Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense is protective measures
taken in situations in which chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear
warfare hazards may be present. CBRN defense consists of CBRN passive
protection, contamination avoidance and CBRN mitigation.
A CBRN incident differs from a hazardous material incident in both scope and
intent. CBRN incidents are responded to under the assumption that they are
intentional and malicious; evidence preservation and perpetrator
apprehension are of greater concern than with HAZMAT incidents.
A 2011 forecast concluded that worldwide government spending on CBRN defence
products and services would reach US$8.38bn that year.
Etymology In English the term CBRN is a
replacement for the cold war term NBC, which had replaced the term ABC that was
used in the fifties. The addition of the R is a consequence of the "new" threat
of a radiological weapon, in addition to end the joke among members of the
Chemical Corps which called "NBC as NoBody Cares". In the new millennium,
the term CBRNe was introduced as an extension of CBRN - the e in this term
representing the enhanced explosives threat. Leaders and members of the
Chemical Corps also use CBRN as "Could Be Right Now".
In Spanish the term NRBQ has replaced NBQ.
By country or region = Canada=
The term CBRN is in common use in disaster and emergency services
organizations across the country. Since July 2005, the Canadian Forces also
started using the term CBRN Defence, instead of NBC Defence, due to the
increased threat of dirty bomb use. CBRNe is a new term that is being used
in both civilian and military organisations. The Canadian Joint
Incident Response Unit is a Canadian Forces unit, under the direction of the
Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, charged with supporting "the
Government of Canada in order to prevent, control and mitigate CBRN
threats to Canada, Canadians and Canadian interests."
At the provincial level, cities are provided opportunities for their
emergency services with CBRN training. In Ontario, emergency services in
Windsor, Ontario; Ottawa, Ontario; Peterborough, Ontario; and Toronto have
obtained CBRN standing at NFPA Standard 472 Awareness Level 3.
The Ontario Provincial Police's UCRT is a specialized team responsible for CBRNe
incident response for the province of Ontario. The team was formed in 2002 and
was called the Provincial Emergency Response Team until 2010, when the name
was changed to UCRT. They changed from Provincial Emergency Response Team to
UCRT due to the elimination of Tactical and concentrating on USAR and CBRN and
explosive disposal. Under the direction of specialist Staff Sergeant Jim Bock,
UCRT became the Provinces elite response to anti terrorism.
= Hong Kong= Hong Kong has had CBRN response
capabilities since the early 1990s and advanced training from 1998. The
Standing CBRN Planning Group plans for all CBRN incidents in Hong Kong. The
SRPG was set up with the support of the Secretary for Security by the Senior
Bomb Disposal Officer in Hong Kong, Dominic Brittain. It consists of
representatives from 9 government departments who plan the response to
CBRN threats. These departments include Police EOD, Fire Services, the Hospital
Authority and the Department of Health, amongst others.The operational arm of
the SRPG is the CBRN Incident Advisory Group who form up in the initial stages
of a CBRN incident using telephone conferencing. RIAG consists of five
experts who assist with the technical response to the incident by providing
real time advice and support to the departments involved. The Hong Kong
capability is well rehearsed, with regular departmental exercises conducted
and a full scale CBRN exercise conducted every year.
= India= The Indian Army ordered 16 CBRN
monitoring vehicles, of which the first 8 were inducted in December 2010. It was
developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation and
manufactured by Ordnance Factories Board.
= Argentina= The Argentine Armed Forces has several
CRBN response teams. The Batallón de Ingenieros QBN 601 of the Argentine
Army, was the first CRBN response team created, in the 1990s, as a part of the
country's Rapid Deployment Force. Civil defense, and firemen from Policía
Federal Argentina teams also have CRBN training.
= Ireland= The Irish Defence Forces have CBRNe
training and equipment capabilities – in particular the Ordnance Corps, Engineer
Corps and Army Ranger Wing – and will aid the civil authority if requested.
The Irish Army runs CBRNe defence courses, and has detection equipment,
decontamination equipment and is reported to have purchased 10,000
protective CBRN/NBC suits, enough for all of its personnel.
The Irish national police force, the Garda Síochána, has a number of
nationwide CBRN response teams. The teams are based regionally and began
operating from 2004 with 100 trained officers. There is a requirement for
members to be re-certified within 18 months of training. CBRN response teams
are trained by the Garda Tactical Training Unit, and supported nationally
by the Emergency Response Unit. Other emergency services also have limited
CBRN expertise, such as the Health Service Executive and Dublin Fire
Brigade, who have a Hazardous Materials and Chemical Incident Unit.
= Malaysia= The Malaysian Army formed a CBRN unit,
Peperangan Nuklear, Biologi dan Kimia 3 Divisyen in April 2002.
