Centres to be set up for people exposed to chemical, nuclear attacks

In a first, the Union Health Ministry has drawn up a proposal to set up two tertiary level centres for the treatment of people exposed to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents or attacks.

It is aimed at managing medical emergencies arising out of incidents such as the Bhopal gas tragedy, Visakhapatnam HPCL refinery blast, Tughlaqabad gas leak, Kanpur ammonia gas leak and other industrial accidents, official sources told PTI.

The detailed project report for setting up of these two chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) facilities at Stanley Medical College in Chennai, Tamil Nadu and Jhajjar Campus, AIIMS has been readied.

The project report has been prepared by HLL Infra Tech Services Ltd (HITES) in consultation with experts drawn from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Defence and other sectors like the Department of Atomic Energy as well as its affiliate organisations like Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, they said.

The two facilities are to be set up over one-and-half years at an estimated cost of Rs 230 crore.

Each of them is expected to be a 50 bedded facility, including 16 ICU Beds, 20 isolation beds and 10 pre-and post-operation rooms. A bone marrow transplant centre with four beds will also be set up in these facilities.

There will also be a decontamination shower facility comprising decontamination modules with hot, cold and chemical showers along with other necessary decontamination treatment and operation theatre.

These facilities will also have ambulance services.

In addition, the government is also planning to set up seven secondary-level CBRN medical management centres in Gujarat, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

"The rationale behind establishing such centres is to strengthen health centres in the civilian domain with facilities to handle CBRN cases," the official said.

"These facilities are planned to be established in already existing health facilities, around atomic power plant establishments and major metropolitan cities vulnerable to industrial accidents and terrorist actions," the sources added.