Kryminalistyczne aspekty dochodzenia w miejscu zbrodni z wykorzystaniem środków CBRN

Work entitled Forensic aspects of an incident site investigation using CBRN agents discusses the most important issues related to conducting activities at a specific site where an incident occurred with the use of chemical, radiological and biological agents known as CBRN. The work is divided into four parts - the first discusses the most important aspects of investigating the scene of an incident, the second discusses the research activities carried out at the site of use of CBRN agents, the third presents modern methods of investigating the sites of incidents using these agents, and the fourth provides a general summary. In Poland, conducting forensic activities at the scene of an incident, where CBRN means were used, is based on the one hand on classic methods and techniques of forensics, and on the other hand on the use of special devices for these works. They are undoubtedly a valuable solution and allow for faster and more accurate performance of specific tests.Praca pt. Kryminalistyczne aspekty badania miejsca zdarzenia z użyciem czynników CBRN omawia najważniejsze zagadnienia związane z prowadzeniem działalności na określonym terenie, w którym doszło do zdarzenia z użyciem środków chemicznych, radiologicznych i biologicznych, znanych jako CBRN.Praca podzielona jest na cztery części – w pierwszej omówiono najważniejsze aspekty badania miejsca zdarzenia, w drugiej omówiono działania badawcze prowadzone w miejscu użycia środków CBRN, w trzeciej przedstawiono nowoczesne metody badania miejsc incydentów z wykorzystaniem tych środków, a czwarta zawiera ogólne podsumowanie.W Polsce prowadzenie czynności kryminalistycznych na miejscu zdarzenia, w którym zastosowano środki CBRN, opiera się z jednej strony na klasycznych metodach i technikach kryminalistyki, az drugiej na wykorzystaniu do tych prac specjalnych urządzeń. Są niewątpliwie cennym rozwiązaniem i pozwalają na szybsze i dokładniejsze wykonanie określonych testów

Preliminary evaluation of military, commercial and novel skin decontamination products against a chemical warfare agent simulant (methyl salicylate)

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Cutaneous and Ocular Toxicology on 13 August 2015, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/15569527.2015.1072544.Rapid decontamination is vital to alleviate adverse health effects following dermal exposure to hazardous materials. There is an abundance of materials and products which can be utilised to remove hazardous materials from the skin. In this study, a total of 15 products were evaluated, 10 of which were commercial or military products and 5 were novel (molecular imprinted) polymers. The efficacies of these products were evaluated against a 10µL droplet of 14C-methyl salicylate applied to the surface of porcine skin mounted on static diffusion cells. The current UK military decontaminant (Fuller’s earth) performed well, retaining 83% of the dose over 24 hours and served as a benchmark to compare with the other test products. The five most effective test products were Fuller’s earth (the current UK military decontaminant), Fast-Act® and three novel polymers (based on itaconic acid, 2-trifluoromethylacrylic acid and N,N-methylene bis acrylamide). Five products (medical moist free wipes, 5% FloraFree™ solution, normal baby wipes, baby wipes for sensitive skin and Diphotérine™) enhanced the dermal absorption of 14C-methyl salicylate. Further work is required to establish the performance of the most effective products identified in this study against chemical warfare agents.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Agro-terrorism and bio-security, threat, response and industry communication

In order to meet my project’s aims I travelled to the agricultural heartland of the eastern United States- Georgia. From here I travelled to Washington DC to meet with key agencies and agricultural bodies. Returning to Atlanta, Georgia via Virginia I went on a road trip across Georgia, to Alabama and Florida. The information and perceptions gathered during this period was used to contextualise the UK situation and consider the threat and the UK’s degree of preparedness for an agroterrorism incident

Implementation of an E-Learning Module To Increase RN Knowledge and Skills of Emergency Preparedness

Background By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. —Benjamin Franklin, writer, philosopher, politician. Having education initiatives for mass casualty incidents and disaster preparedness that are concise and organized is of high importance. This issue is pertinent to the midwestern medical center where this project took place because in the event of a true mass casualty or disaster scenario, many lives could be saved if registered nurses (RNs) in the emergency department (ED) were better prepared. For a hospital to provide adequate and effective care during a crisis, healthcare workers must be effectively trained to do so. However, many studies have found that hospitals across the nation are lacking in this education for hospital staff (Goniewicz et al., 2021a). While guidelines are currently in place within the midwestern medical center for drills, there is no current e- Learning module available to staff which address mass casualty incidents, Sort, Access, Lifesaving Intervention, and Treat or Transport (SALT) triage, and disaster preparedness with information specific to the midwestern medical center’s county. It was the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) student’s goal to create an online educational module for Registered Nurses in the emergency department of the midwestern medical center where this project took place to bridge this gap. Purpose The United States National Preparedness Goal is to achieve a secure and resilient nation with the capabilities required across the whole community to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from the threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk (Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA], 2020a). This project aimed to achieve this at the midwestern medical center where this project took place. The purpose of this project was to bridge knowledge gaps and improve perceived knowledge and perceived skills regarding mass casualty incidents and disaster preparedness in Berrien County through the creation and implementation of an e- Learning module. The hypothesis of this project was that this intervention would improve ED RN knowledge and perceived knowledge and perceived skills regarding mass casualty incidents and disaster preparedness Methods After obtaining IRB approvals from Andrews University and the medical institution of interest, 53 registered nurse participants from three emergency departments at a midwestern medical center were surveyed. Consent was obtained prior to completion of the demographic questionnaire, pre- and post-survey, pre- and post-test, and the e- Learning module. Participants were given a 25 question pre-survey to assess their current perceived knowledge and perceived skills regarding disaster preparedness. They also completed 25 multiple choice questions (MCQ\u27s) to assess their base knowledge of mass casualty incidents, SALT triage, and information on mass casualty and disaster preparedness specific to the county of interest. Immediately after the pre-survey and pretest, participants were presented with the e-Learning module to complete at their own pace. Approximately seven days later, participants were asked to re-take the same test and survey to assess for changes in perceived knowledge, perceived skills, and true knowledge of mass casualty incidents and disaster preparedness

