Spiez Laboratory

Spiez Laboratory
(in German) Labor Spiez
(in French) Laboratoire de Spiez
(in Italian) Laboratorio Spiez'
(in Romansh) Labor Spiez
Agency overview
Jurisdiction Federal administration of Switzerland
Minister responsible
Parent agency Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports
Website www.labor-spiez.ch

The Spiez Laboratory (German: Labor Spiez, French: Laboratoire de Spiez, Italian: Laboratorio Spiez) is the Swiss institute for the protection of the population against nuclear, biological and chemical threats and dangers.[1] It is part of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports (DDPS) and is located in Spiez. The lab is one of the five permanent authorized OPCW labs in the world.[2]

Tasks

Development of fundamentals of NBC protective materials and coordination of national NBC-protection. Operation of testing laboratories for the authorization and supervision of NBC protective materials.[1]

Analysis and diagnosis of biological agents and toxins.

Analysis of samples of Chemical warfare agents and related compounds (Accredited laboratory of the OPCW).[2] Evaluation of detection and detoxification agents of chemical warfare agents. Production of chemical warfare agents as reference substances.

Radioactivity measurements. Environmental testing. Member of the ALMERA network of the IAEA.

Technical advice of the Swiss Confederation with International negotiations on Disarmament and arms control.

International activities

Spiez Laboratory is an international recognized center of excellence and works with the United Nations (UN), the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Also, Spiez Laboratory provides various posts in the NATO program "Partnership for Peace". It is led by Marc Cadisch and appr. 100 civil employees. It can request at any time personnel and equipment of the NBC Troops of the Swiss Armed Forces, if needed. This includes special hardware like the Mowag DuroIIIP based NBC verification Laboratory, Or Swiss Air Force Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma Helicopters or Northrop F-5 Tiger II for air measurements (e.g. after the Fukushima event).

Missions

In 2013, Spiez Laboratory was one of the four labs in Europe that analysed samples from the Syrian civil war, for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 "'Chemical analysis won’t tell you who released the agent'". Swissinfo. 23 August 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Spiez Laboratory aces chemical weapons test". Swissinfo. 17 September 2015.
  3. ↑ (in French) Céline Zünd, "Des experts suisses prêts à se rendre en Syrie", Le Temps, Tuesday 8 October 2013, p. 7.

See also

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