtration and comparable actions – when the threats are detected and protection is needed.

Finally, the EnviScreen Simulation Tool meets the needs for vital, regular training as an excellent solution for

in basic and advanced levels – throughout the system’s entire life-cycle.

Environics invests in full life-cycle support for naval CBRN monitoring solutions to its customers – and is committed to optimizing the performance of the systems to meet the requirements of variable operating environments.

The company is present from the very first steps of identifying the customer’s needs and all the way through the design and delivery to training, customer support and after-sales services.

Working in close co-operation with the customers is beneficial for both parties and customer feedback is highly valued.

interesting to see how awareness of risks of maritime CBRN terrorism and willingness to be prepared evolve in the cargo and cruise ship industry, and if this sector will afford new opportunities for companies like Environics. At the least, civil defence forces in many countries have a positive tendency to enhance their capabilities by investing in marine rescue or fire-vessels that need systems for CBRN monitoring. ❚❙ ©Environics

ENVIRONICS: 30 YEARS IN CBRN DETECTION In 2017, Finnish high-technology company Environics celebrates its 30th anniversary in the field of CBRN detection. Since its founding, the company has improved CBRN safety worldwide with its in-house technologies and system solutions. Many organizations in civil defence, homeland security and the military in over 50 countries have selected Environics as their partner in CBRN threat detection.

Nowadays, Environics seeks for solid growth in CBRN system business by focusing on application-based concept and product development and after-sales services. Many success stories relate to naval CBRN monitoring.

Among other CBRN monitoring applications, Environics designs and supplies EnviScreen CBRN monitoring systems for environmental survey vessels and military vessels, from frigates to mine hunters. To date, over 100 naval CBRN systems have been implemented in co-operation with leading shipbuilding companies.

New opportunities are actively explored in the civil defence sector, including CBRN monitoring systems for marine fire-fighting and rescue operations. ©Finnish Defense Forces

Right: The ChemProDM is a rugged CWA/TIC detector applied to naval vessels.

Above: Naval vessels can encounter CBRN threats in their offshore, littoral and harbour-related activities.

©Environics

Top right: The Rugged ENVI BioScout monitors potentially harmful bioaerosols and collects air samples for further analysis.

creating realistic training exercises to improve and maintain operator skills and preparedness for CBRN incidents.

Whole system lifespan

EnviScreen Naval CBRN monitoring systems have low ownership costs.

However, supply of first-class naval systems is useless unless they are maintained to be operational, with timely technical support, and comprehensive user, maintenance, and tactical training 62 CBNW 2017/01

Technical and training support is readily available even when system operators change due to frequent turnover of the naval crew. It is also a real advantage that the customers can rely on a single turnkey provider for CBRN monitoring systems.

Future considerations

Military surface vessels of different classes continue to be obvious end-users of CBRN monitoring systems. It will be

Katja Kiukas MSc BBA has 11 years’ experience in CBRN detection as Product Manager and Business Manager for BWA Detection and CBRN Systems, Environics Oy. She has been involved in R &D of Environics’ BWA detection solutions, the European FP7 project Bio-Protect, and in sales and marketing of EnviScreen CBRN Monitoring Systems for naval vessels and land vehicles, area monitoring and CIP.

NCTUSA

A Vision of IB Consultancy 19-21 SEPTEMBER 2017 | Hilton Dulles | Washington DC USA

The 3rd edition of America’s highly successful NCT event series, NCT USA 2017, will take place from 19-21 September 2017 at the Hilton Dulles Washington DC. With confirmed participation of the 20th CBRNE Command, JPEO-CBD, ECBC, FBI, National Guard, numerous CST teams, Fairfax Police and Fire & Rescue, LAPD, NYPD, NYFD and Baltimore FD we expect over 300 participants!

The three-day event will be opened with a multi-agency CBRN/ C-IED/EOD demonstration led by the Fairfax PD and FD and joined by the US Army 20th CBRNE Command. The demonstration is followed by two days of conferences, workshops as well as a large indoor industry exhibition and a static display and BBQ party on 20 September. +31 71 744 0174 www.ib-consultancy.com @ibconsultancy facebook.com/ibconsultancy vimeo.com/ibconsultancy

NCT USA 2017 will host two separate conferences: NCT CBRNe USA, NCT RadNuke (hosted by VIP GlobalNet, LLC and Advanced Science and Technology Associates), a workshop stream with a workshop hosted by JPEO-CBD, a shared exhibition area and joint plenary sessions.

A free daily bus service from Edgewood to the conference venue is arranged.

www.nct-USA.com

DECONTAMINATION After two years of additional testing and refining, the Bundeswehr Joint Medical Service Medical NBC Protection branch received a series of five complete systems for the land-based casualty decontamination facility, for distribution to military medical units throughout Germany.

B

asic as well as extended capabilities for NBC decontamination have long been focused on the warfighter and his equipment, aimed at sustaining continuous operation in the field. Personnel or individual decontamination of contaminated persons was largely put in the hands of the soldier himself, supplying him with pouches containing minute amounts of powders or liquids to take care of himself.

Decontamination technology for personnel in operational areas was therefore focused on handling contaminated, but nevertheless protected, soldiers. Breaches in protective layers or direct contamination of skin were pushed off to the medical service, without any regulations on how to take care of containment policies or up-to-date medical-grade skin decontaminants. For a long time, decontamination chemicals were based on the same chemicals that

were principally used for cleaning equipment.

As operator of the land-based casualty decontamination facility, the Bundeswehr Medical Service bears responsibility for maintaining and restoring health of personnel exposed to CBRN agents.

This includes individuals who were initially affected or exposed to the agents as well as operators of the facility, and subsequent medical echelons further down the line.

Widening the ŠBundeswehr CDSEP School

Above: Inside the decon module: application of decon foam to a casualty.

Below: Processing contaminated casualties: stabilization after initial decontamination.

Henri Derschum presents a new casualty decontamination capability for the Bundeswehr Medical Service ŠGerman Navy

64 CBNW 2017/01

DECONTAMINATION Reducing the dose

When drafting a decontamination process for injured individuals, or contaminated persons not wearing adequate protective ensembles, it is worth considering a different approach.

The primary aim should always concentrate on reducing the amount (or dose) of agent that has already been incorporated (and therefore is no longer removable) from the casualty or those exposed.

Second, thorough decontamination is mandatory to protect the first responder as well as the down-the-line medical treatment facilities, which in succession will take care of the casualty after the initial triage and decontamination

process. Many reports and studies on long-time exposure to minimal amounts of toxic agents confirm that this precaution will pay off.

So, not only the people affected by warfare agents have to be considered, but a far wider perspective on the scene has to be contemplated.

Combining both services

Sketching a decontamination line for casualties, it is obvious that at least two professions have to be brought together, one relying on drills and good training for effective and frictionless operation of a decontamination facility – the other being able to save and sustain human life – the medical services.

A combination of both professions is mandatory for being able to provide the medical CBRN support to theatres or incidents. Or, according to an official of the Bundeswehr procurement agency: “the Medical Service’s concept for this capability thus needed to be dovetailed with the capability portfolio in CBRN defence.” Switching to wide-angle view, supply and the logistical footprint will come into focus as well, playing their part in flexibility and quickness of installation and operation readiness.

As recognized throughout the media, today’s volumes of hazardous industrial substances or CBRN threats pose a considerable risk for service personnel,  combatants and civilians. A suitable

PERSPECTIVE ©German Navy

Left (centre): Inside view of the land-based casualty decontamination system shows the wet decontamination module.

Above and below: Post decontamination medical supervision. ©German Navy

CBNW 2017/01 65

DECONTAMINATION MANUFACTURER’S VIEW  The foam decontamination represents a core capability of the system and the decontamination process  Focus on interoperability. The system has been engineered to allow exchanges within a range of products, and allows different decontamination regimes, thereby supporting multinational approaches  It is designed to comply with German guidelines for ergonomics and health and safety regulations for occupational safety  Integration of existing military hardware as well as infrastructure is part of the design. decontamination facility has to be readied to handle such situations without further improvised improvement.

