In a significant development aimed at enhancing preparedness against radiological and nuclear threats, Dr. Sc. Damir Trut, Director of the Directorate of Civil Protection, along with Dr. Stela Popovic, Acting Head of the Service for Nuclear Safety, and their team, welcomed a high-profile delegation from the Organizing Committee of the CSCM 2023 Congress on Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Sciences and Consequences Management. This meeting marked the beginning of a knowledge transfer initiative of great importance.
The distinguished delegation, comprising experts from various corners of the globe, included Dr. Bryon Marsh, a CBRN Programs and Business Development specialist from the Idaho National Laboratory, USA; LTC. (ret) Jeffrey D. Allen, President of the CSCM Educational Foundation; Prof. Roberto Mugavero, Observatory on Security and CBRNe Defense and Council of Europe’s European Centre for Disaster Medicine president; and Prof. Zvonko Orehovec, a faculty member at the University of Applied Sciences, Velika Gorica Faculty of Natural Sciences.
The primary focus of the delegation’s presentation was a comprehensive initiative to provide education and training on radiological and nuclear threats to countries in Southeast Europe through collaboration with the Directorate of Civil Protection and RACVIAC in the Republic of Croatia.
Director Trut expressed his gratitude for the proposal and the ongoing cooperation, emphasizing the tremendous significance of the initiative, not just for Croatia but also for other European Union member states and third countries in the region. He highlighted the timeliness of this initiative in light of the global security situation.
“The Republic of Croatia has established a legislative framework for the protection of critical infrastructure. However, the complex process of implementation, including protection from CBRN threats, demands further education and training of experts in this field,” Director Trut explained. “Our future plans include the establishment of a unified laboratory for all types of CBRN threats in Croatia. In this regard, assistance is invaluable, and the Directorate of Civil Protection is open to all forms of collaboration. We aspire to expand our cooperation to include the Ruđer Bošković Institute, the Republic of Croatia’s leading scientific research institution.”
The CSCM 2023 Congress, scheduled to take place in Cavtat from October 22 to 27, 2023, is set to attract more than 200 participants from over 40 countries worldwide. The event will bring together esteemed military and police professionals, as well as scientists specializing in security, defense, medicine, toxicology, biochemical sciences, physics, and bio-technological sciences.
The key themes of the Congress will revolve around safeguarding critical infrastructure from CBRN risks, protecting CBRN infrastructure facilities, showcasing cutting-edge Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technologies, situational awareness technologies, and measures against emerging threat scenarios. Additionally, the event will place significant emphasis on analyzing lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to assess the capabilities of national security and defense systems in pandemic scenarios, including the state of protective equipment.
The Congress will feature two workshops, focusing on modern technology in critical infrastructure protection and the detection, identification, and analysis of radioactive elements following nuclear incidents. Furthermore, a practical exercise will be conducted during the Congress, illustrating the security and defense protocols of the Republic of Croatia in response to a radiological incident at the border, while also showcasing novel technologies to combat CBRNe risks.