CBRN and Hazmat Incidents at Major Public Events: Planning and Response

PART V

Practical Scenarios

Instead of trying to tie the first four sections of the book together in a formal conclusion, I feel that the best way to end the book is to put the theory into practice through scenarios. People tend to learn more and remember longer when they are given a chance to put theoretical learning into practical application. Since CBRN/HAZMAT situations at major events do not happen very often, it is unlikely that readers will get much opportunity to “learn by doing” in a live environment. Therefore, planners and responders will need to be satisfied with training exercises.

The various scenarios in this part of the book are intended to serve several purposes. They can be used as a basis for initial planning to help event planners conceptualize the types of things that could happen if CBRN/HAZMAT incidents do occur. These scenarios can be an initial starting point for developing your own threat basis and planning thresholds tailored to your own situation. Above and beyond the basic planning effort, these scenarios are good fodder for training exercises, whether they are simple tabletop discussions or dynamic exercises with lots of participants.

In some circumstances, I risk repeating points made in earlier chapters, but I do so in order to stress important points. The scenarios that I have written all follow the same basic format. Each scenario includes the following components.

BACKGROUND

In the scenario background, I describe why have I included the scenario ...