Project 71 of the EU CBRN Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence (SECTRANS AAF)

Project

Published on September 23 2021

Risk prevention and response
Peace, stability and security

Project start date: January 1 2019

Status
Closed
Project end date: January 1 2022
Financing amount (Euro): €2.25M
Country and region: Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Liberia, Morocco, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Togo, Africa
Funders: European Union
Partners: INERIS

The project aims to ensure a safer transport of dangerous goods by road and rail in the African Atlantic Facade region (SECTRANS AAF).

15% of global traffic -all products and modes of transport combined- concern dangerous goods: Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN). They are used to power factory boilers, fill car tanks, treat drinking and waste water, develop medicines, textiles, fertilizers, etc.

The transport of these dangerous goods (TDG) covers three main families of products: liquid petroleum products (75%), various chemicals (20%) and gases (5%).

TDG is crucial for the economy, but also subject to many risks, which need to be managed.

Securing the transportation of dangerous goods

Project 71 of the EU CBRN Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence (or SECTRANS AAF) aims to contribute to a safer and more secure transport of dangerous goods by road and rail in the African Atlantic Facade region.

It was set up by international experts and dangerous goods specialists, to support the 10 countries of the Atlantic African Façade (AAF) in strengthening their local capacities in terms of transport networks’ quality (road and rail). It covers the entire chain of safety, from regulation to intervention, with a focus on the driving, loading and unloading, as well as the operational procedures in the event of an accident.

The project 71 is structured around four work packages:

Supporting the evolution of the regional and national legal frameworks of partner countries
Raising awareness among beneficiaries (senders, recipients) involved in TDG
Improving the competencies of practitioners (carriers, handlers, drivers) involved in TDG
Improving the response capacities in the event of TDG accidents

The EU CBRN Centres of Excellence

The EU Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence (CoE) Initiative supports partner countries and regions around the world in strengthening CBRN risk mitigation and an all-hazards security governance, following a voluntary and demand-driven approach.

The CBRN CoE Network consists of 62 partner countries grouped around 8 regions, each facilitated by a regional secretariat:

Centres d'excellence CBRN — CBRN Centres of Excellence

Project 71 is being implemented in parallel with Project 69 on High Risk Chemical Installations and Risk Reduction for the Atlantic Coast of Africa (INSTASUR).