Partcipants at a Course on Chemical Safety Management for States Parties in Africa, which was held in Wuppertal, Germany from 4 – 8 November 2013.
With the support of the Federal Foreign Office, Government of Germany, the OPCW and the Bergische Universität Wuppertal jointly organised a course on chemical-safety management for States Parties in Africa.
A total of 16 qualified participants from 11 States Parties* successfully completed the course held at the Department of Safety Engineering at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal (hereinafter “BUW”) in Germany from 4 to 8 November 2013. The course was supported through a generous voluntary contribution from the Federal Foreign Office, Government of Germany. This is the fourth course held at the BUW for the States Parties in Africa on chemical safety management.
The course began with a briefing on the Convention and the role played by the OPCW in the areas of chemical safety and security. The briefing also included a review of the international cooperation programmes that the Organisation offers to its Member States. The topics covered during the training included relevant legislation, risks, both operational and environmental, fire, explosive and toxic hazards, hazard assessment and CBRNE protection. Discussions took place on process-control engineering, manipulation of protection devices, and safety management. The programme also covered disaster management and emergency response, and risks associated with human factors. The programme of activities included practical exercises carried out in a laboratory and at the mini-plant especially built at the BUW to train the participants. As part of the course, visits were undertaken to a chemical plant in the region, Axalta, as well as to the Fire Department of Solingen/Wuppertal.
During the course, participants gained the necessary skills to implement modern technical-safety practices and to fulfil their responsibilities to develop sustainable safety management related to the chemical industry. The participants were encouraged to contribute to the development of a culture of safety in their working environments.
* Cameroon, Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan and Tunisia.