With the help of existing decontamination equipment, the NBC Defense Center of the Austrian Armed Forces developed a process for the reprocessing of FFP-2 and FFP-3 masks – and the Korneuburg during the corona crisis to convince.
When nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) warfare agents appear in Austria and other European countries, they are often leftovers from the First and Second World Wars. However, unsafe nuclear power plants and criminal or terrorist groups with access to such weapons also pose dangers that require troops who can act quickly and efficiently in the event of a threat. These specially trained troops are also deployed when earthquakes, chemical accidents, environmental pollution and epidemics lead to the spread of such substances. In Austria, it is the NBC defense force of the Austrian Armed Forces, which goes into action in such cases. As a competence center for hazardous NBC substances, it protects Austrian soldiers from the dangers of contaminated environments during wartime and is an indispensable instrument for disaster relief both nationally and internationally during peacetime. The operational readiness of the troops is high, as the warning time for threats of this kind is usually very short.
How diverse the field of application of the NBC Defensecenter has been demonstrated in recent weeks: Using the decontamination equipment, which is normally used to decontaminate, decontaminate and decontaminate people, equipment and areas, the soldiers from Korneuburg were able to the soldiers from Korneuburg were able to carry out a develop a reprocessing method for urgently needed FFP-2 and FFP-3 masks. In mid-April, the specialists in the Dabsch-barracks in Korneuburg. The process is as simple as it is effective, as the head of NBC defense, Col. of the General Staff Services Jürgen Schlechter, in a recent interview with ORF editor Christian Wehrschütz, explained: “Our decontamination devices can basically be thought of as large steam cookers. The used masks are dried for around 60 minutes at 100 degrees, repackaged in sterile packaging after this time and can then be returned to their owners. be disinfected.” Before disinfection, the masks are visually inspected and all damaged and visibly soiled masks are rejected.
ORF editor Christian Wehrschütz in conversation with Colonel of the General Staff Service Jürgen Schlechter, Commander of the NBC Defense Center in Korneuburg.
Although the coronavirus is not an NBC warfare agent in the strict sense, the military assessment of the virus is of great importance. “We hardly make a difference here because SARS-CoV-2 is an unknown biological threat and one of our tasks is to find out as quickly as possible where the risks of spread lie,” explains the colonel. This is how the NBC defense center has played a central role in recent weeks, both in prevention and advice and in combating the virus. “Our troops have been called out on several disinfection missions,” says Schlechter.
The work of the NBC Defense Center in the fight against Covid-19 also received international recognition. During a foreign mission in Kosovo (Kosovo Force – KFOR), the special unit helped to disinfect contaminated barracks.
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