Population Protection Institute (PPI)

Contacts

Address
Institut ochrany obyvatelstva
Na Lužci 204
533 41 Lázně Bohdaneč
The Czech Republic

Director
Rostislav Richter

Secretariat
E-mail address: spisovna@ioolb.izscr.cz

English speaking contact
E-mail address: jitka.collisova@ioolb.izscr.cz
Tel.: +420 950580405, mobile: +420 776770205

About us

Population Protection Institute provides education, scientific research, informative and advisory services in areas of civil emergency planning, emergency management, Integrated Rescue System and population protection for members and organizations of Fire and Rescue Services, Ministries, Administration Authorities and Municipal Authorities. It also organizes or co-organizes international workshops and conferences coordinated by UN, NATO and EU.

The Institute is subordinated to the Ministry of Interior and since 2000 directly managed by the General  Directorate of Fire and Rescue Services of the Czech Republic.

The Science and Research Department of the Institute with its Chemical, Radiological, Warning and Notification, and Crisis Management sections actively takes part in applied research in the areas of warning and emergency notification of population, practical tools of crisis management, and critical infrastructure protection, radiation reconnaissance, dosimetry and radiological verification, and radiation protection, chemical countermeasures and appropriate responses for population protection in the event of incidents involving the use of CBRNE agents; and personal protective equipment.

The Institute is currently largely participating in drafting essential conceptual and strategic materials of Security Research. Those materials are ratified by the Government of the Czech Republic. Apart from the Security Research of the Czech Republic our Institute also undertakes its own security research. Population Protection Institute in Lazne Bohdanec is the only state research establishment specialized in these spheres.

There are 48 research scientists in the Institute. They undertake both national and international (EC) research, not just in the areas of CBRNE and Hazmat, but all disasters that the Fire Rescue Services might encounter. The Institute has a close relationship with The National Institute for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Protection, who do a lot of the basic research, which we then aim to apply to Fire Rescue Services and their mission set. A lot of our research is directed toward personal protective equipment and in terms of population protection.

Research activities of the Institute include

1. Chemical reconnaissance and methods of field analysis within the Fire Rescue Services of the Czech Republic, which are focused on verifying and processing new methodologies concerning analysis of hazardous chemicals and chemical warfare agents in the field, using mobile chemical laboratories. It also deals with further research on the use of remote detection of dangerous chemicals during emergency situations, etc.
2. Laboratory testing in stationary chemical laboratories of the regional Fire Rescue Services covers in particular analyses of organic substances in various matrices using method of gas chromatography with mass detector, a research of the procedures relating to the identification of burning accelerants within the scope of eliciting the causes of fires, and determining fire-technical characteristics of materials
3. Research in the area of population protection/civil defence in cases of a misuse of chemical warfare agents in public buildings is based on an experiment, whereby an imitant of a chemical substance is disseminated within a Department Store. A draft of the measures for minimizing consequences of the toxic substance misuse is the result of the experiment.
4. Research within the field of decontamination of chemical, warfare, and other dangerous substances among others also focuses on testing new prospective decontamination mixtures, and verifying procedures and means of decontamination at low temperatures.

Radiation and Biological protection Section takes part in the Czech Republic National Radiation Monitoring Network (NRMN) and conducts and practices rescue interventions and population protection. These activities may have a radiation subtext.  This section also took an active part in EU projects SAGBATA and BIO-PROTECT.

Warning & Information Awareness Section is in charge of emergency notification system that alerts residents about major incidents, disasters, floods and weather related incidents. Our specialists also organize training courses for relevant personnel who are in charge of early warning and notification and they also regularly test all the equipment needed.

This section is currently working on a research project called “Warning, notification and emergency alerting of Czech citizens”. This project aims to draft procedures of experimental testing procedures, verify new communication technologies and experimental trials.

The other project, assigned by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in conjunction with Technical University in Brno is called “Research and Development of new communication technologies in the area of warning and notification” which aspires to propose a new conception of providing organizationally-technical support for notification of citizens, crisis management authorities and Integrated Rescue Units in the Czech Republic in 2010 to 2016 with the view of 2025.

Crisis Management and Critical Infrastructure Resilience experts in the Institute are involved in both research and educational activities. They organize tuitions and training to the staffs of regional crisis headquarters on various topics, such as: floods, blackout, activities of the crisis headquarter as a team, and so on. They also provide specialized consultations and professional opinions on emergency and crisis planning of territorial units.
With regards to crisis management, civil protection and civil emergency planning, they consult draft bills and other legal regulations, develop conceptions, methodologies and strategies and cooperate in various legal interdepartmental teams and groups.

Geographic information system (GIS) section manages, retrieves, verifies, analysis and distributes geo-data on behalf of the Fire and Rescue Service of the Czech Republic - performs a central data storage function. The section executes complex operation with geo-data, spatial and network GIS analysis, publishes map services and participates in the formation of the map creation. Its technology platform is ESRI (ArcGIS for Desktop and ArcGIS for Server including their upgrade). The section participates in various international and national research projects concerning protection of population and civil defence with regards to geographic information for relevant decision makers.

The Institute has always been aware of the necessity of promoting education and training of key members of the emergency services and others, including the public, in the essential skills to deal with civil emergencies. Therefore our Study Department designs and carries out both specialized and improvement courses, and takes part in external lecturing. 

The Institute organizes and guarantees professional seminars, conferences and courses with international participation.

For the past 13 years our Institute has run an international training course in Civil Defense against chemical weapons. The course is jointly organized by the Government of the Czech Republic and the Technical Directorate of Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

In case of your interest in any information, please contact us.

OPCW

Population Protection Institute (PPI) organizes every year by the end of May the International Training Course for specialists in the field of chemical weapons and terrorism under the banner of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), based in Hague. This advanced course for a close group of experts is organized in cooperation with the State Office for Nuclear Safety (SÚJB) and takes place in the PPI under the guidance of our experienced experts in the area of protection against weapons of mass destruction.

Program of advanced courses is balanced in terms of theoretical and practical parts. In the theoretical part, lecturers give presentations on chemical weapons (the history and the current state of disarmament, warfare chemicals, medical aspects and prophylaxis, etc.) Other presentations are focused on the following practical training, which includes detection, decontamination, sampling and the principles of using personal protective equipment. In the practical part, the participants first familiarize themselves with the use of protective masks, whose leakage the can verified in a mobile gas chamber with the use of "banana gas". Afterward they practice putting on and taking off protective clothing and operating simple detection instruments. The instructors and participants further conduct a methodical training, decontamination and sampling techniques. The practical part of the exercise culminates on the fourth day, when participants practice intervention when suspected warfare chemicals are detected. Using appropriate imitation of substances has positive reactions and the atmosphere of real intervention is assured.

In case of your interest in any information, please contact us.

Contact:
Mrs. Ladislava Navrátilová
E-mail address: Ladislava.navratilova@ioolb.izscr.cz
Tel.: +420 950580445