The Royal Malaysia Police has CBRN providers. The Pasukan Gerakan Khas has
two special operations detachments with HAZMAT expertise - 69 Commandos and
Special Actions Unit. The Federal Reserve Unit also has a CBRN unit. Both
PGK and FRU teams handle CBRN calls, before an army PNBK unit responds.
= Spain= The Spanish Army 1st CBRN Regiment
'Valencia' was formed in March 2005.Training in the defence against
CBRN agents as part of combat support is the main aim of exercise 'Grifo' – the
most important of this type that the Army undertakes. The National Police and
the Spanish Civil Guard have their own CBRN units. The Military Emergencies
Unit and emergency services have CBRN training.
= United Kingdom= CBRN is also used by the UK Home Office
as a civil designation. Police, fire and ambulance services in the UK must all
have some level of CBRN providers. Within the ambulance service this is
performed by the Hazardous Area Response Team and Special Operations Response
Team. Since the introduction of new equipment to UK fire services under the
New Dimension programme, CBRN decontamination of personnel has become
a task carried out by fire services in the UK and they regularly train for such
scenarios. = United States=
The United States Army uses CBRN as an abbreviation for their Chemical,
Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Operations Specialists. The United
States Army trains all US Army soldiers pursuing a career in CBRN at the United
States Army CBRN School at Fort Leonard Wood.
The USAF uses Air Force Specialty Code U.S. Air Force Emergency Management, who
are also CBRN Specialists. The USAF trains all US Airmen pursuing a career
in counter-CBRN operations at the USAF CBRN School at Fort Leonard Wood.
The USMC uses CBRN as an abbreviation for two military occupational
specialties. The Marine Corps runs a CBRN School to train Marine CBRN Defense
Officers and Marine CBRN Defense Specialists at Fort Leonard Wood,
Missouri. See also: Chemical Biological Incident Response Force
The USN requires all personnel to take a web-based CBRNE training annually to get
a basic understanding of facts and procedures related to responding to a
CBRNE incident. = The Russian Federation=
In May 2012, BioPrepWatch reported that the Russian security service ordered
over 100 "capsule cradles", which are devices that people can use to protect
infants or even small pets in the event of a nuclear, chemical, biological, or
radiological threat. According to the article, Soviet military engineers
invented the capsules in the 1960s. A company is currently producing the
capsules in a factory in Russia. CBRN Products
Numbers vary, but news reports and market forecast reports place the market
for CRBN products in 2013 and 2014 between $8.7-8.8 billion. The market for
CBRN products is expected to grow to over $13 billion by the year 2023. CBRN
manufacturers include Argon Electronics, Blucher GmbH, Bruker, FLIR Systems, HDT
Global, MSA, Research International, and TSI.
Argon Electronics makes CBRN detection simulator called RADSIM 44-9-SIM that
personnel can use in training exercises. Blucher GmbH produces a two-piece CBRN
protective suit called the SCDF CBRN Protective Suit that gives first
responders 24-hour protection against environmental threats.
Bruker produces ion-mobility spectrometry technology for military and
security personnel that separates, identifies and analyzes ionized
molecules present in gas. FLIR Systems produces several handheld
detection equipment devices, each for chemical, radiation, biological and
explosives detection. HDT Global produces an air filtration
system called ColPro Filtration that government forces can install in
buildings, ships and vehicles to remove CBRN threats from the air.
MSA produces the Safe Escape CBRN Respirator, a hood that filters CBRN
particles for use by personnel responding to a terrorist incident.
Research International creates a sensor system, called the ASAP V For Critical
Infrastructure Protection, for subways and other public areas that uses
multi-sensor surveillance technology that detects the presence of CBRN
particles. CBRNE Tech Index sells top manufacturer
CBRN products. CBRNE Tech Index is powered by MRIGlobal. .
TSI makes technology called Bioaerosol Triggers that collect CBRN environmental
samples for to identify and confirm threats.
See also Poison gas in World War I
NBC suit Hazmat suit
Biological and Chemical Defence Review Committee
References Bibliography
External links CBRNePortal - The #1 CBRNe portal
providing news, articles and media on CBRNe
NBC-Links.com - the internet's most comprehensive portal to CBRN-related
information sources NCT CBRNe Awards - the awards for the
world's best CBRNe products IB Consultancy NCT Events - NCT Events
are the only worldwide CBRNe events CBRN Magazines
CBNW - The best CBRN magazine CBRNe World Magazine - The World's
largest CBRNe magazine and information exchange
Video links Featured video of Singapore Army's
Chemical, Biological and Radiological Defence Group on YouTube
NCT CBRNe Asia 2013: Malaysian Army Demonstration on YouTube