By Gautam Debroy
New Delhi: Stating that the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) needs to be prepared to face any eventuality as far as Chemical, Radiological, Biological and Nuclear (CRBN) incidents are concerned, director general of the disaster response force Piyush Anand Wednesday said that his department keeps evaluating the equipment need to counter all such challenge from time to time.
“We have equipment to counter CRBN. And we keep upgrading such equipment whenever required,” Anand told ETV Bharat. The NDRF director general said that there should be proper coordination between NDRF and SDRF.
"We should collaborate with each other. We have suggested to the SDRF to communicate with us (NDRF) in case they need any latest equipment," said Anand. Asserting that the identification of chemicals is very much necessary in case of any incident, Anand said that NDRF has hazmat vehicles to respond to CRBN disasters. "These customised vehicles are designed to operate in extreme conditions," he said. Anand said that in the ongoing Maha Kumbh mela, NDRF has deployed the latest equipment to counter any possible CRBN threat.
NDRF - The Lead Federal Agency To Counter CRBN
NDRF is the lead federal agency mandated to deal with all natural and man-made disasters in the country except fire. It is one of the agencies that respond to CBRN contingencies in the public domain in coordination with other stakeholders under the supervision of nodal ministries and agencies. 180 CRBN teams each with a strength of 47 are authorised in NDRF and placed at various locations across the country.
So far 9134 NDRF officers and men have undergone CRBN training including 61 Radiological Safety Officers (RSOs), 255 Training of Trainers (ToTs) Courses, 120 Master Trainers (MTs) Courses and 34 Mobile Radiation Detection System (MRDS) Courses.
Capacity Building
NDRF conducts capacity building by conducting training of first responders including the SDRF, other stakeholders, and Community and Volunteers. Besides awareness generation is also conducted by NDRF during the conduct of the Community Awareness Programme (CAP). NDRF also conducts mock drill exercises in coordination with other stakeholders and expert agencies in CBRN. So far 316 mock exercises in CBRN contingencies have been conducted with 97,603 beneficiaries.
Chemical, Radiological, Biological and Nuclear Threat
According to a Parliamentary Committee report, the potential threat from Chemical, Radiological, Biological and Nuclear includes the use of CRBN materials by non-state actors in the form of dirty bombs, dispersal devices and bioweapons. The 9th Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) Review Conference was held in Geneva from November 28–December 16, 2022. It decided to establish a Working Group (WG) open to all state parties to identify, examine and develop specific and effective measures, including possible legally binding measures, and to make recommendations to strengthen and institutionalise the Convention in all its aspects.
Working Group Over CRBN
The WG will meet annually. The first substantial meeting of the WG took place in Geneva from 7-18 August 2023. Notably, and in a positive departure from work in previous BWC review conference intersession periods, one of the mandates of the WG has been identified as "measures on compliance and verification".
The 9th BWC review conference decided to develop with a view to establishing a mechanism open to all state parties to facilitate and support the full implementation of international cooperation and assistance. The WG will make recommendations in order for this mechanism to be established. The 9th BWC review conference also decided to develop with a view to establishing a mechanism to review and assess scientific and technological developments relevant to the convention and to provide States parties with relevant advice.
India’s Initiatives To Meet Global Challenge Of CRBN Terrorism
In its submission made before the Parliamentary Committee regarding the initiatives taken to meet the global challenge of CRBN terrorism, the Ministry of External Affairs has said that India annually tables a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly First Committee titled “Measures to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction”.
The resolution calls upon UN Member States to take measures aimed at preventing terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction and to support international efforts in this regard. India is party to all the 13 universal instruments against terrorism, including the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT).
India is a party to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) and its Amendment. India has been implementing commitments under UN Security Council Resolutions 1540 and 1373, in its resolve to fight against terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Fight Against Illicit Trafficking Of Nuclear And Other Radioactive Material
India is committed to combating the illicit trafficking of nuclear and other radioactive material, including through enhanced radiological surveillance; voluntary information sharing within the frame of relevant databases including the Incident and Trafficking Database (ITDB) to which India contributes; and ensuring that the material cannot be used by non-State actors in criminal or terrorist acts or non-peaceful purposes.
India's Domestic Preparedness
India has a system for the prevention and detection of threats of malicious acts involving radioactive and nuclear materials, and also preparedness for response to such emergencies. The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) along with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is the nodal department for any crisis arising due to the release of radioactivity in the public domain within the country (including any release due to malicious acts using radioactive material).
Crisis Management Plan
DAE has prepared its 'Crisis Management Plan' which includes response during any crisis scenario arising due to malicious acts during transport of radioactive and nuclear material or explosion of RDD (Radiological Dispersal Device). A 'Crisis Management Group' exists at DAE, to deal with any nuclear or radiological emergency in the public domain. A 24x7 ECR (Emergency Communication Room) is maintained at DAE for emergency communications.
Atomic Energy Regulatory Board
The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) provides robust regulatory measures for the security of nuclear and radiological material through continuous oversight carried out by a large pool of highly trained and specialised manpower dedicated to this purpose. To augment the national nuclear detection architecture in India, 10 more Emergency Response Centers (ERC) have been set up in addition to the existing 25 ERCs. India has also developed “State of the Art” Radiation Monitoring Systems for large areas with radioactive contamination in case of nuclear and radiological emergencies and threats. The system can search, detect and provide quick qualitative and quantitative assessment of orphan radioactive sources. Training courses on 'Preparedness and Response to Radiation Emergencies' are routinely carried out for the response agencies and radiation emergency exercises are conducted at regular intervals.
Counter Nuclear Smuggling Team
India has an inter-ministerial Counter Nuclear Smuggling Team (CNST) to strengthen the nuclear security regime by covering prevention, detection, and investigation including forensic support, and prosecution of the act of smuggling, and to strengthen the inter-agency platform for the exchange of information, coordination, cooperation to counter nuclear smuggling incidents to prevent illicit movement of radioactive material.
