On 08 and 09 November, the MOD’s Defence Academy in collaboration with CBRN-UK hosted the 19th annual International CBRN Symposium at Shrivenham.

This year’s theme was to demonstrate and discuss the need to consider CBRN as it affects diverse disciplines at home and abroad in military operations, security, policing, and for disaster and humanitarian first responders. The excellent range of speakers included representatives from the security and defence industry, DSTL, the National Nuclear Laboratory, MOD, European Space Agency, Japanese Self-Defense Force, and more. An array of fascinating topics were discussed, including the Ebola epidemic, atmospheric dispersion modelling on your phone, the nature and role of chemical and biological weapon threats to UK military operations in the future, and on the role of industry cooperation in the destruction of chemical warfare agents. The event also offered the opportunity for British companies of all sizes to display their goods and services, including CBRN detection, protection, and training equipment.

The symposium is an annual event organised by CBRN-UK. CBRN-UK is ADS’ Special Interest Group for the UK Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defence industry.