A Global Gathering of Scientists and Operational Practitioners on Defence against CBRNE Threats

21 March 2017, Singapore - A chemical attack has happened. A few hours later, there are reports of people complaining of symptoms ranging from breathing difficulties to nausea. There is mass hysteria and hospitals are overwhelmed by anxious victims.

This scenario can happen in Singapore, as witnessed in horror around the world as terrorist groups continue to use chemical warfare agents today. Such unconventional warfare will only grow increasingly sophisticated with the evolution of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) threats.

To safeguard and prepare against such evolving threats, DSO National Laboratories (DSO) has partnered IB Consultancy to organise the 8th Singapore International Symposium on Protection Against Toxic Substances (SISPAT), in conjunction with the 24th NCT CBRNe Asia and the 25th NCT eXplosive Asia from 21 to 23 March 2017 at Marina Bay Sands.

The 8th SISPAT is the only CBRNE symposium in the Asia-Pacific region where the international scientific and operations communities meet to share the latest advances in technology and operations that safeguard against evolving CBRNE threats. Themed “Staying One Step Ahead of Evolving CBRN Threats Through International Cooperation”, the three-day symposium will be attended by 518 delegates from 35 countries, and will feature presentations by multinational speakers on diverse topics such as CBRNE dispersion modelling, protection, decontamination, verification and forensics.

Distinguished speakers include Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), H.E. Mr Ahmed Üzümcü and Mr Douglas Bryce, Joint Program Executive Officer for Chemical and Biological Defense, USA.

Gracing the opening of the 8th SISPAT and exhibition as Guest of Honour was Mr Quek Gim Pew, Chief Defence Scientist, Ministry of Defence. In his keynote speech, Mr Quek emphasised that “The borderless and ever-present nature of dangers posed by CBRNE threats reinforces the need for multilateral cooperation across defence communities to constantly review and innovate new approaches to counter these evolving threats.”

Mr Quek and H.E. Mr Ahmed Üzümcü were also given a tour of projects which showcased Singapore’s preparedness in the event of a CBRNE threat – from its novel solution; the Hazardous Material (HAZMAT) Decision Support Tool , which provides early warning and detection of large scale chemical incidents through real-time environmental monitoring systems (Annex A), to the portable Ricin (Annex B) and Scentmate (Annex C) test kits, which allow for quick testing and identification of toxin and nerve agent poisoning respectively.

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MEDIA CONTACTS

Ms May Lian
Senior Executive
Corporate Communications
DSO National Laboratories
DID: 6450 4167
HP: 9005 8237
[email protected]

Mr Edwin Yong
Assistant Manager
Corporate Communications
DSO National Laboratories
DID: 6450 4162
HP: 9116 6859
[email protected]

Ms Sophie Barthel
Marketing & Communications
IB Consultancy
Phone +31 71 744 0174
[email protected] 

About DSO National Laboratories

DSO National Laboratories (DSO) is Singapore’s one and only defence research and development organisation. It undertakes indigenous development of advanced defence and weapon systems that provide the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) with the superior technological edge in the battlefield.

While its primary focus is to support the SAF, DSO also extends its defence R&D capabilities to support homeland security. With more than 1,300 research scientists and engineers, DSO researches on emerging technologies, matures promising ones and integrates them into innovative system concepts to meet Singapore’s defence and security needs.

For more information, please visit www.dso.org.sg 

About IB Consultancy

IB Consultancy is a defense and security company dedicated to making this world a safer and more secure place. To achieve this we provide rapid innovative defense and security services to government, trade & industry in the field of CBRNe. Our services are always fully tailored to meet your requirements helping you reach your objectives. We connect businesses governments and NGOs from different continents in our common goal to make this world a safer and more secure place.

IB Consultancy is based in Leiden, The Netherlands where a team of 10 people manage our global Non Conventional threat (NCT) event series, consultancy services and publications. With two consultants based in the USA (including retired Dep.Ass. Secretary General of NATO and Director of the NATO WMD Center Guy Roberts), a consultant based in Seoul, South Korea and strong ties to Asia, we cover the whole world. In Asia and the Middle East, IB Consultancy is market leader, while in Europe and the USA we have entered the market and are growing to be market leader in the next two years.
Our services include:

• Organization of the Non-Conventional Threat (NCT) CBRNe and eXplosive Event Series
• Defense and Security Research
• Business Consultancy and Public Affairs
• Threat Assessment Reports
• Publication of the monthly NCT/CBNW Newsletter
• CBRNePortal.com for the latest news on CBRNe and EOD/IED issues

For more information, please visit http://www.ib-consultancy.com