CDP putting final touches on new Chemical Operations Support Specialist course

Curriculum developers at FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness are putting the final touches on a long-anticipated Chemical Operations Support Specialist course.

The five-day, 40-hour course is geared at safety officers, hazardous materials technicians, toxicologists, chemists, and other individuals with education and experience in chemical science and response, and will provide them the skills to function as technical advisors to incident commanders and operations center officials during chemical emergencies.  It will include both classroom instruction and practical exercises.

The CDP is creating the course in partnership with FEMA’s CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) and the Department of Homeland Security’s CWMD (Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction) offices.

According to the developers, a walk-through of the course is planned for Oct. 26-28. They will make any final adjustments to the curriculum following that.

The developers say they anticipate the course to be launched as early as January.