Resilience Assessment and Enhancement for Food Supply Chains in the Face of Extreme Airborne Events

State-of-Qatar lies in the apparent center of massive agglomerates of chemical facilities in neighboring countries and within Qatar. At the same time, current and future nuclear power activities for research and electricity production emerge as a more potent hazard. Furthermore, aeolian dust events frequently swap the region disrupting life and operations. In the past decade, our group studied extensively the release and fate of airborne chemicals, radionucleotides, and dust in the environment, in the context of both academic and industrial research. Though it was possible to assess the impact and prioritize certain measures (e.g. food restrictions in case of nuclear power incidents) using advanced tools and in-house developed frameworks, several limitations were identified – especially in relation to the food supply chain. These weaknesses, along with the severity of the potential consequences, led to this proposal which aims to develop a decision-support framework for the local and regional fool supply chain in the case of natural and anthropogenic airborne chemical, radiological, nuclear, and dust (CRND) disasters. Against this backdrop of significant regional threats, and building upon our prior research we intend to undertake a project dedicated to assessing and enhancing the resilience of Qatar's food supply chain in the face of extreme airborne events. Firstly, we will conduct an integrated vulnerability and impact assessment that identifies key weaknesses in the food supply chain and the risk assessment algorithms concerning extreme airborne events. Utilizing a Receptor Centric Decision Support System (RCDSS) currently under development, we will simulate potential disruptions to the food supply chain, providing dynamic modeling of the impact on various stages from production to distribution under different airborne event scenarios. Subsequently, findings from the vulnerability and impact assessment will be used to formulate a comprehensive resilience framework. This framework will integrate preventative measures, potential real-time risk monitoring systems, and post-disaster recovery strategies. We plan to embed this framework within the RCDSS, thus enhancing its capability to test the effectiveness of the framework and identify areas for refinement under simulated conditions. Finally, leveraging the RCDSS, we aim to establish specialized training programs and simulation exercises. These will be designed to improve the readiness of key stakeholders in the food security for handling extreme airborne events. Concurrently, we will use the RCDSS to derive data-driven policy recommendations that will bolster the resilience of Qatar's food supply chain against extreme events, thereby influencing local strategies and policies related to food security and disaster response. This comprehensive approach will ensure the food supply chain's robustness, even in the face of low-probability, high-impact incidents.

Texas A&M University at Qatar