CBRNE-Terrorism Newsletter

Electronic Mass Casualty Assessment & Planning Scenarios - EMCAPS  

This standalone software program is intended to allow users to model disaster scenarios for drill planning and to use as an education resource. The EMCAPS Model allows you to estimate casualties arising from biological (Anthrax, Plague, Food Contamination), chemical (blister, nerve and toxic agents) radiological (dirty bomb) or explosive (IED) attacks. Click here to download relevant software

Counter-Terrorism Crisis Communication Manual

The goal of the project is to help public authorities in Europe better reacting to terror crises by providing effective communication strategies for the aftermath of terror attacks. Such attacks take place when least expected, as terrorists search for vulnerable targets across Europe and seek to spread fear and panic. A terror attack instantly becomes breaking news in the media throughout the world. Effective recovery from such an attack depends also on a carefully planned and trained communication strategy which would restore public confidence and enable quick return to normality.

In order to effectively deal with the aftermath of terror attacks, public authorities need a counter-terrorism communication strategy comprised of activities aimed at the relevant audiences. This strategy needs to be trained and adapted before an attack takes place and forms an inherent part of crisis management and continuity plans. SAFE-COMMS aims to provide public authorities throughout Europe with an effective and modular communication strategy for terror crises. Read more about this project here.

LIFENET

LifeNet is a WiFi-based data communication solution designed for post-disaster scenarios. It is open-source software and designed to run on consumer devices such as laptops, smart-phones and wireless routers. LifeNet is an ad hoc networking platform over which critical software applications like chatting, voice messaging, MIS systems, etc. can be easily deployed. LifeNet grows incrementally, is robust to node failures and enables Internet sharing. A novel multi-path ad-hoc routing protocol present at its core, enables LifeNet to meet all the aforementioned needs.

ALOHA (v. 5.4.1.2)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ALOHA (Areal Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres) is a computer program designed especially for use by people responding to chemical releases, as well as for emergency planning and training. ALOHA models key hazards—toxicity, flammability, thermal radiation (heat), and overpressure (explosion blast force)—related to chemical releases that result in toxic gas dispersions, fires, and/or explosions. ALOHA runs quickly on small computers (Microsoft® Windows® or Macintosh®) that are easily transportable. It is designed to be easy to use so that you can operate it successfully during high-pressure situations. Its chemical library contains information about the physical properties of approximately 1,000 common hazardous chemicals. Its computations represent a compromise between accuracy and speed; ALOHA has been designed to produce good results quickly enough to be of use to responders. ALOHA is designed to minimize operator error. It checks information that you enter and warns you when you make a mistake. ALOHA's on-screen help offers you quick access to explanations of ALOHA's features and computations, as well as background information to help you interpret its output.Click here to download relevant software and installation instructions.

CHEMM was produced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Office of Planning and Emergency Operations, in cooperation with the National Library of Medicine, Division of Specialized Information Services, and many medical, emergency response, toxicology, and other types of experts. The goals of this website are:

• Enable first responders, first receivers, other healthcare providers, and planners to plan for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of mass-casualty incidents involving chemicals

• Provide a comprehensive, user-friendly, web-based resource that is also downloadable in advance, so that it would be available during an event if the internet is not accessible

Radiation Emergency Medical Management - REMM

Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Office of Planning and Emergency Operations, in cooperation with the National Library of Medicine, Division of Specialized Information Services

• Provide guidance for health care providers, primarily physicians, about clinical diagnosis and treatment of radiation injury during radiological and nuclear emergencies
• Provide just-in-time, evidence-based, usable information with sufficient background and context to make complex issues understandable to those without formal radiation medicine expertise
• Provide web-based information that is also downloadable in advance, so that it would be available during an event if the internet is not accessible

 Click here to download relevant software and installation instructions

Wiser (Wireless Information System for Emergency Responder)

WISER is a system designed to assist first responders in hazardous material incidents. WISER provides a wide range of information on hazardous substances, including substance identification support, physical characteristics, human health information, and containment and suppression advice. Click here for more info and software downloading

Version 4.4 now available!

