Hellenic Rescue Team participates in the European project PathoCERT

Hellenic Rescue Team, along with 15 partners from Greece, Europe and South Korea, participates in the European project PathoCERT (Pathogen Contamination Emergency Response Technologies), which is funded from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, with a 6.905.018 € budget.

The overall objective of the PathoCERT project is to strengthen the coordination capability of the first responders in handling waterborne pathogen contamination events. This will increase the first responders’ capabilities, allowing the rapid and accurate detection of pathogens, improving their situational awareness, and improving their ability to control and mitigate emergency situations involving waterborne pathogens. To achieve this objective, the project will research and demonstrate Pathogen Contamination Emergency Response Technologies (PathoCERT), a collection of novel, cost-effective and easy-to-use technologies, tools and guidelines, which will be field-validated by the first responders.

Pathogens are a determining factor in emergency response due to their life-threatening nature, both for the public as well as for the safety of first responders. In many cases, pathogen contaminations are difficult to detect, and require specialized technologies, tools and procedures to handle them. Pathogens can easily spread via water, and may cause contaminations of large areas far from their origin. Waterborne pathogen contamination events can occur anywhere, and may be caused by various natural events or they can be the result of human activity, either accidental or malicious. During these emergencies, first responders may need to operate within a certain pre-defined incident area, and are likely to be exposed to contaminated water originating from various sources, such as surface water, wastewater or drinking water. This can pose a significant risk of illness, disease or even death, through skin contact, ingestion or inhalation.

PARTNERS:

NATIONAL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS – NTUA

UNIVERSITATEA DE MEDICINA SI FARMACIE IULIU HATIEGANU CLUJ-NAPOCA

CETAQUA, CENTRO TECNOLOGICO DEL AGUA, FUNDACION PRIVADA

FUNDACIO EURECAT

ΕΘΝΙΚΟ ΚΕΝΤΡΟ ΕΡΕΥΝΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΤΕΧΝΟΛΟΓΙΚΗΣ ΑΝΑΠΤΥΞΗΣ

KWR WATER B.V.

FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V.

SATWAYS

MicroLAN

AQUA-Q AB

PHOEBE RESEARCH AND INNOVATION LTD

ENGINEERING - INGEGNERIA INFORMATICA SPA

WATER EUROPE

ΥΠΟΥΡΓΕΙΟ ΕΣΩΤΕΡΙΚΩΝ ΚΥΠΡΟΥ

AYUNTAMIENTO DE GRANADA

COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS DIRECTORATE

STICHTING WATERNET

ETAIRIA HYDREFSIS KAI APOCHETEFSIS THESSALONIKIS AE

HELLENIC RESCUE TEAM

SUNDOSOFT LTD

Korea Institute of Science and Technology

 More about the project:

https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/883484

@pathoCERT

 The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement ID883484)