EDGARTOWN, MA— At suspected weapons of mass destruction (WMD) incidents, monitoring and sampling activities must be carried out to determine if WMD are involved and, if so, the type of weapon used. Little training has been available for emergency responders that addresses this complex subject. Now, Emergency Film Group has produced Detecting Weapons of Mass Destruction, a video-based training program that tackles this difficult technical subject and presents it in a way that is easy to understand.
Designed for special operations units such as hazmat teams, bomb squads, tactical units and the military, Detecting Weapons of Mass Destruction focuses on techniques and equipment used as part of initial emergency response operations. It explains detection priorities and the technologies used to monitor for radiation, explosives, chemical weapons and biological weapons. Made in collaboration with over two dozen equipment manufacturers, the program examines dosimeters, radiation pagers, contamination survey instruments, spectrometry, high-speed chromatography, infrared spectroscopy, test strips, wet chemistry kits, combustible gas indicators, biological sampling kits, immunoassays, detector tubes, surface acoustic wave technology, and many other methods used to detect terrorist weapons. The advantages and limitations of each type of technology are discussed, including the issue of false positives and the necessity of documenting findings.
Principal photography for Detecting Weapons of Mass Destruction took place in Bourne, MA, Cambridge, MA and Orange County, NY with the assistance of local emergency responders. Technical committee members for the program include Armando Bevelacqua, District Chief, Orlando Fire Department; Frank Docimo, HazMat Officer for the Turn of River Fire Dept. in Stamford, CT and co-chairperson of Connecticut's Hazardous Materials Awareness Committee; Chris Hawley, Baltimore County Fire Dept. and the author of Hazardous Materials Air Monitoring & Detection Devices; Steve & Carol Maslansky, principals of GeoEnvironmental Consultants, Inc. and the authors of Air Monitoring Instrumentation; and Greg Noll, principal in the hazardous materials consulting firm Hildebrand & Noll Associates and the co-author of Hazardous Materials: Managing the Incident.
Detecting Weapons of Mass Destruction is available both on VHS and DVD. Included with the package is a Guide that provides further assistance in examining and comparing the specifications of the various technologies.
Emergency Film Group uses leading professionals in emergency response and film production to create authoritative and accurate training programs for fire departments, hazmat teams, emergency management, police, EMS, the military and other emergency responders. Winner of more than 120 awards in national and international competition, the company addresses such timely topics as terrorism response, homeland security, hazardous chemicals, incident command, protective clothing, air monitoring, and more.
For more information, or for a free color catalog describing all programs available from the Emergency Film Group, call 800 842-0999 or 508 627-8844, or e-mail info@efilmgroup.com. Program descriptions are available on-line at http://www.efilmgroup.com.