July 2011

The Harvard School of Public Health Center for Continuing Professional Education offers two programs Basic Hands-On CAMEO Training and Advanced Hands-On CAMEO Training.

Basic: https://ccpe.sph.harvard.edu/CAMEO

Advanced: https://ccpe.sph.harvard.edu/Advanced-CAMEO

The CAMEO program, developed by the USEPA and NOAA, helps state and local governments as well as corporate entities plan for and respond to chemical emergencies.

MARPLOT (v. 4.1.2)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

MARPLOT (Mapping Application for Response, Planning, and Local Operational Tasks) is a general purpose mapping application program with the following features:

• Easy-to-use GIS interface;
• Ability to add objects (such as schools or chemical facilities) to the map and mark them using MARPLOT's set of symbols or an inserted picture;
• Allows you to customize the maps by specifying which layers appear and whether objects in those layers (such as roads) are labelled;
• Simple, all-inclusive search mechanism for map objects;
• Links objects on the maps to data in other programs, such as CAMEO® and LandView®;
• Easily displays ALOHA® threat zones.

 Click here to download relevant software and installation instructions.

MultiVapor (v. 2.2.3)

Click here to download the relevant software

WebEOC^® Professional Version 7

Originally developed for public safety and emergency management officials, WebEOC is also used for routine operations in private corporations, public utilities, domestic and international airlines, health care associations, and universities, as well as by government at every level---city, county and state agencies nationwide, and NASA, EPA, and other federal agencies within the Departments of Defense, Energy, Agriculture, and Health & Human Services.

Following the events of September 11, 2001, the Department of Justice (DOJ), National Institute of Justice (NIJ)/Office of Science and Technology (OS&T) conducted an evaluation of what is now known industry-wide as Crisis Information Management Software (CIMS). At the time there existed relatively few software firms providing CIMS – the software used in emergency operations centers (EOCs) to manage crisis information.

ESi was one of only ten software firms who subjected its software, WebEOC®, to DOJ’s independent evaluation. Since that time, ESi has become the leading provider of CIMS nationwide. WebEOC first received industry-wide exposure in the July 1999 edition of the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Bulletin. In an article written by then IAEM Region IX President B.J. Sibley, WebEOC and the concept of a “virtual” EOC were given widespread recognition.

SAHANA

Sahana software was initiated by volunteers in the Sri Lankan FOSS development community to help their fellow countrymen and countrywomen affected during the 2004 Asian Tsunami in December 2004. The system was officially used by the Government of Sri Lanka and the system was released as Free and Open Source software. Subsequently a re-write as a generic disaster management tools was incubated with the sponsorship of SIDA, IBM and NSF (US) and it has be used by the dozens of Governments and NGOs since then. Sahana is a Free and Open Source Disaster Management system. It is a web based collaboration tool that addresses the common coordination problems during a disaster from finding missing people, managing aid, managing volunteers, tracking camps effectively between Government groups, the civil society (NGOs) and the victims themselves.

CAMEOfm (v. 2.2)

CAMEO is a system of software applications used widely to plan for and respond to chemical emergencies. It is one of the tools developed by EPA’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Response and Restoration (NOAA), to assist front-line chemical emergency planners and responders. They can use CAMEO to access, store, and evaluate information critical for developing emergency plans. In addition, CAMEO supports regulatory compliance by helping users meet the chemical inventory reporting requirements of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA, also known as SARA Title III). CAMEO also can be used with a separate software application called LandView to display EPA environmental databases and demographic/economic information to support analysis of environmental justice issues. The CAMEO system integrates a chemical database and a method to manage the data, an air dispersion model, and a mapping capability. All modules work interactively to share and display critical information in a timely fashion. The CAMEO system is available in Macintosh and Windows formats. Click here to download relevant software and installation instructions.