The Impact of Threat Levels at the Casualty Collection Point on Military Medical Evacuation System Performance

One of the primary duties of the Military Health System is to provide effective and efficient medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) to injured battlefield personnel. To accomplish this, military medical planners seek to develop high-quality dispatching policies that dictate how deployed MEDEVAC assets are utilized throughout combat operations. This thesis seeks to determine dispatching policies that improve the performance of the MEDEVAC system. A discounted, infinite-horizon continuous-time Markov decision process (MDP) model is developed to examine the MEDEVAC dispatching problem. The model incorporates problem features that are not considered under the current dispatching policy (e.g., myopic policy), which tasks the closest-available MEDEVAC unit to service an incoming request. More specifically, the MDP model explicitly accounts for admission control, precedence level of calls, different asset types (e.g., Army versus Air Force helicopters), and threat level at casualty collection points. An approximate dynamic programming (ADP) algorithm is developed within an approximate policy iteration algorithmic framework that leverages kernel regression to approximate the state value function. The ADP algorithm is used to develop high-quality solutions for large scale problems that cannot be solved to optimality due to the curse of dimensionality. We develop a notional scenario based on combat operations in southern Afghanistan to investigate model performance, which is measured in terms of casualty survivability. The results indicate that significant improvement in MEDEVAC system performance can be obtained by utilizing either the MDP or ADP generated policies. These results inform the development and implementation of tactics, techniques and procedures for the military medical planning community

Communication during mass casualty decontamination: highlighting the gaps

Following the World Trade Centre attacks of September 2001, there has been an increased focus in the emergency planning community on methods of managing chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) incidents. This has, necessarily, included consideration of methods and processes for rapid decontamination of large numbers of potentially contaminated people. Real-life decontamination incidents have suggested that some contaminated casualties may not comply with decontamination protocols, resulting in a high risk of re-contamination or secondary contamination beyond the incident site. Effective communication has been recognised as an important issue for the management of CBRN incidents. To examine the current provision for communicating with the public during incidents involving decontamination, open source decontamination guidance documents for responders were reviewed, as were published reports of emergency preparedness exercises involving decontamination. The review of decontamination guidance documents showed that specific guidance for professional responders on how to communicate with the public during incidents that involve decontamination could be improved. Similarly, the review of published decontamination exercises shows that a stronger emphasis on communication with members of the public is needed, in addition to the use of exercises to evaluate the effectiveness of communication strategies. Future research is required to understand how members of the public are likely to react to incidents involving decontamination, and how communication strategies employed by emergency responders can affect the behaviour of the public during these types of incidents

Optimal Sampling of a Chemical Hazard Area

This thesis proposes a methodology for optimally sampling a chemical hazard area subsequent to a chemical weapons attack. The objective is to identify the maximum number of areas that no longer require protective gear for safe operations. We model the area as an undirected graph and employ network analysis techniques to provide a methodological framework for identifying an optimal sampling sequence within a fixed time limit. We propose four models that characterize the secondary vapor concentrations: i) static and deterministic, ii) static and stochastic, iii) dynamic and deterministic, and iv) dynamic and stochastic. Comparisons of the static cases and their dynamic counterparts demonstrate the impact of temporal evolution of vapor concentrations on the optimal sampling path. We conclude that the number of safe areas may be either under- or over-estimated depending on the assumed nature of the secondary vapors

A Semantics-Based Common Operational Command System for Multiagency Disaster Response

Disaster response is a highly collaborative and critical process that requires the involvement of multiple emergency responders (ERs), ideally working together under a unified command, to enable a rapid and effective operational response. Following the 9/11 and 11/13 terrorist attacks and the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, it is apparent that inadequate communication and a lack of interoperability among the ERs engaged on-site can adversely affect disaster response efforts. Within this context, we present a scenario-based terrorism case study to highlight the challenges of operational disaster command and response. In this article, which is based on the French emergency response doctrine, we outline a semantics-based common operational command system that is designed to guarantee an efficient information flow among ERs. Our focus is on offering to all ERs, a real-time operational picture of the situation in order to enable multilevel coordination among firefighters, police, healthcare units, public authorities, and other stakeholders. Our approach consolidates information to promote timely sharing of data among ERs. The proposed system is based on an ontology that has been developed to represent the different types of knowledge on the part of ERs, providing a shared vocabulary that covers a variety of interoperability concerns

Practical guidelines on the requirements of a continuous online water-quality monitoring system in drinking-water-supply systems

Recurrent incidents around the world involving the contamination of water-supply systems and the inherent vulnerability of drinking-water networks to chemical, biological and radio nucleotide contamination has increased water utilities’ awareness of the need for rapid and reliable detection of contamination events. Continuous water-quality monitoring is a proactive approach to monitoring water quality for potential contamination through the deployment of advanced technologies and enhanced surveillance to collect, integrate, analyse and communicate information, and is a fundamental element of the water-security plan. This guidance document is aimed at professionals of drinking water supply to support the implementation of such a continuous water-quality monitoring system in water utilities. It provides key definitions and briefly explains each of the components of such a system. For each component, the guidance describes the major points to be considered by the water utility before and during implementation. This document was prepared by the Chemical and Biological Risks to Drinking Water Thematic Group of the European Reference Network for Critical Infrastructure Protection (ERNCIP).JRC.E.2-Technology Innovation in Securit