Attack on a transport of dangerous goods
An attack on dangerous goods transport is a deliberate act intended to cause damage, for example through vandalism, theft or the use of violence.
Dangerous goods are substances or products that can be dangerous if not correctly packed or transported. These may be solid, liquid or gaseous substances that are, for example, flammable, toxic, explosive or radioactive. Such an attack can present risks to health, safety, the means of transport and the environment.
Risks and causes
What can you do?
The right reflexes to take in the event of an attack on dangerous goods transport vary according to the type of substance released. Check our advice in the event of
- Release of biological substances
- Release of chemicals
- Release of nuclear substances
- Release of radioactive substances
- Discharge of explosive substances
Impact and probability
The figures relating to probability and impact describe an attack on dangerous goods transport of extreme magnitude. The BNRA theoretically describes such a scenario as follows:
- An attack using weapons of mass destruction is carried out with the aim of killing people or stealing nuclear and radioactive materials.
- In this scenario, more than four transports are targeted.
How should you interpret these results?
Within the BNRA, experts assessed three scenarios for each risk: considerable, major or extreme. On each page, you will find the results of the scenario with the highest score based on the combination of likelihood and impact. This does not mean that this scenario will occur or is the most likely. Read more here about how to correctly interpret the results.
Probability
Very weak
Human impact
Strong
Societal impact
Moderate
Environmental impact
Moderate
Financial impact
Strong
What do the authorities do?
The FPS Mobility and Transport is responsible for the transport of dangerous goods by rail, sea and air. In addition, the different regions are responsible for the transport of dangerous goods by road and inland waterways, as well as for the training and certification of safety advisers (rail transport).
For the transport of explosive and radioactive materials (class 7), the competent authorities are respectively the FPS Economy, SMEs, Middle Classes and Energy and the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control - (FANC) for all modes of transport, nationwide.
A CBRNe centre of expertise was set up within the National Crisis Center in 2018. It helps partners to make CBRNe emergency plans operational, offers support in crisis management, and participates in training for intervention services.
A CBRNe incident always requires multidisciplinary management and/or coordination at national level. Depending on the nature of the incident, different emergency plans can be triggered in the event of a CBRNe risk, for example the nuclear and radiological emergency plan or the CBRNe terrorism emergency plan.