United Kingdom to Create Decontamination Service

The British government yesterday announced plans to create a new service to aid in the decontamination of buildings and the environment from WMD agents (see GSN, Jan. 21).

The new service will aid organizations in developing and testing decontamination plans, assess the ability of private companies to conduct decontamination efforts, ensure access to those services, and advise the government on creating a national decontamination capability, according to a statement released by the British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

“The new Decontamination Service will have a U.K.-wide remit to help those responsible for clearing up after a CBRN [chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear] incident, such as local authorities, to make sure they have considered and planned for decontamination,” Environment Minister Elliot Morley said in the press release.

“It will also ensure that if there were an incident involving CBRN, authorities would be able to call upon a carefully assessed panel of specialist companies to carry out the decontamination operations,” he added (British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs release, Jan. 25).

The British Royal Society praised the initiative, but said officials should consider expanding the service’s mandate.

“The Society believes that such a service should also encompass the detection of CBRN materials in the event of an incident because the two measures are so intrinsically linked. Quickly and accurately establishing the nature of a release is essential to deciding what decontaminating steps need to be taken,” the science academy stated yesterday in a press release.

“In addition, the service is limiting itself to the decontamination of buildings and the environment when easy access to expertise on the decontamination of people, animals and vehicles at the scene of an incident is also needed” (Royal Society release, Jan. 25).

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