Technical NBC protection plan
The protection of the civilian population against chemical warfare agents and toxic chemicals continues is the underlying principle of the Swiss chemical protection plan, which was drawn up in 1980. The requirements to be met by NBC protective filters were developed even earlier and are set out in the chemical filter 71 design plan. Both documents were established against the backdrop of the Cold War.
With the end of the Cold War, the threat scenarios changed considerably. It is highly unlikely that weapons of mass destruction will ever be used on a large scale; also the fear of mass nuclear destruction has evaporated. In their place, we now have "precision-guided weapons" – a result of the huge technological advances made in recent years (deployed in the Gulf war, war in ex-Yugoslavia, Iraq conflict). This weapon system enables to launch precise attacks on hard targets using either using conventional warheads (e.g. to destroy protective structures) or warheads loaded with biological and chemical warfare agents.
The terrorist attacks of 11 September as well as the anthrax cases in late 2001 have had a significant bearing on modern threat and hazard scenarios. There is also a real possibility today of accidents and natural disasters which would lead to the release of toxic agents. Given these changes to the spectrum of possible hazards, the focus of NBC protection plans should be re-aligned and the requirements which NBC protective material revised. This is the only way to guarantee the optimal protection of the civilian population against radiological/nuclear, biological or chemical incidents.
In this regard, the SPIEZ LABORATORY, in collaboration with in-house and external specialists, aims to develop a comprehensive NBC protection plan which is centred around the technical aspects of the modern threat and hazard scenarios. This document is an important component in the National NBC Protection project, which was carried out by the Federal Commission for NBC Protection (ComNBC) at the behest of the head of the DDPS.
| Activity | Date |
|---|---|
| Assignment of project | March 04 |
| Document analysis and selection, incl. literature searches | April - May 04 |
| Threat and hazard analyses | Mayi - August 04 |
| Development of reference scenarios | July- Oktober 04 |
| Development of N, B and C protective plans and material | November 04 - March 05 |
| Consultation | April - May 05 |
| Project submission | September 05 |