Canadian authorities yesterday began a five-day drill that was expected to include a staged WMD event, as part of preparations for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the Globe and Mail reported (see GSN, Oct. 30, 2008).
"I don't want to give away the exercise," said British Columbia's Emergency Management public safety office chief, John Oakley. He did say that the drill would incorporate "a chemical incident" that exposes some people to radioactive material.
"We're looking at something chemical, and radiological, to a less degree," Oakley said.
"Exercise Gold" is aimed to examine the emergency preparedness of roughly 2,000 personnel from Canadian security and Olympic offices, along with officials at all levels of government, Oakley said. It does not have a connection to any present danger to the games, which are scheduled for Feb. 12-28, he added.
"For the purpose of this exercise, it is simulated that there are different groups that want to harm or draw attention. We certainly do not specify them," Oakley said.
A public awareness campaign on how to deal with a radiological "dirty bomb" attack is not part of the simulation, he said.
"If something happens, public officials will tell people what to do, whether to evacuate or what the risk is to the public," according to Oakley (Robert Matas, Globe and Mail, Nov. 3).