Public health preparedness for chemical incidents in Europe.

In response to the attack of 11 September 2001 on the USA, World Health Organization (WHO), Regional Office for Europe took immediate steps in order to be able to assist countries in case of a terrorist attack. Among other things, WHO organised a series of different consultations with international organisations, government representatives and experts in order to assess the state of preparedness at the national and international levels, to identify the main problems and to make recommendations. The problems were addressed in the context of possible public health consequences, regardless of whether such an incident derived from a deliberate act or a naturally occurring event. This overview gives a brief account of presentation made at the European Union "First Civil Protection Forum", which was held in Brussels in November 2002, and which served as a basis for defining the EU priorities and actions to make Europe a safer place to live.