€100,000 for chemical weapons exposure unit

THE Mid Western Health Board has paid €100,000 for a decontamination unit to treat people exposed to chemical or biological contaminants.

Health board assistant CEO Ger Crowley said the board would hold a simulation exercise in the next two weeks to train staff in the event of an attack on Shannon Airport.

County managers from Limerick, Clare and Tipperary have been notified about the simulation exercise.

The health board has also:

Assessed hospital capacity in the region to evaluate space available in the event of a terrorist attack.

Purchased protective clothing for staff and emergency crews

Trained front-line ambulance personnel in how to enter contaminated regions.

Mr Crowley said he had a responsibility to look at “all potential risks facing the region”.

“We are conscious that Shannon Airport is in our region and because of the nature of the traffic through there, there is some concern,” Mr Crowley said.

“Our fundamental concerns relate to bio-terrorism. We are trying to make sure that all of our staff are well briefed and have the capacity to respond in the event of there being a problem,” Mr Crowley said.

The 100,000 decontamination unit, which is part of the board’s ambulance service, will be used if people are exposed to contaminants or if health board personnel have to operate on the front-line of a contaminated area.

“There is no reason to think we have an immediate danger here. But there is so much international traffic coming through Shannon that in the event of there being a difficulty in some other country it could be transported to this area very quickly. We need to be prepared to deal with any issue that would arise,” Mr Crowley said.

“We think that it is incumbent on all the statutory agencies to prepare for the worst-type scenario. It is incumbent on us to take account of the international situation and to make sure that we are familiar with any potential threat.

“We would hope there would be no need for any of this and we have spent money in the hope that we won’t need the equipment, but we feel that it is better to do that just in case,” he said.