A distinctive feature of the new land-based casualty decontamination facility lies with the two core components of the system. These allow various set-ups ranging through all climate zones and provide opportunities for alternation of the logistical footprint, fitting into the operative scenario as needed.

In extreme cases, full decontamination readiness can be established in a very short time span, comparable to unloading a helicopter. As perceived by the developing team this fits into the future application profile of the facility, and provides users with a long-term investment as well.

The decontamination process

Applying state-of-the-art decontamination chemicals is still an issue, as cleaning and inactivating compounds of adequate solutions usually pose a considerable medical risk to bare

skin, not to mention open wounds or mucous membrane barriers.

It poses a completely different set of challenges as compared to treating contaminated equipment, or fully equipped and protected service members, processes and technology. These have been overdeveloped almost to perfection in the past two decades.

Not only are the sources of potential contamination diverse and sometimes difficult to identify, but challenges also lie in the medical sciences to identify and apply decontamination chemicals and methods, properly complying with medical regulations. Since health implications in CBRN settings require particular knowledge and skills in the fields of prevention, diagnostics and therapy, a special medical element is required which is specifically tailored to the tasks of CBRN medical defence.

Consequently, redevelopment of technologies supporting and integrating a ‘healthier’ approach for in situ inactivation during the decontamination

The land-based casualty decontamination system.

Technical details

The described version of the land-based casualty decontamination facility allows decontamination and administration of adequate emergency medical care to up to 20 walking and six stretcher patients within one hour. Initial operational capability of the facility as well as readiness for deployment can be established within two hours.

It takes 15 service members to set up the facility and 25 to run it during day-and-night shift operations, under all weather conditions. Operational readiness is ensured by personnel working six-hour shifts. Without establishing external logistics (water, CBRN waste management) the system can operate self-sufficiently for one hour. ❚❙ Henri Derschum graduated in Biology at the University of Constance and re-enlisted as a Commanding Officer with the newly founded Medical B-Reconnaissance and Verification Unit of the German Army Medical Service. Concluding his military career in 2011 becoming an applied sciences consultant in the CBRN defence technology industry, he now heads the Biology Section at the CBRN Defence Schools Science Department in Sonthofen, Germany.

©Bundeswehr CDSEP School

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process had been a major task for the manufacturer. Remembering the primary aim of the whole installation – reduction and removal of residual (or as yet not incorporated) harmful agents – is paramount. For the development team it was therefore an unambiguous decision to focus on technical/chemical solutions that favour an in situ inactivation, or at least an instant diminution of warfare agents ‘on skin’.

Further, to generate confidence especially under stressful conditions, the application method was revised and formulated so that the effective decontamination solution is sprayed on as a thick foamy liquid. This gives better visual confirmation of covered areas as well as a lot of other advantages such as fixing particulate matters, and retention time. Enhanced and continuous cooperation between technical and medical branches is needed.

The author contributed to this article in his personal capacity. The views expressed are his own and do not necessarily represent the views of the Bundeswehr.

MEDICAL RESPONSE All photos courtesy EpiGuard

Fridtjof Heyerdahl, Espen R. Nakstad and Arne B. BrantsĂŚter explain how the experience of Ebola prompted the development of a new product

Patients can easily be transported through the hospital without contamination risk.

The EpiShuttle is an isolator unit within the hospital. Many medical procedures can be performed safely from the outside.

In the 2014 Ebola epidemic Norwegian doctors handled the transport of an infected patient coming to Norway.

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MEDICAL RESPONSE New highly infectious diseases continue to challenge the global healthcare system, exemplified by the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa (28,000 reported cases and 11,000 deaths) – which was a real wake-up call to the

T

international community.

he SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic in 2003, recurrent influenza pandemics and the outbreak of MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome), have raised global concern. In addition, the ongoing epidemic of antibiotic-resistant infections continues to challenge modern healthcare, with more than 25,000 annual deaths in Europe alone.

According to The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, over the past decades chemical releases arising from natural disasters, technological incidents, conflicts and terrorism have increased substantially, with an estimated 3,200 technological disasters and approximately 100,000 people killed from 2000 to 2009.

Adequate preparedness for chemical and biological incidents is demanding for the healthcare services. Personnel need protection and environmental contamination must be avoided. Pre-hospital transportation is particularly challenging; most Western nations struggled to develop good systems for repatriation and pre-hospital management during the 2014–2015 Ebola outbreak. In fact, only a few countries succeeded.

Ebola: Norway’s response

Oslo University Hospital opened its new high-level isolation unit in 2008, with integrated negative pressure, HEPA (high-efficiency particulate arrestance) filtration, autoclaving of waste, one-way movement of personnel through separate entry and exits, and automatic decontamination showers for PAPR (powered air purifying respirator) suits.

When Ebola virus disease broke out in Guinea in March 2014, staff had been trained for six years in the management of viral haemorrhagic fevers, and the hospital had hosted the Norwegian National Unit for CBRNE Medicine for ten years, with a special focus on out-ofhospital response. One worry remained, though – how could safe domestic and international transport of patients be

provided, all the way to the high-level isolation unit in Oslo?

Intensive training and experiences from the treatment of Ebola patients had shown that:  Transport of contagious patients is challenging; and  Robust routines and access to appropriate and safe equipment reduces anxiety among health care workers.

Medical evacuation

With assistance from the Royal Norwegian Air Force, a system was set up in 2014 for medical evacuation of contagious patients in an ambulance carried by a C130-J Hercules aircraft.

To minimize the risk of contamination, transport isolators with negative pressure had been purchased.

Exercises demonstrated, however, that these had serious shortcomings. Even basic requirements – such as fluid-tight zippers – were lacking. This was a great cause of concern, as body fluids were known to be excreted in large amounts from patients with Ebola virus disease.

The isolators did not allow for manipulation of the airways or mechanical ventilation, and they had not been manufactured to meet basic technical requirements for ambulance transport.

What if there was an accident en route?

EpiGuard AS is an innovative Norwegian Medical Technology Company established in 2015 by a group of doctors at the Oslo University Hospital (OUS), together with co-founders Inven2, Eker Group AS and Hansen Protection AS. The company holds top-level expertise within product development and manufacturing.

The company’s medical background ranges from intensive care, infectious diseases, internal medicine, and anaesthesiology through to transport medicine.

This knowledge and expertise has been transferred through to the industrial design team and together they have developed a unique product that aims to put a new standard to the transport of contagious patients.

Encouraged by the successful treatment of a colleague who had contracted Ebola while working in Sierra Leone, we decided to address these problems. Our ideas for an improved transport isolator were discussed with two industrial partners, and the company ‘EpiGuard’ was founded.

All elements that were required for the safety of accompanying ambulance personnel and optimal patient management were analysed, including patient access that enabled advanced intensive care and treatment. In addition, and in order to reduce costs, it was considered important to design reusable equipment.

This would counteract equipment shortage, as in the experience of many during the Ebola epidemic, the consumption of single-use equipment exceeded supplies.

Enter the EpiShuttle

The newly developed ‘EpiShuttle’ was therefore given a design that would provide access to the patient for intensive care treatment and emergency procedures, such as intubation and insertion of central venous catheters.

It was made compatible with most mechanical ventilator circuits, and offers easy communication and patient comfort.

It can also be safely decontaminated after use.

Using negative pressure and FFP3 filters, the isolator provides environmental protection from particulate cross-contamination of highly infectious diseases. In positive pressure mode, the isolator protects patients from hazardous environmental agents through the use of CBRN filters.

In both modes, the device is compatible with many ambulance undercarriage systems, enabling transport in all normal-size ambulance vehicles and medium and large size helicopters – as well as long-haul transport platforms (aircraft).

The EpiShuttle is currently in the regulatory phase, with the aim of getting a CE-mark and release for market by summer 2017. ❚❙ All authors are founders of EpiGuard.

