A collection of the world’s chemical emergency response trainers recently spent a week in the Czech Republic teaching responders how to address crises with chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals.
The training was co-organized by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the Population Protection Institute of the Czech Republic. In all, 17 OPCW member states participated, with participants testing one another and going through the paces of various command roles. The goal was to encourage mutual learning and understanding of a chemical emergency response.
“The training-of-trainers ensures sustainable and efficient use of OPCW resources for capacity building,” OPCW’s Senior Program Officer Shahriar Khateri said. “This course will help build a large base of first responders in the field of assistance and protection against incidents involving chemical warfare agents or toxic industrial chemicals.”
The training, which lasted from May 28 to June 6, represented the 5th international course on Assistance and Protection for instructors. It was an extension of the same effort the OPCW and its 193 member states have been undertaking since the organization’s founding in 1997: eliminating chemical weapons as means of mass destruction.