The emergency response teams of Spiez Laboratory that are able to react quickly in the event of NBC incidents have been operational for well over 25 years and are continually being improved – among other things by conducting international exercises. The DDPS Emergency Response Team (EEVBS) is called up via the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC).

Our emergency response teams are at hand to quickly advise and support the immediately deployed Swiss forces (anti-chem teams, police, ambulance and fire services, etc.) in special NBC situations. They consist of voluntary specialists from Spiez Laboratory and the NBC EOD Centre of competence of the armed forces. The operational concept of this special team is focused on efficient on-site support at the shortest notice possible.

Our emergency response teams are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As soon as the alarm is raised, our nuclear, biological and chemical experts are quickly on hand to advise incident command deployed at the scene.

Nuclear DDPS Emergency Response Team (A-EEVBS)

Acts as a federal element in the event of radiological or nuclear incidents. As part of the federal Emergency Radioactivity, the A-EEVBS fulfils its mobile mission, while Spiez Laboratory carries out stationary lab analyses. The A-EEVBS consists of some 20 specialists who are volunteers. For longer operations and, if large amounts of samples accumulate, the military lab conscript unit NBC Defence Lab 1 provides additional support. Members of this unit are schooled at the Spiez Laboratory in the use of measuring instruments, attend annual refresher courses and can be deployed at short notice. As a result, a total of 80 nuclear specialists can be rapidly mobilised to respond to a nuclear incident.

Biology DDPS Emergency Response Team (B-EEVBS)

Specialists from the Biology Division are permanently on stand-by to provide biological incident response teams with scientific and technical advice. They also ensure the response readiness of the Spiez Laboratory biocontainment laboratory, in particular its capabilities to handle, screen and analyse Risk Group 4 agents like the highly contagious Ebola and Marburg viruses.

Chemistry DDPS Emergency Response Team (C-EEVBS)

The Chemistry Emergency Response Team of the DDPS has been capable of supporting cantonal intervention teams which deal with the suspected use of chemical agents since January 2000. The Emergency Response Team joins at the site of operations within one hour at the most with its own service vehicles or a military helicopter from the NBC Centre in Spiez. The members of the C EEVBS are schooled in handling chemical warfare agents and are able to operate safely in contaminated areas. They determine the extent and degree of poisoning and take samples for analysis in the accredited analytical laboratory in Spiez. The C-EEVBS also offers round the clock technical advice on the telephone. This service is important as, in the event of an attack with nerve agents, taking the right measures during the first minutes is decisive for the further development of the event.