US-Romanian chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence drill

The United States of America Embassy in Bucharest has staged the first joint drill of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence (CBRN) in collaboration with the security and intervention forces in Romania, the diplomatic mission informs in a release sent on Friday to AGERPRES.

Devised to test the intervention and coordination capacity after a simulated assault, the drill that unfolded on Thursday implicated the specialised teams with the Romanian Police General Inspectorate (IGPR), the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU) and the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI)'s Counter-Terrorism Brigade. The scenario highlighted the role of the partner agencies in Romania in the planning, reaction and consequences' capping of a CBRN incident, the source says.

This event is a several-year partnership's achievement between the Romanian authorities and the US Embassy, aimed at improving Romania's abilities to curtail the threats represented by mass-destruction weapons, says the Embassy.

For over 15 years, the Defence Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) within the US Department of Defence is supporting Romania in carrying out some training and counseling programmes, so as to improve its knowledge in the prevention, detection, interdiction and investigation of CBRN or other materials' incidents.

DTRA has recently offered financial support, via a significant donation in specialised protection, detection, monitoring and decontamination equipment to the IGSU and the IGPR worth over USD 380,000. The equipment will contribute to the proper development of the first intervention and investigative missions in Romania.AGERPRES(RO - author: Oana Ghita, editor: Andreea Rotaru; EN - author: Maria Voican, editor: Simona Iacob)