The Federal Foreign Office of Germany and the OPCW jointly supported the course, which was hosted by the Department of Safety Engineering at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal (BUW) from 5 to 9 December 2011. It was the second such course held at the BUW for the Africa region and was attended by 15 participants from 14 States Parties.*
Chemical safety management plays a vital role in reducing and eliminating the possible misuse of toxic industrial chemicals or other hazardous substances which can pose a serious threat to people’s lives, the environment and industrial economic performance.
The course began with a briefing on the Chemical Weapons Convention focused on those provisions whose implementation involves the chemical industry. Other topics included relevant legislation, operational and environmental risks, hazard assessment, emergency planning, risk and disaster communication, and risks associated with human factors.
Lectures were accompanied by discussions on process control engineering, manipulation of protective devices, and safety management. Participants took part in practical exercises carried out in a laboratory and at a BUW mini-plant specially built for the purpose, and also visited a chemical plant site in the vicinity.
Participants were encouraged to use the knowledge gained in the course to help develop a culture of safety in their working environments.
* Botswana, Cameroon, Comoros, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.