Indo-US Workshop on Safeguarding Dual – Use Chemicals

Chandigarh, July 16, 2018: The Applications of Vulnerability Assessment Tools and Risk- Based Security Enhancements The inaugural function of the two day International Indo-US Workshop took place in the seminar hall of Department of SAIF/CIL, Panjab University. The function was presided over by the worthy Vice Chancellor of Panjab University, Prof. Arun Kumar Grover and Honourable Vice Chancellor of Gujrat University, Prof. Himanshu Pandya. Distinguished dignitaries on the dias and off the dias included Dr. Clifford Glantz, Senior Staff Scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USA; Mr. Josh Childress, Program Manager, CRDF Global, Dr. Radha Krishan, Course Coordinator, PNNL, USA; Prof. V.K. Jain, Workshop Coordinator, Gujrat University and Prof. S.K. Mehta, Workshop Coordinator, Director SAIF/CIL, Panjab University. Prof. Mehta started the inaugural proceedings by welcoming the august gathering and sharing the importance of the workshop in today’s world. Prof. A.K. Grover, in his talk, elaborated the genesis of dual use chemicals and proposed to make this workshop an annual event. He further asked the organizers to set up an expository lecture so a larger audience is benefitted by it. Prof. V.K. Jain introduced the honourable Vice Chancellor of Gujrat University, Prof. Himanshu Pandya. Prof. Pandya emphasized on the need of becoming sensitive and responsible towards mankind. Man is the most intelligent creature and this makes him responsible for the upliftment of the humane environment and using the chemicals responsibly. Dr. Clifford Glantz and Mr. Josh Childress elaborated on the theme and objectives of the workshop; and thanked the organizers for their warm hospitality. Dr. Radha Kishan delineated the main objectives of the workshop, focussing on chemical security training to enhance security awareness at the facilities containing hazardous chemicals. The function concluded with a group photograph. The first technical session commenced on a pompous note and started with an introductory lecture by Dr. K. Srinivas, CSIR-IICT. He introduced the audience about the weaponizable chemicals, their uses and hazards. Dr. Clifford Glantz, PNNL USA, elaborated upon the security concerns of the weaponizable chemicals. Dr. S. Prabhakar, CSIR-IICT, took lead further and familiarized the audience with the health impacts and exposure units for these dual-use chemicals. Dr. Radha Kishan, PNNL USA, concluded the technical session by making the audience aware on how to deal with these hazardous chemical mixtures and emergency planning. In the after lunch technical session, there were lectures by eminent scientists by Dr. Narayanan from ICC, Mumbai and Dr. Ken Ferguson from PNNL-USA. Dr. Ferguson and his team conducted exercises on the threat and effective security and made the session highly interactive and interesting for the participants from industry and academia.