Organized by CBRNe Society in collaboration with UAE CBRN HUB, NCT Middle East 2022 Congress brought together in Abu Dhabi the main international experts of CBRN worldwide community, and more specifically from the Middle East.
This fifth edition of the Non-Conventional Threats (NCT) Middle East conference, as in previous editions, has become an extraordinary forum in which the CBRN, C-IED and EOD community in the Middle East has been able to exchange experiences and knowledge within of the field of Asymmetric Threats.
As highlighted during the opening of the congress, Lieutenant General Yousef Al Ansari, from the Ministry for Cabinet Affairs of Kuwait, “… the threats of CBRN incidents are a growing risk, for which the Armed Forces and Security, Defense or Emergency Agencies must be prepared and have adequate operational capabilities in terms of Protection, Detection, Identification and Decontamination of chemical, biological or radiological agents…”
This challenge was also recognized by General Hussain Ahmed Al Harthi of the Ministry of the Interior of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who also during the opening of the congress highlighted “… the need to establish strong cooperation relations between the institutions of the different countries to increase their CBRN operation capabilities as well as the resilience to be able to deal effectively with the CBRN threats …”.
NCT Middle East 2022 congress was structured around three thematic sessions:
- CBRNe Terrorism and Asymmetrical Threats in the Middle East
- Pandemic Response and CBRNe Medical Emergency Management
- Rad/Nuc Safety and Security in the MENA region
Under this structure, an extensive lecture program was developed that unraveled the main challenges faced by the Armed Forces, Security, Defense and Emergency Agencies in the management of CBRN threats, with the participation of some of the largest international experts from CBRN community:
- Dr. Ahmed Zaid Saeed Al Shemeili, EU Regional CBRN CoE, UAE
- Captain Eng. Ali Hassan AlMadfaei, Abu Dhabi Civil Defense Authority, UAE
- Colonel Samer Al Habashneh, Jordanian Armed Forces, Jordan
- Dr. Nisreen Al-Hmoud, Royal Scientific Society, Jordan
- Dr Mohamed Al Hajri, Ministry of Public Health, Qatar
- Mr. Georges Saad, Ministry of Public Health, Lebanon
- Mr. Mohamed Ahmed, Customs Authority, Egypt
- Professor Natividad Carpintero-Santamaría, Nuclear Fusion “Guillermo Velarde”, Spain
In this context, Mr. Rafael Arruga, Director of Business Development Hispano Vema, in its lecture “CBRN Decontamination in uncertain scenarios: A challenge for Specialist CBRN Units in Middle East”, addressed the need to have multipurpose, flexible and rapid deployment CBRN decontamination solutions that provide to Specialist CBRN Units of both Armed Forces and Security or Emergency Agencies to manage any CBRN incident with the maximum guarantee.
With a clear target: “Minimizing Risks and Saving Lives” leading the CBRN incident management, it is specially relevant when taking into account that the combination of the 3 main parameters of said incidents (Scenario, People/Materials affected and type of Agent contaminant) makes 13,895 different combinations possible when an CBRN Specialist Unit is notified about a CBRN incident.
From this perspective, each CBRN incident can be considered as a “single” incident that requires a rapid response that minimizes risks and saves the maximum number of human lives. To face this Challenge, CBRN units must be prepared and have standardized but flexible CBRN decontamination systems that facilitate an immediate and effective response in any type of CBRN scenario.
Analyzing the main capabilities that CBRN decontamination systems must provide to CBRN units in terms of Results/Efficiency, Capacity, Flexibility, Deployment Time and Number of Operators. It is concluded that the new concepts of Mobile CBRN Decontamination Stations can provide an optimal solution for this challenge.
As Rafael Arruga highlighted during his presentation “…the mobile CBRN decontamination stations provide decontamination capabilities for People, Vehicles, Equipment, Ground and even Electronic Equipment….they are ergonomic and flexible Stations that provide to CBRN Specialist Units optimal operational capabilities …”
In summary, the NCT Middle East 2022 was a success both for the quality of the presentations made and for the level of the attendees to the congress, and as Colonel (Ret.) Henry Neumann of the Bundeswehr (German Army CBRN Defense) highlighted. and chairman of the congress, during the closing of the same “…the congress is an excellent opportunity for the exchange of information on new technologies, experiences of the specialized CBRN departments of the Armed Forces and Security and Emergency Agencies. Which becomes a very valuable asset to increase the preparation and resilience of our society in the face of asymmetric threats: CBRN, C-IED, EOD,… “
