By Mike Brown
NSA Program Manager, Homeland Security Initiatives

Sheriff Magazine

Attacks or accidents involving chemicals, biological agents, or radiation are some of the most dangerous challenges public safety officers will ever encounter. As a result, protective equipment the officers rely upon in such incidents must meet the highest standards.

Existing performance standards for such equipment serve other members of the response community well, but a law enforcement officers role requires different performance requirements for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) protective equipment.

In response, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) embarked on the difficult task of developing a standard specifically for CBRN protective equipment to be used by law enforcement officers. The standard will focus on protective ensembles which are designed to provide fullbody protection against exposure to CBRN hazards.

NIJ organized a Special Technical Committee comprised of subject matter experts, many of whom are members of the law enforcement community. Other agencies represented include the National Sheriffs' Association, the National Fire Protection Association, the Department of Homeland security, the Department of Defense, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and organizations that test and certify equipment.

The Committee will identify the specific needs and requirements of law enforcement, identify shortfalls in existing equipment standards and test methods, address these shortfalls, determine compliance and conformity assessment requirements, and generate a new CBRN Ensemble standard.

NIJ will be working particularly close with the National Fire Protection Association and the Departments of Homeland security and Defense to leverage related efforts where possible in order to expedite release of the new NIJ standard. When completed, the Standard will be published by NIJ and available on the NIJ web site.

An important part of the process for developing this new standard is allowing stakeholders to review the draft standard and submit comments and questions. It is anticipated that a period for public review and comments will be coming soon, and instructions for receiving the draft standard and submitting comments will be available at that time onwww.justnet.org.

For more information, contact Mike Brown, mbrown@sherifrs.org