PRINCE 

Preparedness Response for CBRNE Incidents

Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and high-yield Explosive (CBRNE) events have the potential to destabilize governments, create conditions that exacerbate violence, or promote terrorism.

These events can quickly overwhelm the infrastructure and capability of the responders. PRINCE aims to support first aid responders and law enforcement/security authorities by providing them with an evidence base for strategic level decisions related to prevention, detection, Respiratory Protection, Decontamination and response to CBRN event. 

The PRINCE project is funded by the European Union's Internal Security Fund - Police. 

Objectives

• Production of a PRINCE roadmap and a catalogue of training curricula to be contributed to EU Action plan based on two detailed CBRN scenarios (Chemical, Radiological) in two major countries.
• Develop Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) and Plan for two CBRN incidents, based on a gap analysis, risk analysis and cost-benefit analysis.
• Develop an E-training simulation platform & CBRNe Emergency Management System, which will a game-based simulator that will use generated content to create a simulated standalone 3D CBRN scene based on the PRINCE exercises, and an Emergency Management system that will be able to assist the first responders to act in a coordinated and complementary way.
• Execute training programmes and CBRN exercises.
• Provide internal awareness and exchange of best practices knowledge.
• Offer a wider public awareness on CBRN incidents and safety.

IndoorRad

The UAV for Indoor Radiation Reconnaissance and Detection (Indoor-RAD) is a project aimed at addressing a gap in the CBRN Defence Element of the Portuguese Army concerning reconnaissance capabilities inside infrastructures with radioactive sources. Even the most robust individual protective equipment cannot protect against high-energy and highly penetrating ionizing radiation. Therefore, to avoid exposing personnel to high levels of radiation, initial reconnaissance and hazard assessment using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) equipped with a radiation detector could be a viable course of action. The information obtained from this reconnaissance allows for the identification of the locations of radiation sources as well as the level of radiation being emitted. This information is crucial for planning the actions of the teams entering the contaminated area, as it not only locates the threat but also allows the mission time to be adjusted according to the radiation dose to which the personnel will be exposed. An incident involving radioactive sources could occur inside infrastructures, so the UAV must have a small wingspan and propeller protection to allow for safe navigation through confined spaces.

SOLARIS

The "One Health" approach, which interconnects human, animal, and environmental health, underscores the need for robust biomonitoring and biosurveillance systems. We introduce SOLARIS, a novel bioaerosol sampler manufactured through 3D printing with a biocompatible material. SOLARIS is compact, portable and uses a liquid collection medium, increasing bioefficiency. SOLARIS' laboratory testing demonstrated successful separation of viable Escherichia coli bacteria from artificially generated bioaerosols. Collected samples were found suitable for downstream analysis methods such as culturing, mass spectrometry, molecular detection, and electron microscopy. 

A field trial at a swine facility was performed, in which Clostridioides difficile spores were successfully collected from bioaerosols and identified using microbiological and molecular methods, reinforcing the SOLARIS utility for aerosol sampling and emphasising the significance of incorporating air samples in research studies within the "One Health" approach. 

ENZIL 

Decontamination

The use of chemical warfare agents (CWA) to kill or seriously injure military soldiers, and also civilian population is a serious threat nowadays.

After detection and identification of CWA, it is essential to decontaminate the personal, and also the equipment's and all the area affected by the CWA. In this project is proposed a new approach for CWA decontamination.

Objectives

Optimal role will be with the integration in the supply flow with a passive equipment. This can be applied to transport equipment (civil and military) Use case scenarios will be trucks and vessels. Using active application on surfaces, followed with safe aspiration.

This will be a significant advance in decontamination procedures and will place the product well ahead of what is available nowadays