HOMELAND SECURITY O
f all the acts of terrorism the most feared involve the use of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear
(CBRN) materials. Since the appalling attacks on the United States over ten years ago the UK has spent a great deal of money preparing to deal with such an event as part of the Prepare element of the Government’s Counter Terrorism (CONTEST) strategy. The UK CBRN Resilience Programme was established within the Government’s wider CONTEST strategy, bringing together CBRN expertise from across government and other agencies. The Police Operational Programme (PORP)
was the Police Service’s response to the CBRN Resilience Programme. The responsibility for delivering the PORP was led by the Police National CBRN Centre at Ryton-on-Dunsmore – known as the PN CBRN C. One aspect of PORP for PN CBRN C was to enhance the co-ordination of the Police Response to a CBRN Event with co-ordination being defi ned as ‘the ability to maintain operationally and over time’. To this end, a 24/7 Operations Centre was established within the Centre with the remit and aim to provide fi rst hand advice and guidance for Police Forces dealing with potential CBRN incidents and to act as a conduit to very specialised scientifi c advice. Since January 2010 to 20 March 2012, PN CBRN C has been notifi ed of, and provided advice in relation to, 326 suspected but ultimately unsubstantiated incidents.
White powder events In 2010 there were 126 incidents reported to the Centre of which 56 (44%) were designated as ‘white powder’ events - defi ned as ‘a suspicious, unidentifi ed solid, liquid, gel, crystal or granular material, of any colour, not believed to be explosives or drugs’ (Responding to Incidents Involving White Powder or Other Suspicious Substances, Police National CBRN Guidance, Circulation Number 0001/2009 - issued January 2009). These can arise from a number of possible sources, such as the chalk put down by running groups who often send out a hare fi rst to chart a course. The incidents come to attention because of the locations where the white powder is detected - a common location is Royal Mail sorting offi ces which observe material emanating from envelopes. The anthrax episode in the US that claimed
fi ve lives after 9/11 were all linked to locations in the US postal service. Suspected chemical and biological reporting takes up 19% and 14% of the remaining entries for the year, with only six events designated as being related to suspected radiation, and four to the discovery of explosives. In 2011 white-powder incidents accounted
for 49% of the 142 incidents recorded in the Centre’s database. Some 34 suspected chemical events accounted for the majority of the rest of the reporting. In the year up until near the end of March 2012 the balance between white powder and chemical reporting was equal - at 19 events in each category.
(top to bottom) Mount Pleasant Royal Mail Sorting Offi ce in London; CBRN tents being set up during a drill in central London; a mail scanning system in use at postal facilities and major businesses (MailSort); the most notorious case of white powder mailing – the anthrax letters in October 2001. One of the fi ve letters tainted with anthrax spores is examined (FBI).
Radiation – low incidence Of all the reporting recorded in the Centre’s database the total number of suspected radiation incidents is interesting. Of the 326 total recorded, only 17 have been linked to radiological events. This is a mere 5% of the reporting and is hardly a signifi cant statistical sample from which to draw signifi cant conclusions. Given the huge investment that has been understandably been made in deploying radiological detection equipment, such as the Project Cyclamen radiological sensors at major ports of entry, this is an encouraging fi gure. Headline writers have been quick to note occasions where the detectors have been triggered by people who are in receipt of cancer treatment. In comparison the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) reported a total of 2,164 radiological smuggling incidents across the world between 1993 and the end of 2011 with 147 in 2011. Given they are the result of worldwide reporting, the number of events reported in the UK over the analysis period does not seem dramatically out of kilter.
Targeting the mail In 2011, 70 of the total of 142 reported incidents (49%) came from seven main sources. In 2010 this fi gure had been 37%. These clusters of reporting are understandable: 18 arose in 2011 from a number of Royal Mail sorting offi ces and were mainly focused on white-powder incidents. That fi gure was twice that reported in 2010. An additional fi ve reports arose from the massive Mount Pleasant Sorting Offi ce in London and came from the Metropolitan Police. An additional three incidents were reported by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to bring their year total to a surprisingly low fi gure of eight in total. In 2010 the Metropolitan Police had
generated just four CBRN-related incident reports. This is refl ective of the degree of indigenous expertise in CBRN matters that exists within the Metropolitan Police. It is not a guide as to the level of actual events attended
CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL & NUCLEAR WARFARE | 2012/02 | 15
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