On November 30, 2016 Wm. Robert Johnston has compiled all the NRBCe events that have occurred in the world. They are mainly due to chemicals but the biological threat is not to be excluded.
Chemical and biological weapons have been used repeatedly since the First World War. These events have occurred either during acts of war, acts of terrorism or criminal acts.
This confirms that the threat is a reality.
You can find the article by following this link [1]
The lessons
All the examples reported here show that BCRNe weapons, initially difficult to develop, can be used more easily and especially by terrorists.
Several recent articles [2] alert us about an eventual massive chemical attack by Daech (Islamic State) in London. Many arguments support this hypothesis : Daech has developed a great organizational capacity for exemple, to transport chemical substances. Moreover, it is well known that the organization possesses the technologies to manufacture combat gases such as yperite and that they have never hesitated to use it on civilian populations in recent conflicts.
When we know that the Moroccan security services have just dismantled a Daech cell that was planning chemical attacks in the kingdom and that a recent Europol report notified the possibility of a large-scale attack in the UK, we can be worried. We also know that a large number of jihadists who fought in the ranks of the EI, are coming back to their European home countries. Moreover, they have no moral objection to use this kind of weapons against the populations. The result is an explosive cocktail in every sense of the word.
Conclusion
The protection of military personnel but also of first responders and other personnel involved in the various related fields is therefore an urgent priority.
First responders’ protection is crucial: they should not be victims among the victims (as it was the case in Tokyo) … but they should be able to do their tasks in an effective way.