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'Asking the Experts': Uncovering the Realities of CBRNE Civil Preparedness

Contributor:  Richard de Silva
Posted:  02/10/2011  12:00:00 AM EST  |  0

Rate this Article: (3.7 Stars | 6 Votes)

Tags:   CBRN | chemical | nuclear | biological | CWA | agents | triage | terrorism | Olympics | healthcare | medical

Brigadier General (ret) Galatas Ioannis is Senior Advisor and RIEAS-CBRNE (Research Institute for European and American Studies - Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives) Scientific Coordinator. He specialises in Allergy and Clinical Immunology, and, for more than 20 years, has served as Head of the Department of Allergy & Clinical Immunology at the Army General Hospital of Athens. His primary expertise focuses on “Medical/Hospital CBRN Defence in Megapolis/Urban Environment”.
 
During the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, he served as Commandant of the Olympic Hospital CBRN Response Unit – the only hospital-based unit specifically deployed for the Games.  His last assignment was at the Hellenic National Defence General staff where he served for four years as Head of the Department of Asymmetric Threats at the Intelligence Analysis Branch of Joint Military Intelligence Division.

Q:  What is the key area in which you see room for improvement in terms of resilience - Detection, Response or Recovery?
 
A:  “In Medical/Hospital CBRNE Defence there are many things yet to be done. It is the weakest link in all state CBRNE response plans and needs to be addressed methodologically and fast. We mainly focus on ‘Golden Hour’ operations, forgetting that medical consequences of WMDs last for months or years.”
 
Q:  How should we best prepare for CBRN attacks? Which training means are essential, and which are trivial?
 
A:  “There is a lot of theoretical training and tons of open source information available. But if this knowledge is not combined with practical field training it might become misleading and even dangerous. For example, all those interested know that in the case of a CWA (chemical warfare agents) release, we must put our gas masks on…but we have to do it in less than 11 seconds!
 
And this comes with a lot of training and acclimatisation with specialised protection gear. If they stay in theory only, they will die with their masks in their hands.  This is why I strongly support the idea that ‘medical CBRNE defence’ should be included in the curricula of medical/nursing university schools in an effort to enhance the differential diagnosis capability of new graduates in case they will be confronted with a real CBRNE incident in an urban/megapolis environment.”
 
Q:  In your opinion, do you feel that your nation or organisation has achieved a satisfactory level of inter-agency planning?
 
A:  “During and some time after the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, we maintained a satisfactory level of knowledge and preparedness regarding CBRN operations. Unfortunately, as time passes by, the civilian sector is steadily returning to the former NBC (NoBody Cares) era…”

Q:  How detrimental have budget cuts been to your CBRN resilience interests? What are the key dangers of these cuts if they have happened or are to happen?
 
A:  “Officials in high places have a tendency to spend money for visible threats at a national and international level. They always forget that the ‘unexpected always happens!’ Budget cuts in CBRN resilience might one day prove to be the worst idea they’ve had – but then it would be too late. Preparedness usually costs less than consequences management.”

Q:  In your local region, is the current level of education amongst civilians and businesses in the area of emergency planning sufficient – and if not, how can this be improved?
 
A:  “When people grow up with the belief that ‘it will not happen to them or their organisation or business’ it is obvious that the level of education in emergency planning will go along with this inherent belief. Motivation can not be enforced. It should be part of their professional [thinking], especially in areas and places that many people are involved. Civil Defence should be the body that will urge them to understand the backstage of new emerging threats and how they can affect their future and their lives.”


Richard de Silva Contributor:   Richard de Silva

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