UK Government Decontamination Service
From SR
Roles
The Government Decontamination Service boosts the UK’s capacity to resist and recover from deliberate and accidental releases of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) materials, and from major accidental releases of hazardous materials (HAZMAT).
This is done by providing advice, guidance, management support and contractual arrangements to support those who will be responsible for decontamination.
The GDS will help the country prepare for a CBRN or significant HAZMAT incident, and minimise its impact on society, the economy and the environment.
To ensure the UK has a effective decontamination capability, the fulfil three main functions:
- Provide advice and guidance to support those who will be responsible for decontamination during their contingency planning and during actual incidents.
- Maintain a Framework of specialist suppliers and assess their ability to carry out decontamination operations, and ensure that responsible authorities have ready access to those services if the need arises.
- Advise central Government on the national capability for the decontamination of buildings, infrastructure, mobile transport assets and the open environment. They will also regularly review the UK’s capability to respond to such incidents.
History
It was decided to set up a national resource to take some of the burden away from local, and other responsible authorities. The Northern Ireland and Scottish Executives decided to support a single UK GDS rather than establish similar agencies in their jurisdictions.
