Chemical
Members of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health on Wednesday considered proposed updates to the nation’s law on preparing for and responding to national and global public health emergencies resulting from any chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) agent, toxin,... Read More »
With cancer, diabetes, heart conditions and other chronic diseases on the rise in the Caribbean, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently launched a four-year project to improve radiation medicine capabilities across the region’s 32 island countries.
IAEA convened a coordination... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to host an informational event on June 13 for those interested in participating in a new program that seeks to temporarily leverage the human body’s natural genetic responses to counter biological, chemical, and radiological threats.... Read More »
The European Union (EU)-U.S. Joint Ministerial Meeting on Justice and Home Affairs held in Bulgaria on Tuesday and Wednesday allowed leaders to discuss joint efforts to combat terrorism, information sharing, efforts to prevent radicalization, aviation security, and chemical, biological,... Read More »
The U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee on May 23 approved 22-1 the pending Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2018, S.2852.
S. 2852, introduced on May 15 by U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), would reauthorize certain programs under... Read More »
Marines and first responders with Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF), the Provost Marshal’s Office, and MCAS Miramar Fire Department recently conducted an exercise that simulated a bioterrorism attack at MCAS Miramar, California.
Marines with... Read More »
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is calling on students and young professionals from around the world to offer new ideas regarding communication around nuclear and radiological emergencies.
Calling the effort the “Young Innovative Communicators Competition,” participants must... Read More »
An Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) reported Wednesday that it determined chlorine was likely used as a chemical weapon in Saraqib, Idlib Governorate, Syrian Arab Republic, on Feb. 4.
The FFM concluded that chlorine was released from... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), who crafted and sponsored the nation’s original law protecting public health during man-made and natural disasters, and then took the lead on the law’s subsequent restructuring, again has commanded the next phase of reauthorizing the Pandemic and All-Hazards... Read More »
The upcoming Clade X exercise hosted by the Center for Health Security, which is part of the Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, will show the world how United States presidential advisors would handle policy decisions for an unfolding mock pandemic crisis.
“The... Read More »
A regional basic training course offered by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in Panama from April 23-27 allowed first responders from Latin America and the Caribbean to improve chemical incident response capabilities.
Organized jointly by OPCW and the Panamanian... Read More »
Relief units and firefighters, police, rescue services and disaster management emergency physicians are all too familiar with the process of caring for patients who have become ill, or were injured by contact with chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) agents, according to the German... Read More »
Until now, a deadly effect of certain chemical weapons has been unstoppable seizures that can lead to death or brain damage, but a partnership between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Proniras Corporation seeks to develop a drug treatment to end those effects.
HHS’... Read More »
A new federal grant program would help state and local police departments purchase screening equipment that can rapidly identify fentanyl and other dangerous substances in the field under a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on Thursday.
Under the Providing Officers with Electronic Resources... Read More »
Bipartisan members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee released a discussion draft on Thursday aimed at improving the nation’s ability to prepare for and respond to deliberate bioterrorist attacks or naturally occurring pandemics in the United States.
The draft... Read More »
Leadership from the Alliance for Biosecurity urged Congressional lawmakers at a hearing on Thursday to increase funding for programs to protect Americans from biological and chemical threats.
Speaking before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and... Read More »
A reconnaissance mission led by the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) was forced to turn back from Douma, Syria, this week under fire.
The mission was meant to be a preliminary for an Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Fact-Finding Mission in the... Read More »
Chlorinated lipids may be the answer to quickly testing and treating individuals who may have been exposed to chlorine gas, a Saint Louis University professor recently said.
Quickly determining which chemical agent was used is allows medical personnel to take appropriate countermeasures to save... Read More »
U.S. agencies need a more predictable and accessible source of funds to support a rapid response to public health emergencies, including outbreaks of disease and bioterror attacks, U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) said Wednesday.
Cole addressed a panel of government officials testifying at a House... Read More »
Brunei Darussalam created a plan to establish a National Authority and draft implementing legislation on the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) during a National Awareness-Raising and Legislative Assistance Workshop held recently April in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.
Workshop participants... Read More »
A group of U.S. Senators recently called on the Trump Administration to take action to stop a “Syria-North Korea sanctions evasion scheme and North Korean efforts to advance Syria’s chemical weapons technology.”
Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), John Cornyn (R-TX), David Perdue (R-GA), Cory Gardner... Read More »
The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) announced recently several leadership changes within the organization.
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen and Nathalie Tocci, director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali in Italy, joined the organization's Board of... Read More »
Anthrax vaccine BioThrax gained market authorization in five countries in the European Union (EU) on Thursday after manufacturer Emergent BioSolutions successfully completed the mutual recognition procedure application process.
Emergent will market the BioThrax in Italy, the Netherlands,... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced in a press release Wednesday that it is “deeply alarmed” by reports of suspected toxic chemical attacks in Douma city in East Ghouta, Syria.
An estimated 500 patients presented to health facilities showing signs and symptoms consistent with... Read More »
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will embark upon a mission to Douma, as a means of addressing chemical weapon allegations.
Officials said the OPCW Technical Secretariat has requested the Syrian Arab Republic make the necessary arrangements for such a deployment.... Read More »
A suspected chemical weapons attack by the Asaad regime last week has been condemned by U.S. President Donald Trump, who also called out Russia and Iran for backing Asaad.
“Many dead, including women and children, in mindless chemical attack in Syria. Area of atrocity is in lockdown and... Read More »
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Radiological Assistance Program (RAP) teams from across the country recently underwent classroom and field training as part of the Radiological Assistance Program Training for Emergency Response (RAPTER) in Las Vegas.
“RAP team members are often... Read More »
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) led an enforcement action, called Operation Disarray, last week that led to hundreds of interactions and arrests of individuals involved in the online sale of opiates.
The operation, the first of its kind to occur at the same time in all 50 states, was... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently highlighted a four-year Underground Transport Restoration project conducted with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prepare for and respond to bioterrorism attacks on subway systems.
Conducted by the DHS Science and Technology... Read More »
New technology acquired by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport, as well as draft legislation introduced by Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN), could help CBP prevent opioids from entering the United... Read More »
The Trump Administration’s announcement on Monday that 60 Russian diplomats would be expelled from the country, and the Russian consulate in Seattle would be closed, in response to chemical weapons attacks on British soil met applause from U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ).
The United Kingdom has... Read More »
United States preparedness against terrorist attacks from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) agents includes prep and planning for the public, as well as for the first responders who will be on the front lines during a catastrophic emergency event.
Dr. Robert Kadlec, Assistant... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and HIV Medical Association (HIVMA) have released policy and research recommendations regarding infectious diseases and the opioid epidemic.
IDSA and HIVMA members said they are encouraging Congress and the Trump Administration to pursue... Read More »
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the National Committee for the Prohibition of Weapons (NCPW) of Qatar recently held a chemical safety and security seminar in Doha, Qatar, for OPCW Member States in the Asian Region.
Fifty-three participants from government, the... Read More »
A resolution introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday condemns Russia’s recent chemical weapons attacks in the United Kingdom and calls for the United States to take “additional measures” to ensure that there are consequences for the use of chemical weapons.
U.K.... Read More »