Dr Fridtjof Heyerdahl is CEO of EpiGuard and consultant at the Department of Anaesthesiology and at the Ambulance Service, Oslo University Hospital. Dr Espen Rostrup Nakstad is Director, and Dr Arne Broch Brantsæter is Consultant and Infectious Diseases Physician at the Norwegian National Treatment Unit for CBRNE Medicine.

CBNW 2017/01 69

MEDICAL RESPONSE

Garden of EDEN

Critical mass rescue training: 60 participants from 32 different organizations work together in a table-top simulation of a mass rescue operation aboard the Memphis showboat on the Mississippi in January 2013 ©US Coast Guard

Eleonora Pacciani explains how the CBRNE resilience capacity of healthcare systems could be improved through EU projects for health preparedness and response Increasing demands on efficiency of medical response for CBRNE events reduce or eliminate the ‘resilience capacity’ of healthcare systems having to deal with a high load of casualties. CBRNE research activities in the EU have a mission to improve CBRNE resilience capacity in member states – linking end-users, academic institutions and industrial experts.

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I

n the absence of live experiments to test CBRNE medical emergency response, only accurate tools for in silico reconstruction – simulations – allow insiders to identify optimal solutions to obtain the best possible result.

This has to be correlated with realistic limiting factors – the availability of assets and therapeutic manoeuvres on the scene and the surgical/intensive care capability at the hospital – as well as the variability of the event’s features (type of event, location, and severity of injuries).

Decision support systems

In the CBRNE field responders must act in the same way as computers. Which resources to alert? In what way to use them best? What to do with this patient? When and how to do it? What is the priority?

Either way decisions must be taken from coordination to command level,

under pressure and in a limited time.

It stands to reason that because the patient may not get another chance if the wrong decision is made, the key-element is decision-making. During the past decade the need to improve this response has led to advanced simulation models – DSSs (decision support systems), which are designed to achieve the following objectives: Develop and validate the emergency preparedness and response plan Assess and increase the resilience capacity of the whole response chain and coordination mechanisms – on intra-agency and interagency level Support decision makers during real events or TTX (table-top exercises), evaluating their skills Train responders with validated models, replacing spectacular and expensive practical field exercises with figurants.

MEDICAL RESPONSE

➊

The EDEN DSS database contains the following main libraries: Events library: accident/incident with irritants with high water solubility (IHS), Irritants with low water solubility (ILS), military accident/incident with yperite (Y), terrorist attack with nerve agent (NA), ship explosion, radiological bomb explosion, evolution of biological event Injuries library: bleeding wound, internal bleeding, hypothermia, head/facial/chest/spinal/abdominal/ pelvic/extremity trauma, irritation, desquamation, ulceration, necrosis, burns, oedema, atelectasis, myocardial ischaemia, myocardial infarction, miosis

©US Army/Col. Richard Goldenberg

➋

Therapeutic manoeuvres: oxygen, intubation, ambu-bag, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, saline infusion, blood infusion, cardiovascular/neural/orthopaedic surgery, tourniquet, decontamination, respiratory/cardio/neuro drugs, cricothyroidotomy, thoracic tube, mechanical ventilation, pelvic binder, angio-embolization Asset library: police car, ambulances, first responders, advanced medical post, decontamination team, triage, emergency room, ICU (intensive care unit), general/ cardio/emergency & trauma surgery department, drugs/ devices stockpile, radiology, general ward, operating theatres, blood bank

©US Army/Col. Richard Goldenberg

Hospitals library: first aid (no beds), general hospital, trauma centre high level, trauma centre low level, specialized hospital (burns, paediatric, cardio).

➌ ➍

©NCBI ©Edbert Hsu

1 2 3

4

Soldiers evaluate simulated casualties before moving them for decontamination during a disaster response exercise at the Westchester County Fire Training Center in CBRNE in EU projects Valhalla, N.Y., in August 2013.

Soldiers transfer a simulated casualty during a disaster response exercise at the Westchester County Fire Training Center.

Virtual reality mass-casualty triage: the ability to create characters (avatars as patients or emergency response personnel) and tailor the scenario environment to geographical, meteorological and behavioural characteristics could be developed for virtual disaster response training or exercise scenarios.

A virtual training exercise at the Bingham Memorial Hospital Pandemic Influenza Triage Exercise enabled hospital staff and participants from Blackfoot Police and Fire departments to practise a response plan for pandemic influenza.

Within the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Commission (2007-2013), the EDEN project involves the implementation of a DSS with integrated models and algorithms. These are ideal candidates to generate data for CBRNE incident scenarios, as well as for evaluating reactions by decision makers and responders to these simulated events.

Input data -which can be chosen by the end-users – and the processed outcomes are created from DSS libraries

that comprise key data and parameter values based on international best practices, along with lessons learned, and updated with actual crises.

EDEN DSS: operative services

To work out the available resources (personnel and materials) for optimal use – which involves relocating them where they are most needed based on accurate priorities, rapid mobilization of additional resources, and simplifying triage,  treatment and transport of victims – CBNW 2017/01 71

MEDICAL RESPONSE

©Scotland EMRS

Scotland’s Emergency Medical Retrieval Service (EMRS) saves lives by providing critical care and safe transfer to definitive treatment for patients in remote healthcare locations and at accident scenes. The team is ready to respond by helicopter, plane or fast-response vehicle within minutes of activation.

EDEN DSS provides responders with the following services: Scenario Simulator – generates patients affected by different injuries, taking as input the event type, number of bystanders, event severity and the spatial coordinates of event (latitude, longitude), number of patients, their spatial coordinates (latitude, longitude), patient severity and health state Sickness Evolution – simulates the

72 CBNW 2017/01

patients’ evolving condition, with and without therapeutic manoeuvres Triage – simulates an emergency patient’s triage, giving the colour code (black, red, yellow and green) according to START or SIEVE emergency triage methods, the ISS (Injury Severity Score), the ETD (expected time to death) and the GCS (Glasgow Coma Scale) Logistic service – assesses the available resources (assets and therapeutic manoeuvres) for the number of affected patients; type of hospital, type of resource; and its level at the start of the event – then returning the prediction of the resource provision after a range of time periods Resources Estimator – the service that determines the type and the quantity of needed assets, in how much time, according to the patient’s health state Optimizer – evaluates the reliability of the tool: if it can represent real conditions after a certain number of simulations.

Learn by doing

The results of the EDEN Project could

provide a benchmark for use of web-based services and remote health monitoring applications and telemedicine tools. These could produce reports on the health status of each patient, thereby supporting decision-making in real-time operation, and insuring interoperability standardization for medical response during CBRNE events.

The use of DSS future versions as a tool to plan preparedness and the response phase, or to analyse old and new vulnerabilities, is synonymous with the enhancement of resilience capacity in healthcare systems. Furthermore, the fact that emergency medical practitioners cannot be trained in real situations means such tools could be used for interactive training in order to ‘learn by doing.’ zy Eleonora Pacciani is a biomedical engineer and consultant. She has contributed to civil-military cooperation courses at the Centre for High Defence Studies, Rome, the Italian Army’s National Interagency Institute, and EU projects dealing with health preparedness and response.

BIOTERRORISM

Byron’s Botulism?

Cockroaches were set loose in restaurants in London last year.

Col (Ret) Zygmunt F. Dembek asks, will Shake Shack Salmonella or Byron’s Botulism be next on the menu?

©Joint Task Force Guantanamo

The story of Byron’s cockroaches is not about the legendary British poet Lord Byron, but about recent events at the London-based hamburger restaurants named after him. In an infamous example of ‘social activism’ in July 2016, thousands of cockroaches, locusts and crickets were deliberately released at two popular restaurants in protest against an immigration sting carried out on the restaurant’s employees.

M

uch to the chagrin of protestors, Byron’s was actually acting in cooperation with, and at the direction of, the UK Home Office national immigration authorities. So what if a few such disgruntled ‘activists’ chose to release a decidedly more toxic brew than some nuisance insects?

What if these same protestors had grown a batch of crude home-brewed salmonella cultures, or perhaps botulinum toxin,

and distributed it among Byron’s patrons by mixing it in the salad dressing? Is this even possible? Read on…

Shake Shack Salmonella?

