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VOICE-OVER: Mustard gas is discovered in a storage room in Ede.
Panic in the neighbourhood. The emergency services rush to the scene.
Local residents are evacuated.
An investigation reveals that there is no danger.
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VOICE-OVER: From major fires to suspicious packages
RIVM has the expertise required for an effective response.
To mobilise that expertise demands good organisation behind the scenes.
RIVM never takes action on its own initiative
but works on the instructions of a government authority.
An outbreak of an infectious disease
or widespread food poisoning due to salmonella contamination
are examples of crisis situations that call for RIVM's expert input.
AURA TIMEN: During an outbreak of a communicable disease
the RIVM has basically two major roles.
The first role would be to provide the best scientific advice possible
on the control measures to be taken
and the second role would be to co-ordinate control of the outbreak
by helping the professionals in the field to carry out the measures.
VOICE-OVER: The 2013 outbreak of measles is a good example.
In general people in the Netherlands are well protected.
In some communities with strong conservative Protestant convictions however,
immunisation rates are lower.
During a crisis decisions have to be taken
under very high time pressure, in uncertainty.
So the first thing we do is, actually,
we convene an outbreak management team,
working closely with the Department of Health
by providing them with the best advice on measures,
but also with the field
in which professionals have to carry out the advice given.
VOICE-OVER: In a crisis situation
RIVM's Centre for Infectious Disease Control
is the nerve centre of the co-ordinated action.
The RIVM works closely together with all the countries in Europe
within the Early Warning and Response System
and with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control,
the ECDC, in Stockholm.
And of course we work closely together with the WHO.
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VOICE-OVER: In other types of crisis RIVM has a different role.
The institute advises and assists national and local governments,
but also the fire services and municipal health authorities.
An example is the Moerdijk factory fire,
where toxic chemicals were released into the atmosphere
with potential health effects.
Following the Enschede fireworks disaster in May 2000
RIVM was quickly on the scene with an investigation team
from the Environmental Incident Service.
Other types of support
include the counselling provided after the shooting incident
at a shopping centre in Alphen aan den Rijn.
During any crisis it's essential that the people on the scene
receive support from the emergency services' incident room.
Is the cloud of smoke wafting over an agricultural area actually dangerous?
What is the wind direction?
RIVM's Environmental Incident Service has a fully equipped mobile laboratory,
which can perform chemical and biological analyses on site.
There is also a fleet of smaller lab vehicles.
Staff take air, soil and water samples,
which are analysed on the spot to reveal what impact, if any,
the release of hazardous substances has had on public health and the environment.
RIVM can also monitor radiation and assess its potential effects on health.
The Radiation Incident Service measures radiation
from nuclear accidents, for example.
It also knows what to do in the event of actual radiation poisoning.
RONALD SMETSERS: In the event of a nuclear accident
RIVM has several roles. It starts already at the beginning, in the early phase
when there is no accident at all.
We have several early warning systems,
for example a radiation and monitoring network
that looks at the background radiation levels 24 hours a day.
VOICE-OVER: The most recent example, and one that shocked the world,
was the explosion at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan.
Well, suppose an accident occurs, we can go to the site and perform measurements.
We have, for example, two radiological vans with very sophisticated equipment on board.
And we can use that information to advise the governments
on taking proper protective action.
But we don't do this alone,
there are many more institutes involved in nuclear emergency response.
They are all combined in the so-called Back Office for Radiological Information,
and RIVM co-ordinates that group.
VOICE-OVER: RIVM provides an effective response
to all types of emergency by working closely alongside its clients,
the professional field and the general public.
It brings together existing strengths and helps to develop new knowledge.
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