Introduction:
By end of 1970s, the world (including Jordan) had a great development in industry ,especially in the field of chemicals and their related incidents. So Jordan started to improve more skills in this field, that’s where the idea of the Laboratories & hazardous materials department came from. The Laboratories & hazardous materials department was established in 17th Aug.2009, started its duties in 1st Jan. 2010, to follow up the incremental developments in scientific and technology domains, as well as performing different types of laboratory tests ( Chemical, Physical, Mechanical And Electrical).
History :
The idea of the establishing a specialized laboratories in the civil defense is an old issue, early in the Nineties of the last century and due the numerous ways to start a fire, the decision maker in Jordanian civil defense decided to send a group of officers to Egypt to attend a training course on fire investigation where they to learn about investigation laboratories and types of tests being held on fire samples. They introduced a study about the need for competent laboratory. After that the staff of the laboratory were trained in both the Forensic Laboratory / Public Security on the analysis of fire samples using a fire-chromatographic analysis (GC / MS) and in the laboratories of the Royal Scientific Society (RSS) to conduct the following tests:
As a result of the important role for civil defense in the field of guaranteeing citizens and properties safety, the idea of developing the laboratories came from, in order to provide a specialized, scientific laboratories which have the highest level of technology, so Early in 2005 the laboratory was supplied with a set of new equipment for laboratory tests on hoses and fire extinguishers and any other cylindrical body. In order to increase the efficiency of the laboratory in the field of detection of unknown chemicals an (FT-IR) was provided in 2006 , this was in a 425 m2 site which has been partially prepared in the Capital Civil defense Directorate. At this stage, the basic of laboratory and hazardous materials appeared as a part of prevention and self-protection Department with several duties such as: fire samples, participating in related commissions.
In early 2005, a set of devices was purchased that could help the laboratory conduct some examinations on hoses, extinguishers and any cylindrical body. The devices were operated in 1996 in a building followed to the Capital Civil Defense Directorate with a total area of 425 .
The laboratory's efficiency in detecting unknown chemical materials was increased by purchasing an (FT-IR) analysis device.
At this stage, the Hazardous Materials and Laboratory Testing Department emerged, as it was a technical laboratory connected to the Prevention and Self-Protection Department, entrusted with many duties, including: examining fire samples received from the field for the purpose of detecting petroleum waste and proving or denying the presence of fire accelerating materials in them, in addition to participating in the investigation committees in the causes of the fire, to which laboratory officers were assigned at that time.