Deliberate food poisoning on a mass scale had previously occurred over 30 years ago in a community in north-central Oregon, USA. A cult known as the Rajneeshees (named after their charismatic leader Bagwan Shree Rajneesh) had  CBNW 2017/01 73

BIOTERRORISM ©Goodfreephotos

A farm in Oregon sits against a mountainous background.

Right: Tomato time: a sailor prepares food in the mess deck of the USS Lake Champlain in the Pacific Ocean, February 2017. The ship is part of the US Pacific Fleet-led initiative to extend the command and control functions of the US 3rd Fleet in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

©US Navy/Petty Officer 2nd Class Nathan K. Serpico

established a large settlement, the ‘Rajneeshpuram’ commune, near The Dalles, Oregon. When stories began to emerge from the Rajneeshpuram into the local community about group violence and sexual promiscuity, it is perhaps understandable that this group didn’t quite mesh with the local rural culture of Oregon. Over a brief period of time, tensions continued to mount between Rajneeshee commune members and the nearby residents.

The Rajneeshee attack

The Rajneeshees then decided to attack the local community by deliberately spreading cultures of Salmonella typhimurium in salad bars within restaurants throughout the area. Their goal in so doing was derived from their plot to influence local government elections, which were scheduled to be held in November 1984.

By deliberately sickening the population so that their preferred candidates (i.e., commune members) would be elected to public office by the commune members who voted in these elections, they had hoped to politically control the local government.

A trial run for their Salmonella sabotage was conducted in September of that year by commune members. Cultures of Salmonella were mixed among the salad ingredients and dressing at many local restaurants. As a consequence, over 750 people became ill, with 45 subsequent hospitalizations.

This then became the largest foodborne outbreak in the US during that year. Realizing the magnitude of what they had done, and perhaps fearful of being detected by authorities, the commune members did not then carry out their planned larger biological attack scheduled to commence immediately before the November elections.

It was not until almost a year later that law enforcement 74 CBNW 2017/01

authorities, working together with health officials, entered the commune with search warrants, and discovered the original bacterial cultures which had been used to sicken hundreds of area residents. Authorities were stimulated to act by the continued complaints received from an Oregon Congressman, who refused to believe that the massive number of Salmonella poisonings was caused by a natural food contamination.

He had known of the community tensions which existed between the Rajneeshees and the local populace, and so he persisted in requesting that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and federal law enforcement officials investigate the commune. Some thought that his concerns were unwarranted, or a result of paranoia, and he was accused of “Rajneeshee bashing.”

Nevertheless, his complaints were vocalized in a speech which he made in the US House of Representatives, which eventually led to a more thorough investigation of the Rajneeshee commune. The results of this further thorough investigation proved the Congressman’s circumstantial accusations to have been accurate in fact.

A commune member turned state’s evidence and provided

A Complete BioDetection Solution With the FilmArrayÂŽ system and our BioThreat Panel, we are able to test for dozens of the most lethal viruses and bacteria, including emerging infectious diseases all in an hour.

Learn more at www.BioFireDefense.com

BIOTERRORISM ©CDC

These Chinese epidemiologists in a laboratory at an unknown location analyse specimens acquired during a Salmonella outbreak. The team lead appears to examine the contents of one of the specimen test tubes.

Lettuce leaves, croutons, and a salad dressing. Most dark greens are good sources of Vitamin C and other nutrients; the darker the greens, the more nutritious the leaf.

his first-hand account of how the deliberate Salmonella bioattacks had been carried out. Two members who had fled the US were subsequently arrested in Germany and eventually extradited to the US to face criminal charges for their roles in masterminding the Salmonella salad bar attacks, along with other crimes. They received prison sentences from the criminal court ranging between three and twenty years, to be served concurrently.

Salmonella safeguards

The fact that this deliberate Salmonella contamination of multiple restaurant salad bars had occurred over 30 years ago signifies that such an attack could occur again.

The Rajneeshees had received pure Salmonella typhimurium cultures simply by purchasing them from a medical research facility via mail order. Safeguards to prevent the direct access to bacteriological cultures, which did not exist at that time, have since been implemented. The ability to rapidly identify and determine a bacterial contamination source for foodborne disease has also since become greatly enhanced, with microbiological diagnostic capacity present at state and large city and county laboratories. A determined biological ‘activist’ could perhaps deliberately contaminate a restaurant food source with a bacterial culture.

That said, given today’s rapid diagnostic capacity and the pre-existing relationships between law enforcement and health authorities – to say nothing of the ubiquitous use of surveillance cameras – all brought about since the events of 9/11, it is increasingly likely that such perpetrators would be quickly identified and apprehended.

Byron’s Botulism?

A controversial scholarly paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences over a decade ago presented a mathematical model which postulated that the public milk supply could be attacked by deliberate sabotage through contamination with botulinum toxin.

The paper provided considerable detail about how such an attack could occur. This would be brought about by the toxin’s deliberate introduction to the dairy food supply chain from milk farms to consumer consumption, via grocery store purchase of milk cartons. The death rates from drinking botulinum toxin-contaminated milk were also calculated.

Unsurprisingly, the release of this paper created a considerable media storm. US federal officials pleaded with the journal’s editors not to publish the paper. The journal subsequently refused. Their reasoning was that by publishing and publicizing such a bioterrorism analysis, the nation – and the dairy industry – would be made safer by compelling 76 CBNW 2017/01

©CDC ©CDC

Under a very high magnification of 25000X, this colourized scanning electron microscopic (SEM) image revealed the presence of a single Gram-negative Salmonella typhimurium bacterium. It was imaged right at the point where it was undergoing the process of cell division, resulting in the formation of two separate organisms. This dividing bacterium had been isolated from a pure culture.

government officials to prepare for a more realistic terror attack than they otherwise may have done.

They further reasoned that the critical information of use to a terrorist was readily available through an Internet search.

Further, the journal had learned that many additional safeguards had been put into place during the milk pasteurization and distribution process by the government and milk producers following 9/11, to address such deliberate contamination concerns.

While the threat of a terror attack by the use of a toxin deliberately placed into the food supply remains a possibility, it is a remote one at best. The degree of purification to create a toxin with the potential to have a great effect on the food supply is difficult to achieve. Further, the ability to place this toxin undetected into the food supply is made difficult by the rapid laboratory diagnostic tests which have been developed and are widely used by health agencies and hospitals.

And should more cockroach conspirators attempt to deliberately sabotage food sources at restaurants, government authorities anticipate they will be identified and swiftly brought to justice. ❚❙ COL (Ret) Zygmunt F. Dembek, PhD, MS, MPH is an epidemiologist and biochemist. He has written extensively on biodefence and has conducted international biosecurity training on five continents.

CHEMICAL WEAPONS A technician operates the Qstar Elite Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometer (LC/MC).

©NASA

Perverted

A technician loads mini-grab sample containers in the Entech Auto Sampler in the NASA Toxicology Laboratory.

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SCIENCE

©NASA

CBNW US Correspondent Frank G. Rando examines the role of military toxicology – the science of poisons – in chemical and biological warfare

CHEMICAL WEAPONS The quotation “the dose maketh the poison” is familiar to the global community of toxicologists. It reflects a common truth regarding all toxins and toxicants – including chemical warfare agents (CWAs), toxic industrial chemicals and materials (TICs/TIMs), and biological toxins

I

n the purest sense, toxicology is the scientific study of poisons – subdivided into several specialty areas: clinical toxicology, forensic toxicology, ecotoxicology, and regulatory toxicology.

Toxicology has generated a vast knowledge base. Applications elucidate the mechanisms and effects of poisons on living systems and public health.

Assays and other techniques detect the minutest quantities (traces) of toxic substances and define treatments for acute and chronic poisoning.

Occupational and environmental limits and thresholds for toxic exposures establish a foundation for evidence-based policy-making and regulatory controls.

They facilitate the understanding of complex biochemical, physiological and ecological mechanisms and systems.

