Aim
The course will help participating States Parties enhance the abilities and skills of their national instructors when training first responders in how to provide protection against chemical weapons and other toxic chemicals, as well as in how to manage chemical incidents. The course will also provide an overview of the kinds of assistance the OPCW, the host country, and other States Parties in Africa can provide in the area of assistance and protection.
Content
The course will cover the following topics:
- Planning and building a support team for civilian protection and defence;
- Rescue and decontamination operations in contaminated areas; and
- Appropriate responses and countermeasures in the event of incidents involving chemical-warfare agents or toxic chemicals.
The course will also include individual and team procedures, tactics, and processes to deliver required operational readiness and to understand the complexity of hot/warm/cold zone management during chemical incidents. In addition, it will offer an introduction to the use of individual and collective protective equipment, to monitoring, detection, and decontamination, and to sampling techniques. It will also facilitate the exchange of information and experiences regarding the implementation of Article X of the Chemical Weapons Convention.