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The current geopolitical situation suggests an increasing possibility of radiological dispersal device attacks on sensitive targets. Consequently, understanding the transport of radiation over great distances in a short time can help first responders and decision makers in effectively managing emergencies. By utilizing open-source computational codes, intentional releases of radioactive material and their transmission from person to person can be simulated to provide first responders and decision makers with a rapid tool to facilitate their work. In this study, the HotSpot code was employed to simulate two releases of Cs-137 resulting from the detonation of a dirty bomb in a major city and near an aqueduct waterworks. Additionally, the STEM code was used to simulate radiation propagation from the initially affected individuals, drawing comparisons to the vectors of viral infections. This approach allowed to compare the outcomes of a scenario involving many individuals in an urban setting with another scenario having fewer individuals but posing the risk of contaminating critical infrastructure. The results showed that both scenarios had similar relatively mild health consequences for the population, despite their considerable differences and variations in the analyzed timelines. However, both scenarios present numerous challenges in emergency management. In the first case, the incident generates widespread panic and media frenzy. In the second case, the dissemination of radiation and potential public unawareness must be taken into account. Addressing these considerations needs the involvement of multiple stakeholders, including police, firefighters, healthcare professionals, journalists, politicians, and others, in emergency management efforts.

The intentional use of highly pathogenic microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses or their toxins, to spread mass-scale diseases that destabilize populations (with motivations of religious or ideological belief, monetary implications, or political decisions) is defined as bioterrorism. Although the success of a bioterrorism attack is not very realistic due to technical constraints, it is not unlikely and the threat of such an attack is higher than ever before. It is now a fact that the capability to create panic has allured terrorists for the use of biological agents (BAs) to cause terror attacks. In the era of biotechnology and nanotechnology, accessibility in terms of price and availability has spread fast, with new sophisticated BAs often being produced and used. Moreover, there are some BAs that are becoming increasingly important, such as toxins produced by bacteria (e.g., Botulinum toxin, BTX), or Enterotoxyn type B, also known as Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B (SEB)) and extractions from plants. The most increasing records are with regards to the extraction / production of ricin, abrin, modeccin, viscumin and volkensin, which are the most lethal plant toxins known to humans, even in low amounts. Moreover, ricin was also developed as an aerosol biological warfare agent (BWA) by the US and its allies during World War II, but was never used. Nowadays, there are increasing records that show how easy it can be to extract plant toxins and transform them into biological weapon agents (BWAs), regardless of the scale of the group of individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nine lines or points related to Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear agents (CBRN) pocket response card represents a quick form that the operator can entirely fill with critical information of his investigation during the 5-10 first minutes after his arrival on the scene. The idea is, that, in a very short time, all the necessary information will be shared directly with other emergency services or emergency management services, so that everybody is aware of what they are dealing with, and what kind of equipment and personnel needs to be deployed or dispatched. This card is intended to implement a harmonized model of information flow between first responders, being able to act more quickly in prevention, first aid, and managing the incident at the scene, whether it is an act of terrorism, traffic accident or standard industrial incident. The card will be available for different emergency services, such as police, fire department, civil protection units and emergency first responders. This will help to integrate the different missions that every single emergency management system (EMS) unit has to cover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gamma spectrometry hand-held instrument may show considerable analytical performances and even if they are not specifically taught for quantitative environmental analysis, in this work we evaluate the performance of one of them in this field comparing the results with ICP-MS, the reference technique in this field. In our work we want to evaluate the possibility to use the analytical performances offered by a portable gamma spectrometer as confirmatory technique. We used for this test soils contaminated with thorium, an increasing interest pollutant, widely present in natural sediments and also emitted in environment by several anthropogenic processes such modern agricultural practices, industrial and military application. Thorium is expected also to increase in interest, for its possible exploitation as nuclear fuel instead of uranium by some countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CBRNe events that occur in a geographic location can have consequences on human health and/or infrastructures, even in places very far away from that where the event happened. Thus, the effects of such events often have an influence on the response systems of various countries, from a socio-economic point of view, from where the event had its origin. In this work, the authors dealt with the evaluation of the consequences of the accident at the Fukushima (Japan) nuclear power plant and in particular with the management of the effects of this event in a European country (Italy). The study was focused on the clinical examination of 50 people coming back to Italy from Japan in the days immediately following the disaster that occurred at the Fukushima nuclear power plant as an effect of the tsunami. During the screening, external and internal contaminations were checked; thyroidal monitoring was carried out to estimate the exposure to Cs and I. For all the 50 monitored persons, the measured values of contamination were not higher than the attention value, so the basic level analyses were sufficient, without the need to do further and more thorough examinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forensic microbiology came into the spotlight after the anthrax attack in September 2001 in the US. It is a new discipline that is able to trace the origin of a biological agent using a range of biological analyses, and it is based on the fast and accurate detection and identification of microorganisms found at a biological crime scene. In this paper, we will discuss the importance of forensic microbiology in CBRNe investigations. The technologies that are used for forensic microbiology, along with the most significant cases in which this discipline was successfully applied will also be described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biohazards represent an important issue in the field of security, both for the destructive potential and the psychological, economic and social impact that the use of biological agents for biowarfare could have on populations. Early identification of an intentional biological event is essential to ensure correct management and response to the emergency. Much effort for the development of innovative equipment that permit prompt and remote detection of biological warfare agents are needed to achieve this goal. In this work, the different detection systems suitable in the CBRN context for biological agents will be analyzed, focusing on non-specific and specific point-detection systems, and stand-off detection systems, evaluating the pros and cons of each technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]