A higher form of killing

©NASA

While both basic and applied toxicology have been instrumental in the quest to safeguard human health and the environment, it has also offered up the secrets of the many biological mechanisms and processes that exist within living systems. Toxins and toxicants can disrupt, inhibit, and render dysfunctional the human organism.

This leads to disability and death.

This knowledge has led to the development of both chemical warfare toxicants and biological toxins for possible nefarious purposes. Biological toxins and biochemical substances such as catecholamines and cytokines can become weaponized agents.

By combining the intimate knowledge gathered from the physical and biology sciences with the multidisciplinary field of toxicology, rogue regimes and terrorist organizations have found the means to carry out higher forms of killing on battlefields and communities – in large urbanized areas, theatres of operations, and rural towns and villages. Chemical warfare has taken its toll on thousands of combatants and non-combatants.

The possibility of utilizing improvised chemical weapons, TICs/TIMs or even biochemical toxins derived from living organisms has increased. These include botulinum toxin, icin, abrin (extracted from rosary pea/jequirity pea), saxitoxin (a potent neurotoxin secreted by certain dinoflagellates and found in shellfish), and tricothecene mycotoxins (T-2) excreted during the metabolism of the Fusarium species of fungi.

Their use as weapons of mass effect in warfare and terrorism has increased along with the expanded scientific

knowledge base, and the willingness of rogue states and terrorists to acquire and disperse these agents.

Biological response modifiers

On a more sophisticated level, substances known as biological response modifiers (BRMs) can mimic, influence or control biochemical, immunological or physiological processes. BRMs direct the myriad complex interactions of the immune system and include erythropoietins, interferons, interleukins, colony-stimulating factors, monoclonal antibodies, stem cell growth factors, tumour necrosis factors, and vaccines.

BRMs suppress cancer growth or inflammatory processes. Theoretically, research into these potent biochemicals could enable production of novel compounds to undermine the immune system, alter metabolic processes, and disrupt normal brain chemistry to affect cognition or mood. As the body of knowledge grows and access to biotechnological techniques increases, it may be just a matter of time before such a bio-attack is feasible.

Assessing the biothreat

These threats are not easy to assess and are complex and multifactorial, although there are loopholes in prohibitions. Risk assessment also looks at scientific and technical feasibility as well as physicochemical properties: biological toxins are more toxic than synthetic CWAs. Agent potency is only one part of the story. To deliver the estimated lethal dose for half of an exposed group (LD50) of the nerve agent VX (5 micrograms) is easier than delivering the 3-7 g that constitute the LD50 of sulphur mustard.

Sulphur mustard is, however, easier to synthesize than nerve agent and to disseminate it in a clandestine manner to create delayed effects. However, it is also more difficult to deliver the LD50 of VX than delivering the much smaller lethal doses of toxins such as botulinum toxin.

In reality, most known chemicals routinely used in commerce and industry with toxicities equal to or greater than that of ammonia could potentially be used as CWAs.

The list grows

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists 70 separate chemicals, including TICs and poisons, as potential agents for terrorism. These include osmium tetroxide, long-acting anticoagulants, heavy metals, toxic alcohols, and white phosphorous.  New chemicals currently being CBNW 2017/01 79

CHEMICAL WEAPONS synthesized on rigid three-dimensional molecular skeletons include norbornanes, whose geometry allows for a modular enhancement of functional sites on a given molecule and, hence, infinite possibilities for developing ‘designer’ CWAs of extreme toxicity and persistency.

Russian agents

The Soviet Union’s BW programme developed the microorganism that causes tularemia, Francisella tularensis, into a vector for a gene to produce an endogenous bioregulator (peptide). The ‘Novichok’ (Russian, newcomer) agents are highly toxic binary nerve agent or fourth-generation agents. GV analogues,

– which is 10,000 more potent than morphine. The use of this aerosolized agent and the poor medical planning surrounding this tactical operation resulted in the death of some 125 hostages. In admitting the aerosol was a “fentanyl derivative,” the then Russian Health Minister added that the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) did not prohibit it.

Technical advances

Modifying battlefield CWAs and delivery systems is through agent thickening, binarization, and micronization – ‘dusty agents’. Delivery systems can include dual-use cyberinsects, biorobots, and nanotechnology.  Thickening by adding small quantities of thickening agents such as acrylates to chemical agents can

create the desired agent. A terrorist cell could use this or a similar production method to evade detection and to decrease the risks associated with the production, transportation, and use of chemical agents.  Micronization is a type of particularization involving the production of extremely fine particles onto which a chemical agent or toxin can be absorbed.

The advantages of ‘dusty agents’ are increased volatility, facilitation of the movement of relatively non-volatile agents such as sulphur mustard and the persistent nerve agent VX into the alveoli of the lungs, and increased penetration of clothing and chemical protective equipment.

Micronization of CB and toxin agents requires a certain degree of technological ©Wikimedia

Above: The new M50 Joint Service General Purpose Mask (JSGPM) in a lab at the US Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC).

Right: Fusarium verticillioides is a fungal species from which biochemical toxins can be derived.

Below: F. tularensis causes the disease tularemia, which is a select BW agent in its own right.

“All substances are poisons. There is none which is not a poison.

Solely the dose determines that a thing is not a poison.”

PARACELSUS (1492-1541), FOUNDER OF MODERN TOXICOLOGY ©Wikimedia

which combine properties of G-series and V-series nerve agents, are also potential new agents.

During the Moscow theatre siege in October 2002, Russian Spetznaz troops used an aerosolized combined fentanyl opioid derivative and halothane anaesthestic. To subdue the terrorists and bring about hostage rescue, they utilized the ‘mystery gas’ – possibly carfentanil 80 CBNW 2017/01

increase their viscosity. Thickened agents are more persistent in the environment and in wounds, and are less easily decontaminated. Many industrial chemicals and poisons could also be more effective as battlefield or terrorist agents by utilizing the right proportion of a thickener.  Binarization results in two precursor compounds that when mixed would

sophistication and is within the reach of some nation-states and terrorist factions.

Advances in robotics and nanotechnology could also enhance delivery systems.

We must not underestimate the threats made possible by scientific and technological developments in military toxicology and delivery systems, and the future modification of existing agents. Application of non-proliferation strategies and R&D into biomedical countermeasures and sophisticated detection systems must continue to keep up with the nefarious and perverse applications of science and technology. ❚❙ Frank G. Rando is a national SME, trainer, and first responder with over 30 years’ experience in emergency management, tactical, disaster and special operations medicine, environmental health and safety, public safety, and counterterrorism.

Elite Protection for Elite Forces The Scott Safety First Responder Respirator (FRR) offers protection like no other •

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CHEMICAL ID

The ultimate

TOOLBOX

The FLIR Griffin G510 hand-portable GC/MS Chemical Identifier.

Philip Tackett looks at GC/MS as a critical tool in the responder toolkit for on-site chemical identification

M

All photos ©2017 FLIR Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

ilitary and civilian responders are called to a variety of incidents like intentional chemical attacks, accidental hazardous material (HAZMAT) releases, and natural disasters. Each mission differs slightly, meaning no single chemical detection tool will accomplish every task. First responders must be familiar with a variety of tools to keep themselves and the public safe.

Chemical detectors vary in sensitivity (the ability to detect very low levels of chemicals) and specificity (the ability to distinguish and identify one target from another). While some detectors only indicate the presence of a chemical, others specifically identify what and how much of the threat is present.

Real-time chemical detection and identification at the site of action is essential to the CBRNE or HAZMAT response mission. It enables responders to quickly mitigate a threat and protect people and the environment from harm. A gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GC/MS) is an ideal tool that responders can use to accurately identify unknown chemicals and take action.

Why GC/MS?

GC/MS has long played a critical role in traditional laboratory-based chemical analysis. It is an incredibly sensitive and highly specific tool. This means it can sense trace-level chemicals other equipment cannot, while also providing the ability to positively identify the chemical.

But chemical emergencies rarely occur in the safety of a laboratory. They can happen anywhere, extending the 82 CBNW 2017/01

need for GC/MS beyond the lab.

