Presentation to U.S.-Canada Bilateral Technical Working Group
Citation:
Martin, G. B. Presentation to U.S.-Canada Bilateral Technical Working Group. Presented at Decontamination R&D Conference, Research Triangle Park, NC, April 13 - 15, 2010.
Impact/Purpose:
Slide presentation
Description:
DHS and EPA have collaborated in the development of a draft charter for Technical Working Group (TWG) to serve as the basis of negotiations of bilateral agreements with other countries. The TWG would provide a mechanism for sharing both response and R&D expertise and experience in the event of a CBRN incident. The membership of each TWG was tailored to provide appropriate support to the incident commander for the particular situation. Some of the same expertise has been engaged in response to the "natural anthrax" incidents in the U.S. and UK. As a result, the TWG concept has been expanded to consider its potential to engage the expertise of multiple countries in the event of other CBRN incidents. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Canadian Defense Research and Development Command have negotiated a Bilateral Agreement for mutual assistance in response to CBRN incidents. As a part of that Agreement, a U.S.-Canada TWG has been formed. The TWG membership includes representatives of both the response and R&D community, with a permanent co-chair from each of the two communities. The TWG will have a core group from each community to provide continuity; however, other members may be added or substituted to most effectively address a specific CBRN issue. This presentation will describe the present state of development and membership of the TWG.