Team tests for weapons of mass destruction

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Bob Oldham
  • 407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
TALLIL AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  To date, no nuclear, biological or chemical agents have been found here, but a team of Airmen stands ready around the clock to check for potential NBC agents, and it now has a controlled facility to perform the tests.

The team, seven Airmen assigned to the 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron’s readiness flight, determines if an agent is nuclear, biological or chemical.

In the past, suspected agents were tested outside on the ground, potentially contaminating an area of the base. All of those tests were negative. But now, tests can be conducted indoors in a sealed portable building to prevent contamination of the base or the agent itself.

When an agent arrives to be tested, it is now delivered straight to the test facility.

Within 20 minutes from the start of the first test, Airmen can know if they have an NBC agent.

Sealed inside the room in protective gear, the team’s only contact with others is via a hand-held radio. A decontamination kit would be set up outside if a sample tests positive. If a sample is determined to be an NBC agent, the crew will decontaminate the interior of the facility and step out of the facility to be decontaminated.

While one Airman handles the sample throughout the tests, another runs through checklists for each test, ensuring each step is carefully followed.

“The handler’s job is strictly the substance,” said Senior Airman Joshua Burns, a civil engineer readiness specialist deployed here from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England. “They should be the only person having direct contact with the substance that is being tested.”

The checklist operator’s focus is ensuring each step is followed properly, preventing contamination and maintaining radio contact with the control center.

A third Airman videotapes the procedures, allowing Airmen to review their handling of a sample as well as document the testing process if the result is a positive detection of an NBC agent.

A closed-circuit monitoring system will soon be installed, eliminating the need for an Airman to record the test via video and still photographs.

The first test conducted is to determine radioactivity. Airmen test the sample for alpha, beta, gamma and X-ray radiation. The second test is to determine if the product is a chemical agent.

“The entire time we’re testing, we have a sensitive chemical detector on the floor,” said Airman Burns. “It’s close to the ground. That way if any vapors are coming off of the substance, there’s a chance it’s going to pick it up from close to the ground.”

Another automated piece of equipment used is a chemical-agent monitor.

“We use that about one inch from the substance,” Airman Burns said.

For the biological test, the team uses a testing kit geared toward the eight most likely biological threats for the region. The handler will drop a sample into each tray reservoir and wait for a result. Total time: about 15 minutes.

But what if they think they have something not covered by the kit?

“If we know it comes from a reliable source … we’re going to want the battle lab to take a look at it,” Airman Burns said.

The battle lab has more advanced equipment to conduct further tests on a sample. It is at an undisclosed location within Southwest Asia.