Understand primary medical and psychological considerations in relation to Industrial/HazMat/CBRN incidents

The term CBRN stands for ‘chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear’, and relates to specific hazards that may be encountered during an incident. The term CBRN is generally reserved for the deliberate release of a hazardous material such as in a terrorist attack, whereas the term Hazmat is used for accidental release or exposure to toxic industrial material. Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) incidents have a disproportionate effect on all aspects of efficient management of casualties. The immediate risks to rescue and healthcare staff, along with damage and threats to existing infrastructure, make CBRN incidents an important consideration to plan and train for, even if the likelihood of encountering them is remote. In addition to the generic ‘all hazards’ approach shared with all major incident planning, CBRN incident management has a number of specific treatments and interventions which require early identification of the agent involved, and thus a high degree of specialist knowledge among responders.