For example, the US Department of Defense Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense (JPEO-CBD) Next Generation Chemical Detector (NGCD) programme specifically calls out the need for a portable system that detects and identifies threats in all phases of matter (liquid, solid, and vapour).

It also states that the NGCD will improve sensitivity and selectivity and combat weapons of mass destruction (WMD) through passive defense, interdiction, elimination, and consequence management missions.

The next generation

The application of high-fidelity GC/MS in field environments is challenged by system robustness and operator usability.

Significant technological advancements have led to the development of the FLIR Griffin G510 portable GC/MS system.

Its lab-quality analytical performance, simple-to-use interface, and rugged construction are ideal for highconsequence response missions.

The technology core uses a quadrupole mass analyzer and an integrated active pumping system. This platform makes it possible for the Griffin G510 to accept all phases of matter, while also reducing the burden of sample preparation and system maintenance.

The NIST Standard Reference Database is the world’s most widely used mass spectral reference library. It contains more than 240,000 compounds and is built with data obtained from quadrupole-based mass spectrometers.

The Griffin G510 performs automated searches against this library to deliver lab-quality analysis. By integrating a  quadrupole mass analyzer into an

ADVERTORIAL: ARGON

PlumeSIM-Smart Does your organization spend numerous hours and substantial sums

of money planning and implementing table-top and field exercises to practice, test and validate your local, onsite and off-site HazMat and CBRN emergency response procedures?

All photos ©Argon

W

ith heightened concern and an ever-increasing regulatory environment emphasizing the need for demonstrable emergency preparedness, organizations and their associated stakeholders have a duty to demonstrate that effective measures exist in the event of a natural disaster, industrial accident, technical failure, or malicious act.

Since 1987, I have been privileged to meet people responsible for dealing with incidents involving CBRN or HazMat to understand their training challenges.

I have a wonderful team of dedicated engineers and together, we love working with our customers to devise solutions that deliver world-class, affordable training resources they can be proud to use.

Our latest solution, based upon a customer request to enhance onsite and large-scale offsite release emergency response training, incorporates some special requirements, a wide range of scenarios, operation over an extensive geographic area, flexibility, discrete to

Left: Multi-Gas simulator configured for a table-top exercise indicating HCN. Main: Exercise Dakota involved an aircraft crash with illicit radioactive cargo.

use and low cost of ownership.

PlumeSIM-Smart

The result is PlumeSIM-Smart: a powerful, flexible, easy-to-use CBRN/ HazMat training system that enables you to implement a variety of scenarios incorporating individual or multiple HazMat, chemical warfare, and radiological releases (including dispersion devices) that evolve in real time according to the meteorological and threat parameters you apply – such as deposition, persistency, evaporation and release type. PlumeSIM-Smart has a powerful real-time scenario generator that is wirelessly linked to handheld Smart-SIM multi detector simulators, which enable you to deliver highly engaging table-top and field exercises while you track, monitor and verify the readings reported by participants as they manoeuvre throughout the exercise area.

After-Action Review functionality helps you demonstrate, review and verify the veracity of your response teams, prediction modellers, commanders, decision processes, doses and survey

routes to exercise participants and relevant stakeholders, including evaluators and regulatory authorities.

We have devised an innovative commercial package to provide you with this highly effective training capability, complete with product training and support, at a price so affordable you will find it easy to develop a convincing business case that justifies why your organization should invest in PlumeSIMSmart.

As with all Argon products, you will benefit from an exciting pipeline of future enhancements, our proven track record of listening to and implementing suggestions for new capabilities, and a flexible architecture that will support your training needs for many years to come.

I invite you to contact us, without obligation, to experience how our simulation systems have helped organizations such as your own throughout the world enhance learning outcomes and CBRN/HazMat preparedness.. ❚❙ Regards, Steven Pike Founder, Argon Electronics (UK) Ltd. CBNW 2017/01 83

CHEMICAL ID

Above and top right: Analyze all phases of matter (liquid, solid, vapour) – survey mode capability enables operators to identify vapour-phase chemical threats within seconds.

Right: The ultimate in-field sampling flexibility with integrated injector.

actively pumped portable platform, the Griffin G510 delivers high-confidence, chemical identification to the responder.

Mission variety; equipment flexibility

First responders must perform quickly and with limited dexterity when wearing required personal protective equipment (PPE). They are responsible for sample and data collection, and in some cases, real-time decision-making. Responders encounter several types of missions, including:  HAZMAT emergencies  Counter-terrorism operations (WMD interdiction, site assessment, intelligence, etc.)  Environmental monitoring (disaster recovery, regulatory compliance, remediation, etc.)  Event support (sports events, concerts, festivals, political gatherings, etc.)

Response missions take place in complex environments that the GC/MS must withstand. The Griffin G510 is built to MIL-STD guidelines and is the first person-portable GC/MS with an IP65 rating, meaning it is dust-tight and spray-resistant in harsh environments.

Rather than rely on presumptive techniques or multiple instruments during emergency missions, responders can use the Griffin G510 to analyze all phases of matter. Its integrated survey mode capability enables operators to 84 CBNW 2017/01

identify vapour-phase chemical threats within seconds. Its integrated split/ splitless liquid injector enables responders to perform direct insertion of organic liquids – an industry first.

This same injector also accepts other sampling tools, including solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fibres, off-theshelf headspace analyzers, and the Prepless Sample Introduction (PSI) Probe. The PSI-Probe accepts direct solid samples in their native form (such as soil- and water-based materials).

The Griffin G510 reduces the burden of sample preparation for the operator and provides ultimate flexibility as the daily mission changes.

Operating a GC/MS in the field can be challenging, but doesn’t have to be.

The Griffin G510 features a large touchscreen interface that accommodates operators wearing PPE. The GSS L1 Touch application is designed for responders unfamiliar with GC/MS. It features straightforward, menu-driven controls that guide operators to the appropriate method with minimal interaction.

Actionable information

High-quality chemical information

is only useful to the operator if it is actionable. As samples are introduced, the system performs an automated search against the NIST chemical library.

The result is displayed in a simple format that expedites decision making.

Qualitative and quantitative data is easily retrieved and clearly highlights identified threats. Results are linked to sample date, time, operator, location, and custom user inputs so that evidentiary information is maintained.

Demanding environments require the ultimate toolbox, from colorimetric sensors and handheld detectors to confirmatory instrumentation like GC/ MS. The Griffin G510 portable GC/MS redefines analytical performance and value for the responder toolkit. Its intuitive operating experience makes on-site decision making effortless, and it delivers high-confidence chemical identification in a person-portable form factor built to withstand the harshest environments. ❚❙ Philip Tackett is a certified HAZMAT responder and a Product Manager at FLIR Systems, Inc.

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BOOK REVIEW David Oliver reviews Chemical Warfare Technology Volume 2 Chemical Warfare Toxicology

Volume 2: Management of Poisoning Series

Issues in Toxicology

Editors

Franz Worek, John Jenner, Horst Thiermann

Published by

The Royal Society of Chemistry

Price £179

T

herapy for nerve agent poisoning is a challenge for clinical toxicologists, specialists in intensive care units, medical doctors and all other medical personnel. The reason for this is manifold.

Generally, nerve agents belong to a larger group of organophosphorus (OP) compounds whose single members present a high variability in physicochemical, toxicodynamic and toxicokinetic properties.

Moreover, different types of absorption – inhalation, percutaneous exposure and oral ingestion – may affect the kinetics of poisoning dramatically. Hence, the onset of signs and symptoms may vary substantially and valuable time for an initial treatment may be lost if no adequate triggers to treat are available.

This is from the introduction of Volume 2 of Chemical Warfare Toxicology (Volume 1 was reviewed in the January 2017 issue of CBNW), the contents of which have been highlighted by the recent killing of the North Korean leader’s half-brother by the chemical agent VX. The chapters of this book are authored by experts covering a broad range of topics related to chemical warfare agents (CWAs). They are regarded as authorities in the field of toxicology and military medicine, presenting state-of-the-art information for academic, clinical and governmental audiences.

