EU CBRN CoE exercise takes place at Chinggis Khan International Airport in Mongolia
A CBRN exercise carried out as part of Project 106 under the European Union CBRN Centres of Excellence initiative has taken place at the Chinggis Khan International Airport in Mongolia.
Designed for airport security personnel and national security services, the exercise was conducted in cooperation with GOPA PACE, ISEM Institute, GOPA Worldwide Consultants, the National Crisis Center and the Biohazard Prevention Centre of the University of Lodz, and with the support of UNICRI.
The exercises simulated an incident involving radioactive substances and toxic chemicals and took place overnight from Sunday to Monday 5-6 July in a "live" environment during normal airport operations. However, the event did not disrupt ongoing operations and passengers were kept informed about the ongoing activities. It was noted that, for most participants, it was their first experience with a CBRN incident, and they praised the scenario's realism, the involvement of diverse forces and resources, the need for interagency coordination and the importance of interagency communication.
Exercise participants included the National Counter-Terrorism Council of Mongolia, Mongolian Police, emergency services, radiological control authorities, public health authorities, Mongolia's Civil Aviation Security Service, Mongolia's General Intelligence Agency, Mongolian Border Protection Agency, the customs service, Nubia Technology, and Mongolia's ministries of the environment and climate change, and industry and mineral resources.
A report from the University of Lodz noted that the event was preceded by several days of training for local experts from participating organisations, including from Maksymilian Stela an expert from the Center for Biological Threat Prevention at the University of Lodz. He was also responsible for managing the role-players and event simulators during the exercise, introducing subsequent incidents into the scenario, and evaluating the entire project.
Following the exercise, the Mongolian side will receive an evaluation report, including identified gaps, needs, recommendations and observed best practices, and they have expressed a willingness to participate in future exercises of this type.
