Dubai: The Civil Defence has introduced a new hazardous materials protection unit to deal with chemical and radioactive materials.
The special unit, a mobile laboratory, determines, measures and analyses hazardous materials in addition to specifying their components, and dangers.
"Dubai is witnessing rapid developments in the industrial sector, as well as the economic and services sector, which has created a need for industrial and medical materials including chemicals and radioactive materials.
"Therefore, came the need for advanced equipment to deal with any leakage of those materials during their manufacturing, transportation, storage or usage operations," Brigadier Rashid Thani Al Matroushi, Director of Dubai Civil Defence said.
The goal of the unit is to ensure the safety of all areas and also the safety of establishments that deal with hazardous materials.
The new unit will ensure the safety of industrial sites, participate in quick-response operations in accidents involving hazardous materials and participate in putting out fires at factories, warehouses and laboratories.
It will measure the level of industrial gases at industrial areas to ensure they are within the permitted levels and collect samples and garbage to analyse what the material is and its dangers.
"The unit may also participate with the concerned authorities in revealing air and environment pollution, as well as having the ability to be used in the inspection of factories that deal with hazardous materials," Brigadier Al Matroushi said.
The Civil Defence approved a number of standards in choosing various equipment for the unit.
The safety standards include the protection of workers at the site of hazardous materials, the availability of personal protection from chemical and radioactive materials for the crew, the ability to reveal leakage of chemical or radioactive materials, the ability to measure the levels of chemical materials and their effect on human beings and the environment.
The equipment available in the advanced vehicle includes equipment to measure flammable industrial gas leakages, equipment to analyse chemical materials, radioactive detection and measurement equipment, meteorology equipment, suits to protect from chemical and biological materials, as well as protective masks.
"The authorities that will avail themselves of the services of this unit include Dubai Police, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Ports and Customs, Dubai International Airport, the health department, companies producing gas and flammable liquids, oil companies, gas cylinder companies and chemical material transportation companies," Brigadier Al Matroushi said.
He said Dubai Civil Defence was keen to use the latest technology to ensure the safety of citizens and create a safe working environment that supports the rapid developments in the country.
