NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Outside an empty school, the hum of generators and radios squawking breaks the silence. Inside, members of the Massachusetts National Guard’s 1st Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team in hazmat suits survey the scene.
What brought them there was a training exercise. The scenario: firefighters found an unidentifiable lab process and suspected dissemination device.
The Fire Department asked the CST to help identify hazards, assess consequences and advise on response measures. The training event was part of a three-day evaluation of the CST by Army Northern Command.
ARNORTH is responsible for ensuring units around the country are capable and able to respond to real-world incidents.
”There is no bias,” said Willie Coleman, an observer controller and acting incident commander. “We give them a clean look at how they do business based on doctrine.”
CST members didn’t learn of the event location before that morning.
“The 1st CST is on call 24/7 and must be ready to support local, state and federal civilian authorities anywhere within Massachusetts,” said Lt. Col. David Wilson, CST commander. “Every location in the state is unique and will present different challenges.”
The first scenario involved a simulated laboratory accident, resulting in multiple casualties and the potential release of a chemical agent. The CST, equipped with detection and identification equipment, assessed the situation, identified the hazards and advised on appropriate response measures.
“While surveying the incident location, we take radiologic, biological and chemical readings to relay back to the incident commander, along with photos in real-time,” said Tech. Sgt. Andrew J. Nadeau, a CST member. “Once we identify the hazard and maybe some of the processes that are going on, we take samples and as a team come up with a mitigation plan.”
To protect themselves from the unknown, the initial team wears the highest level of protection.
“Wearing a Level A hazmat suit for a two-hour entry is an intense experience, both physically and mentally,” said Sgt. Adam Balzarini, survey team member.
“Mobility is restricted, making movement more difficult, and fine motor skills are hindered by the thick gloves and limited dexterity, “he said. “The suit is hot and can become unbearably warm after a while, as there is no ventilation, and body heat builds up quickly. Sweat accumulates, and dehydration can set in if not monitored closely.”
After the survey team completes its initial assessment, another team collects samples for more identification. Based on these samples, the CST can help incident commanders and civilian authorities plan to contain and mitigate the issue.
The CST’s primary mission is to support civil authorities in an incident involving hazardous materials or weapons of mass destruction.
“Our capabilities allow local responders to build upon their initial findings,” said Maj. Adam Kusser, CST deputy commander. “We can provide an incident commander with CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear) response, communications packages and technical decontamination for first responders. We also provide a mobile laboratory to analyze and identify any hazmat and an operations section that can assist with information management.”
A second part of the evaluation occurred two days later at a North Attleboro mall.
In this scenario, suspects tied to the school lab conducted a chemical attack at the mall. The CST was called in to identify the hazard and assist civil authorities.
These realistic training exercises help ensure the CST is ready to respond to any emergency.