"Safety comes first in everything we do," Arnold van Erp explains. "Naturally, we comply with all laws and regulations. This is regularly checked by various external parties. In addition, we have our own strict requirements for the layout of, and working methods on, our campus. The chance of an incident causing a serious impact is therefore small - exactly what we intend. An incident can, however, not be ruled out. The Biotech Campus Delft is prepared for this with an emergency response team: we have people on site 24/7 who know how to act in case of incidents."
Elevator lockins
What type of incidents can occur? Van Erp: "You could think of people being locked in elevators or people becoming unwell. A fire alarm or sprinkler alarm could go off. Or you might smell rotten eggs when some hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has escaped." At every incident, the emergency response team jumps into action. Most of the time, they can fix the problem themselves. Also in these cases the emergency services are automatically informed as well. When emergency services arrive on site, the emergency response team accompanies them. The Biotech Campus Delft reports all incidents involving the emergency services on their website. This also applies to events that have an impact on the environment. This is done within two working days after the incident.
Well trained
Arnold van Erp ensures that the in-house emergency response staff is well trained. "Ten times a year we train these 'BHV+ers'. There are at least fifty of them. They then carry out scenarios that could occur, such as elevator lockins. They can save lives and rescue people from enclosed spaces. I should add: I've been doing this work for about five years now, and the worst incident that occurred during that time was a case of emergency life support. And that time when there was an H2S vapor in a factory. That turned out to be a piece of rotting yeast in a dead piece of pipe. So I always make the training sessions a little more exciting than real life. That keeps people alert."
Want to know more?
Want to know what incidents have occurred recently? Then check out: https://www.biotechcampusdelft.com/nl/nieuws-and-events/incidents/. Do you have an environmental complaint or question of your own? The Environmental Complaints Line is free of charge and available 24/7 via 0800-0231341. For other questions, we can be reached via info@biotechcampusdelft.com or telephone number 015-279 2053 (during office hours).
Photo front page: preparing for a safety training