Nuclear terrorism refers to any person or persons who detonate a nuclear weapon in an act of terrorism. Some definitions of nuclear terrorism include the sabotage of a nuclear facility and/or the detonation of a radiological device, colloquially termed a dirty bomb, but consensus is lacking. In legal terms, nuclear terrorism is an offense committed if a person unlawfully and intentionally "uses in any way radioactive material … with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury; or with the intent to cause substantial damage to property or to the environment; or with the intent to compel a natural or legal person, an international organization or a State to do or refrain from doing an act", according to the 2005 United Nations International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism.
Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense are protective measures taken in situations in which chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear warfare hazards may be present. CBRN defense consists of CBRN passive protection, contamination avoidance and CBRN mitigation.
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is an agency within the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and is the official Combat Support Agency for countering weapons of mass destruction. According to the agency's Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2018 to 2022, the DTRA mission "enables DoD and the U.S. Government to prepare for and combat weapons of mass destruction and improvised threats and to ensure nuclear deterrence." The agency is headquartered in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
The Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA) is a federal law enforcement agency within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) charged with protecting and safeguarding the occupants, visitors, and infrastructure of The Pentagon, the Mark Center Building, the Defense Health Agency headquarters, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces and other assigned DoD-occupied leased facilities within the National Capitol Region. As of 2004, the Pentagon Force Protection Agency employed 482 police officers.
The United States Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (USDP) is a high level civilian official in the United States Department of Defense. The Under Secretary of Defense for Policy is the principal staff assistant and adviser to both the Secretary of Defense and the Deputy Secretary of Defense for all matters concerning the formation of national security and defense policy.
The Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI) is a triservice laboratory in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and was chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1961. It conducts research in the field of radiobiology and related matters which are essential to the operational and medical support of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the U.S. military services. AFRRI provides services and performs cooperative research with other federal and civilian agencies and institutions.
The Defence Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Centre is a United Kingdom military facility at Winterbourne Gunner in Wiltshire, south of Porton Down and about 4 miles (6 km) northeast of Salisbury. It is a tri-service location, with the Army being the lead service. The centre is responsible for all training issues relating to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) defence and warfare for the UK's armed forces.
The 20th CBRNE Command is the United States Army's Chemical, Biological, Nuclear, Radiological and high-yield explosives headquarters.
Joint Task Force Civil Support (JTF-CS) is a subordinate command of United States Northern Command headquartered at Fort Eustis. Its mission is to provide command and control for Department of Defense forces deployed in support of the National Response Plan, specifically, managing the consequences of a domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive (CBRNE) consequence management operations. These DoD forces consist of discrete units of specialized consequence management troops from all services called DOD CBRN Response Forces (DCRF).
The Chemical Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF) is a unit in the United States Marine Corps responsible for countering the effects of a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive (CBRNE) incident. They were activated in April 1996 by General Charles C. Krulak, then Commandant of the Marine Corps. The unit is based at Naval Support Facility Indian Head in Indian Head, Maryland and falls under the command of the United States Marine Corps Forces Command.
The U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) is the United States’s principal research and development resource for non-medical chemical and biological (CB) defense. As a critical national asset in the CB defense community, ECBC supports all phases of the acquisition life-cycle ― from basic and applied research through technology development, engineering design, equipment evaluation, product support, sustainment, field operations and demilitarization ― to address its customers’ unique requirements.
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is a United States federal agency responsible for safeguarding national security through the military application of nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear explosive testing; works to reduce the global danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the United States Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the United States and abroad.
The Deployable Operations Group (DOG) was a United States Coast Guard command that provided properly equipped, trained and organized Deployable Specialized Forces (DSF), which still exist today, to the Coast Guard, DHS, DoD and inter-agency operational and tactical commanders. Formerly headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, it was established on 20 July 2007, and was commanded by a captain and was decommissioned by the Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Robert Papp on 1 October 2013, although many of the units existed long before the 2007 commissioning. Upon decommissioning, the units previously assigned to the DOG were split between Coast Guard Pacific and Atlantic Area commands.
The Domestic Emergency Support Team (DEST) is a rapidly deployable, interagency team of experts within the United States government, staffed from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The DEST provides guidance to the FBI Special Agent in Charge (SAC) concerning weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threats and actual incidents/attacks.
The United States Army CBRN School, located at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, is the primary American training school specializing in military Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) defense. Until 2008, it was known as the United States Army Chemical School.
The Worker Protection Standard is intended to protect employees on farms, forests, nurseries, and greenhouses that are occupationally exposed to agricultural pesticides.
National Response Scenario Number One is the United States federal government's planned response to a nuclear attack. It is one of the National Response Scenarios developed by the United States Department of Homeland Security, considered the most likely of fifteen emergency scenarios to impact the United States. The Scenarios are related to the National Response Framework (NRF), which describes the structures and mechanisms of a response and the National Incident Management System (NIMS) that gives a framework to orchestrate emergency management.
The Emergency Management (EM) career field is the United States Air Force's (USAF) primary organization responsible for implementing an installation-level EM program. Emergency Managers, also known by the Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) 3E9X1, are the Air Force's subject matter experts for all non-medical Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) passive defense and consequence management matters.
During wartime operations, 3E9X1s are assigned to CBRN reconnaissance teams responsible for detecting, identifying, quantifying, and collecting CBRN material ensuring mission continuation and force survivability.
The National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC) is a training partner and established training arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security DHS/ FEMA. It is a professional alliance of seven national institutions and organizations that work to develop and deliver training, technical assistance, plan assessments, and exercises to emergency responders and first receivers at the territories, state, local and tribal levels. The members were chosen for their unique knowledge bases in the areas of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, explosive, medical, critical infrastructure, and incident management, and have enhanced their core competencies at the request of DHS and FEMA to include other areas as well. The following is a list of the NDPC members and their core competencies:
CBRNE Enhanced Response Force Packages (CERFP) are an initiative of the United States National Guard designed to integrate existing national guard units into the broader federal and local civilian emergency response personnel in instances of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) disasters. The creation of CERFPs by the US Congress in 2004, initially provided for the creation of 12 teams corresponding to the 10 region designations of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and two teams for regions three and nine, on the US east and west coasts respectively. This was later expanded in 2006 for a total of 17 teams nationwide.
