1 / 13

Call for a higher NBC awareness

Call for a higher NBC awareness . Cross-border control of radiological, biological and chemical active and harmful terrorist devices Dr. Carsten Weerth BSc, Bremen / Germany. Starting Point: End of Cold War. Breakdown of the USSR - political landscapes changed dramatically

irma
Download Presentation

Call for a higher NBC awareness

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Call for a higher NBC awareness Cross-border control of radiological, biological and chemical active and harmful terrorist devices Dr. Carsten Weerth BSc, Bremen / Germany

  2. Starting Point: End of Cold War • Breakdown of the USSR - political landscapes changed dramatically • Terrorists / Separatists are seeking dirty bombs • Definition: dirty bomb normally means a Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD) • Extended definition: dirty bomb should comprise all nuclear, biological and chemical substances that can be dispersed by explosives Dr. Carsten Weerth - WCO-Picard-Conference San Jose, Costa Rica

  3. Short History of Dirty Bombs I • 1985 Salmonella was used by followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in The Dalles / USA • 1987 Possible use of X-Fever against British post offices by Ōmu Shinrikyō (so called Aum-Sect) • 1995 Tokyo, Subway-Attack with Sarin by Ōmu Shinrikyō (so called Aum-Sect) • 1996 Russian separatists / terrorists in Chechenya planted a working RDD in a park in Moscow Dr. Carsten Weerth - WCO-Picard-Conference San Jose, Costa Rica

  4. Short History of Dirty Bombs II • 1997 Since then more than 1.500 radioactive devices have been stolen, are lost or are abandoned in the US alone – the US federal government can only account for 660 of those • 2001 Many anthrax attacks to official Departments and the White House by a worker of the biodefence lab, five casualties • 2008 In Bangor, Maine / US a RDD was found in a dead mans home with four small containers of chemicals and uranium Dr. Carsten Weerth - WCO-Picard-Conference San Jose, Costa Rica

  5. Unsettling Facts • NBC substances are normally colorless, odorless and very dangerous • Some NBC substances are easily available within a country • About 30,000 old radiological sources are stored in Europe alone out of which up to 70 sources per year are missing (IAEA) Dr. Carsten Weerth - WCO-Picard-Conference San Jose, Costa Rica

  6. Detection of NBC Devices I • Some NBC substances can be detected easily (nuclear radiation) whereas most are not easily detectable (BC substances) • Radiological sources can easily be detected by help of Geiger Counters (actively counting device) • Border officers can be secured by help of Dosimeters (passively measuring device) Dr. Carsten Weerth - WCO-Picard-Conference San Jose, Costa Rica

  7. Detection of NBC Devices II • Possible biological and chemical NBC substances are manifold • What to look for? How detect NBC s.? • Indicators of dangers may be:- Rapid change of pressure, temperature, acidity, etc. • Detection dogs are not suitable Dr. Carsten Weerth - WCO-Picard-Conference San Jose, Costa Rica

  8. Cross-border Control I • The cross-border traffic of NBC Substances is controlled by a variety of agencies:- (Border-) Police,- Atomic energy agencies, - Internat. Atomic Energy Agency IAEA, - Secret services and- Customs services Dr. Carsten Weerth - WCO-Picard-Conference San Jose, Costa Rica

  9. Cross-border Control II • The cooperation between agencies is bad • Normal customs controls are not regarded as important, yet • Normal customs controls can contribute enormously • US Department of Homeland Security and the federal government are requesting 100% scanning of all containers entering the US Dr. Carsten Weerth - WCO-Picard-Conference San Jose, Costa Rica

  10. Conclusions I • National customs services should gear up their radiological detection equipment • Customs officers should be equipped with passive measuring devices (Dosimeters) • Customs officers should be trained sufficiently • WCO should issue a recommendation for NBC smuggling awareness Dr. Carsten Weerth - WCO-Picard-Conference San Jose, Costa Rica

  11. Conclusions II • Many authorities are chasing smugglers of nuclear substances; BC substances should also been taking into account • Economic operators should contribute also • Security managers are thinking that secure container seals can help to make world trade more secure; I postulate that smart containers and bulk carriers are necessary Dr. Carsten Weerth - WCO-Picard-Conference San Jose, Costa Rica

  12. Smart Containers / Bulk carriers • Black boxes are widely used by airplanes and ships (but also in trucks) to record all readings during a journey in order to make accidents understandable. • For safety and security reasons there should be introduced a smart black box for containers that is able to continuously measure certain values (Temperature, pressure, acidity, radiation). • When a reading is changing rapidly / dramatically an alarm could be raised, because this is an indication of an immediate safety / security danger (such as chemicals leaking, gas evaporating or preparing to explode). Dr. Carsten Weerth - WCO-Picard-Conference San Jose, Costa Rica

  13. Final Remarks • More details are available in the paper, printed in the World Customs Journal • Thank you for your attention! Dr. Carsten Weerth - WCO-Picard-Conference San Jose, Costa Rica

More Related