The first volume covered the fundamentals of the toxicology of nerve agents and vesicants. This volume describes aspects of the treatment after exposure to these and other CWAs. Under the chapter headed Clinical and Laboratory Diagnosis of Chemical Warfare Exposure, it is interesting to note the references made to V-type nerve agents, such as VX. These are characterized by low volatility, high chemical and biological stability, and high percutaneous toxicity. Skin contamination is the most likely route of exposure that affects the onset and the sequence of clinical signs.

86 CBNW 2017/02

Volume 1: reviewed in the previous issue of CBNW, covers the fundamentals of the toxicology of nerve agents and vesicants.

Volume 2: Management of Poisoning describes aspects of the treatment after exposure to these and other CWAs.

The authors point out that the toxicokinetic behaviour of VX induces a delayed onset of clinical signs that can take up to several hours. Furthermore, they state that only a limited amount of data on homicidal human VX exposure is available in the open literature. This may have to be revised in future editions following the aforementioned death of Kim Jong-Nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

The main focus of this multi-author book is to give an update on recent findings for a broad range of topics related to the management of CWAs. What is made clear is that because of the very nature of especially complex and volatile nerve agents that leads very quickly to life-threatening signs and symptoms, fast identification and treatment will be vital.

Focusing on the most important representative nerve and blistering agents while covering other potential CWAs, the book will give the reader a comprehensive overview of chemical warfare agent toxicology, including the diagnosis and verification of exposure, and the pre- and post-exposure treatment of poisoning.. ❚❙

ADVERTORIAL: ARGON / BERTIN ARGON ELECTRONICS, the global leader in CBRN and HazMat training systems, celebrated 30 years in business in April 2017. In commemoration it has released an eBook that explores the three key types of Chemical Warfare Agent (CWA) training, Live Agent Training; Simulant Agent Training and Simulation training.

“

It seems only a relatively short time ago that discussions with Essex County Fire and Rescue Service relating to their desire to enhance radiological hazard training after the Chernobyl reactor accident resulted in Argon entering the field of CBRN simulation” reflected Steven Pike, Managing Director and Founder of Argon.

“Fast forward some 28 years, and our training systems, underpinned by numerous patents and commercial relationships with many of the world’s leading detector manufacturers are in use throughout the world to enhance CBRN training.”

To celebrate this achievement, Argon has launched a new website and has also

released an eBook to help those organisations reviewing their CBRN and HazMat training to consider some of the options available.

“This is our first eBook, and the contribution from David Butler BEM, a former military officer at the UK Defence CBRN Centre Winterbourne Gunner, has ensured interesting reading. At a time when hardly a month passes without mention of a CBRN-related incident in the news, the need for organizations to ensure they are well prepared has never been greater,” affirmed Pike.

The eBook considers a number of factors relating to the different approaches available to impellent effective Chemical Warfare Agent training, including health and safety, regulatory

SECOND SIGHT For stand-off chemical detection

An unknown simulant is released and detected by Second Sight MS. The dispersion of the gas cloud is followed in real time. Note that Second Sight provides additional information, for example, detecting human presence (the two persons in front of the building).

D

etecting an unknown chemical threat from a distance is the first objective of a stand-off chemical detector. Mounting on light or armoured vehicles is now available.

Second Sight MS is a stand-off chemical detector for surveillance missions, whose objective is to detect whether or not a chemical hazard is present.

Using infrared, Second Sight MS detects the presence of a chemical gas in front of the camera and follows its motion in real time. Its latest ‘Gas X’

algorithm proposes an automatic detection of a chemical cloud, without any prior laboratory calibration as for standard FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy). Based on morphological filters, in the presence of unknown gases, gas mixtures or impureincomplete formulations an alarm is triggered – giving first evidence that a chemical event is occurring.

Identification capability is still provided where there is a matching pattern with the embedded database.

Based on in-house developments and

burdens, the environment and costs.

The new eBook is available to download, free of charge, from the Argon website below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Argon Electronics, 16 Ribocon Way, Progress Business Park, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU4 9UR, UK Telephone: +44 (0)1582 491 616 / Email: info@argonelectronics.com http://www.argonelectronics.com

Inset pic: Second Sight MS for CBRN vehicles: integrated hardware and software provides early warnings to units and personnel on the battlefield, and enables the operator to make fast and accurate decisions to limit exposure to CBRN threats.

finalized with ongoing projects, the Second Sight MS for military vehicles, dedicated to CBRN reconnaissance on the move, is now available. The stand-off chemical detector Second Sight MS has first been fully tested and qualified according to military standards in term of vibration, shock, EMC (electromagnetic compatibility), and IP. For automatic area scanning or pointing the Second Sight in a specific orientation, Bertin is offering a new pan & tilt solution to enhance detection performance at 5 km with a custom 12° lens. This pan & tilt also provides ultimate robustness while moving, as well as n x 360 scanning of the area.

Fixed on the vehicle roof, the Second Sight MS is suitable for all vehicle manufacturers and integrators. The IP communication protocol deployed for Second Sight monitoring makes the integration compatible with the latest network capability.

In performance, Second Sight MS is strong and easy to use and the best in-class solution for stand-off chemical detection dedicated to the CBRN reconnaissance mission. ❚❙ CBNW 2017/02 87

ADVERTORIAL: BIOFIRE / CAMTECH

B

Biofire Defense

ioFire Defense leads in the development of reliable and sensitive BioDefense instruments and tests.

Known for its history of releasing innovative instruments, BioFire Defense produced the first ruggedized polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based instrument in 1999, making possible lab-quality results in the field.

Since then, BioFire Defense has successfully fielded numerous systems for the US Department of Defense, including the JBAIDS (Joint Biological Agent Identification and Diagnostic System) and NGDS (Next Generation Diagnostics System). Both systems include instruments and test kits that have become the biothreat identification and diagnostics standard for the US and other national militaries throughout the world.

They have also developed the field hardened RAZOR® EX, and the new

FilmArray® system along with a suite of complementary assays test kits and sample preparation kits.

FilmArray: fastest way to better results

BioFire Defense’s newest system, the FilmArray, is able to identify, in a closed system, dozens of the most lethal viruses and bacteria, including emerging infectious diseases. The easy-to-use,

syringe-loaded system represents the next generation in automated detection systems.

Bench Top System: This all-in-one system integrates sample preparation, amplification, detection and analysis into one instrument that processes sample-to-results in about one hour.

Efficient: With just two minutes of hands-on time, this closed system does all of the work so you can start the run and return for results.

Comprehensive Test Panels: A system that can identify dozens of the most lethal viruses, bacteria and parasites, including emerging infectious diseases. This results in a revolutionary detection system with a lightweight, small-footprint format. zy For more information visit us online at www.BioFireDefense.com

CAMTHRAX

T

he Camthrax provides first responders, key installations, civil defence and military users with a rapid, portable screening method for biothreats, allowing point-of-need testing and real time decision making. It enables rapid, intuitive and cost-effective detection of biological agents and toxins for better homeland security.

Highly sensitive detection

The Camthrax detects down to 3,000 Bacillus spores (anthrax, thuringiensis, tetanus, Clostridium) from hoax substances such as flour, baking powder, talcum powder or dust in 99% of scenarios.

Forget wet chemistry

The Camthrax’s optical technology eliminates complicated sample preparation. No mixing or gloveunfriendly preparations.

Simple to use

The device is simple and easy to use with 88 CBNW 2017/02

one-button simplicity. Press the button.

Read the LCD display. Make an informed decision. That’s all there is to it. No interpretation required. No room for ambiguity.

Rapid response

The device’s versatility takes the guesswork out of preparation by allowing you to quickly quantify samples in powder form, including powders, smears and spills.

Clear multiple targets with ease

The device’s push-button simplicity and instant reusability mean you can rapidly move through sites and clear multiple targets, minimizing costly lockdown times and personnel time and exposure on-site.

