Authorities Preparing To Make Delhi Airport Emergency Ready!

Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport will now have increased safety and rapid response against threats and emergency.

In a bid to do this about 50 officials from   Delhi Police, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), cargo workers, airlines staff and firefighters will be trained at the Delhi airport to handle Chemical, Biological, Radiological & Nuclear (CBRN) emergency situations.

This programme was initiated after the National DisasterManagement Authority (NDMA) carried out a survey at airports across country to find out preparedness against CBRN threats and identified gaps.

Here’s how the training will take place:

• The training will be conducted by the NDMA officials along with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Airports Authority to India (AAI)
• They are focusing on training these officers and enabling them to be able to manage the emergency situation until the experts reach the site to contain the situation
• The programme will have various aspects of the CBRN emergency including safety, detection of CBRN threat, precautions against it and then how to manage such an emergency
• The training will start on December 10 and will go on for five days

The programme will be led by Mr. S.K.Mishra, Senior consultant to NDMA & a former scientists at Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

Experts from DAE, Institute of Nuclear Medicine Allied Sciences (INMAS), Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will also cover the lecture sessions and field exercises.

In case you didn’t know, isotopes used for medical purposes are often stored in cargo terminals at airport, along with other hazardous chemicals. This is very hazardous and can lead to an unwanted emergency situation, making airports  vulnerable to radiological threats.

Airport authorities will be trained on what to do and what not to do in such situations.