CBRN

Toxic herbicide spill closes California highway, shelter-in-place order issued

Paraquat spill on Highway 97 in Dorris, California. Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office

Approximately 200 litres of the highly toxic herbicide Paraquat were spilled on a highway in Dorris, California, on Tuesday morning 17 March. The spill led to the Siskiyou County sheriff's office issuing a shelter-in-place order while emergency responders and cleanup crews worked the incident scene. The order was lifted around 21:00 on Tuesday night.

As reported by Action News Now, the spill occurred just 60m away from Butte Valley High School's football field, leading to the cancellation of all outdoor activities. Students were not allowed to leave campus, but parents could pick them up throughout the day. Students leaving the school were provided with masks.

Homeowners in the area were advised to turn off heating, ventilation and air conditioning units, keep doors and windows closed, and avoid outdoor activities. Caltrans District 2 reported that Highway 97 through Dorris was closed and authorities urged anyone who suspects exposure to the chemical to call 911 immediately.

Paraquat, also known as Gramoxone, can be fatal if it is either inhaled, ingested or absorbed through skin, causing multiple organ failure for which there is no antidote. It is widely used for weed control and crop desiccation, and is a heavily regulated herbicide in the United States.

Danish Armed Forces, civil emergency services conduct CBRN exercise

The Danish Armed Forces and civil emergency services conducted an exercise last week in the city of Aarhus to strengthen cooperation between themselves in the event of war and crisis. According to a news release from the Danish Armed Forces, participants were trained to identify and handle injuries related to

Teledyne, Emesent to provide GPS-denied 3D-mapping capabilities in CBRN environments

Teledyne FLIR Defense has announced the expansion of its "Third-Party Payload Integration Program" with the certification of Emesent’s Hovermap LiDAR payload, delivering Emesent’s GPS-denied 3D-mapping capabilities across Teledyne FLIR’s unmanned aerial systems, ground robots and radiation detection platforms. According to a press release from Emesent,

Demolition of US chemical weapons destruction plant begins

Demolition works at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, which was the centrepiece of the United States' destruction of its chemical weapons stockpiles, began on 15 April. According to DVIDS, the demolition subcontractor, Independence Excavating, is tearing down the main plant, while the first structures to come down

Georgian firefighters, first responders conduct CBRN exercise at chemical plant

Firefighters and emergency first responders belonging to the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs' Emergency Situations Management Service have conducted a three-day full-scale CBRN exercise at a chemical plant in Rustavi, south-east of the capital city, Tbilisi. According to the Georgian public broadcaster 1TV, the training, which took place on

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Danish Armed Forces, civil emergency services conduct CBRN exercise

Teledyne, Emesent to provide GPS-denied 3D-mapping capabilities in CBRN environments

Demolition of US chemical weapons destruction plant begins

Georgian firefighters, first responders conduct CBRN exercise at chemical plant