Versatile performance you can rely on

The Camthrax is battery powered, lightweight and fully integrated in one small handheld unit, so you can take it where it needs to go. A glove and

chemical-suit-friendly design means you can concentrate on the task at hand. At the same time, the devices are fully complementary with existing field detection methods such as portable PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and lateral flow immunoassay, as well as current labbased testing methods. zy For more information or to register your interest email sales@camtech.org

ADVERTORIAL: FLIGHT MEDICAL / HUGHES

FLIGHT 60

W

ill your life support equipment meet the needs of critical patients in disaster and pandemic situations?

When disaster strikes, the correct equipment can mean the difference between life and death. When it comes to life-supporting ventilators, not all portable ventilators can meet the unique needs of patients in critical condition. Often, ventilators used in emergency preparedness and mass casualty incidents do not offer the parameters and operational design needed to treat acute respiratory failure.

The Flight 60 provides effective ventilation solutions in any environment: Critical Care Parameters – Meets the needs of any patient, from infant to adult.

Easy to Operate – Quick start menu allows for non-trained responders to operate effectively and quickly.

Mask Ventilation Capable – During a disaster it may be difficult to secure an intubated airway. The Flight 60 can ventilate patients with a mask until an airway is secured.

NBC Filter Capable – NBC filter may be added to the ventilator to inhibit entrainment of biohazards to the patient.

Power Conserving – With an impressive 12-hour, hot swappable battery, the Flight 60 also adapts to multiple

types of power supplies.

Oxygen Conserving – The unique design of the Flight 60 conserves oxygen usage.

Rugged Design – Flight 60 is designed to be used in any environment.

Flight Medical Innovations develops, manufactures and markets portable life-supporting respiratory ventilators. For almost two decades, Flight Medical has provided critical care solutions for disaster preparedness, mass-casualty and military applications.

Contact Flight Medical to discuss solutions for ventilation in disaster and pandemic applications. zy Sales.USA@Flight-Medical.com Shaunaw@flight-medical.com

Emergency response – are you prepared?

F

irst responders, governments and the military have a duty to plan and prepare for the protection of the public in the event of an accident, disaster or attack using chemical, nuclear or biological agents.

In an emergency, response speed is essential. Any delay can exacerbate the situation resulting in more serious injury with possible long-term consequences, permanent disability and even death.

The range of emergency response equipment from Hughes is essential for responder or mass decontamination in an emergency – or for the purposes of training emergency response personnel.

The lightweight and robust PORTAflex 300/16e Portable Decontamination Shower is designed to remove contaminants from protective clothing prior to removal or from the bare skin of casualties involved in an incident.

This 16-nozzle decontamination shower is quickly deployed in less than a minute.

Combined with the hose assembly from the PORTAflex 300/16e, the PORTAflex CUPOLA Inflatable Decontamination Shelter is ideal where contaminated water must be contained. The openings on either side enable personnel to walk from the dirty to the clean area and aids in minimizing airborne over-spray.

In circumstances requiring a casualty holding centre or protective enclosure, the Hughes Articulating Rapid

Deployment Shelters offer a solution which is easy to carry and erect by two people in less than ten minutes. Two or more units can be connected where extra space is needed, and for extreme climates air conditioning systems or insulation are available.

Are you prepared? To discuss your requirements in more detail please contact us via info@hughes-safety.com or +44 (0)161 430 6618 zy

CBNW 2017/02 89

ADVERTORIAL: KÄRCHER / PROENGIN

CBRN defence – made in Germany German company Kärcher Futurtech GmbH is playing a leading role in important areas of CBRN protection

F

or unprotected persons collective CBRN protection is vital. To be proactive, not just reactive, CBRN detection capabilities are a must. But if a CBRN-contamination event has happened, CBRN decontamination tasks have to be carried as fast and effective as possible in order to mitigate the negative effects of such an event. Last but not least medical CBRN protection is a point which needs to be taken into account for an effective and efficient CBRN defence.

Kärcher Futuretech focuses on the field of CBRN decontamination. From their perspective, decontamination is the supreme challenge in the field of cleaning, since an unsatisfactory decontamination result would lead to dramatic health consequences.

They use high-pressure systems for CBRN decontamination, patented vacuum chamber technology for sensitive equipment, shower decontamination systems for the decontamination of persons and a

hot gas/steam chamber for heat-resistant material. This enables them to offer a holistic approach in CBRN decontamination for their customers worldwide.

MPDS 2

This year, Kärcher Futuretech is presenting one of its new CBRN decontamination systems: The MPDS 2 (above) is an independent universally applicable system for the complete decontamination of vehicles, material, and personnel. Equipped with three lances, the MPDS 2 can carry out the three obligatory phases of decontamination – pre-, main-, and post-treatment – in parallel. Compared with normal system modules, which have two lances at most, this means a significant saving in time and logistics effort.

Thanks to an integrated power genera-

tor, a pump for discharge of non-aqueous decontamination agents, and a supplied set of decontamination and cleaning agents from Kärcher Futuretech, the MPDS 2 is ready for immediate use anywhere. Its compact design, ease of operation, and compatibility with accessories and decontamination agents from other manufacturers make the MPDS 2 the most advanced system of its kind at present. ❚❙ Press contact Joan Morrison, Marketing & PR Kärcher Futuretech GmbH Alfred-Schefenacker-Str. 1 71409 Shwaikheim T +49 71 95 14-4157 F +49 71 95 14-2193 joan.morrison@de.kaercher.com

PROENGIN SimToolKit

P

roengin has launched a new remote display and training system (SimToolKit) for its range of hand-held detectors AP2C and AP4C. It is based on a new radio communicating device that can be added as an accessory to AP2C and AP4C. Each detector sends its data to a centralized emitter/receiver connected to a visualization tablet. The ruggedized tablet, operating on Windows 10, will display the screens of each detector.

Two modes are available:

On remote display mode, each detector (AP2C or AP4C) screen will be displayed and the classical data visible on a real detector screen will be shown the same way. Alarms, level of concentration, 90 CBNW 2017/02

battery and hydrogen levels are displayed as well as the serial number of the instrument.

Up to eight detectors can be simultaneously connected to the tablet and the range of communication is 200 m in open field. The use of AP2C or AP4C during the same operation causes no problems as the software identifies the type of device.

A second training mode is available where a trainer operating the tablet has the capacity to transmit radio fake electronic alarms that will be displayed on each detector.

All the components of the system (radio emitters, receivers and the tablet) have been qualified to be operated in a military outdoor environment. SimToolKit is already in service in NATO forces. ❚❙

NO TIME. NO LAB. NO PROBLEM. EASILY IDENTIFY CHEMICAL HAZARDS IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS WITH THE FLIR GRIFFIN™ G510 PORTABLE GC/MS. Designed for downrange missions, the FLIR Griffin G510 GC/MS features a large touchscreen, long-lasting batteries, and is spray-resistant. Analyzes all phases of matter and confirms vapor-based threats within seconds, so that responders can take immediate, decisive action.

To learn more, go to FLIR.com/G510.

NEVER BEFORE HAS DECONTAMINATION BEEN SO FAST. FLIR Griffin™ G510 Hand-Portable GC/MS Chemical Identifier

The new MPDS 2 makes pre-, main- and post-treatment simultaneously possible.

This is a multi-purpose system for the decontamination of persons, material and vehicles. Now the "one-for-all" MPDS 2 can be operated with up to three lances at the same time. Therefore pre-, main- and post-treatment are possible simultaneously, making decontamination much faster. MPDS 2 truly represents the most efficient and complete decontamination site of its class. www.kaercher-futuretech.com

Detecting chem-bio threats

Ensuring sensor and PPE efficacy Eradicating deadly disease Improving medical countermeasures

2017 | 02

CBNW – Chemical, Biological & Nuclear Warfare 2017 | 02

Protecting our troops

Chemical weapons The new norm

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: A Nobel Cause battelle.org/cbnw

21ST-CENTURY WMD Nuclear cyber-attacks

CBRN FUNDING In the Age of Trump

THE FIRE IS OUT The recovery begins