INTERVIEW
Spiez Laboratory (
www.labor-spiez.ch) is a vital component of the Swiss Federal Offi ce of Civil Protection and is well regarded for its expertise across the CBRN spectrum. For its size, and its location in a traditionally neutral country, Spiez Laboratory has long been able to ‘punch above its weight’ in the CBRN arena. Its facilities continue to improve, most lately exemplifi ed by the construction of a Bio-safety Level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory. Dr. Marc Cadisch has been its Director since 2002, having joined from the pharmaceutical industry.
Switzerland’s Spiez Laboratory.
Photo by the author
is now fi nished and we are in the extensive process of commissioning the BSL-4 facility, which involves a signifi cant amount of testing and quality control. There are not many such laboratories in Europe and we are very proud to have such a capability. Having such a facility gives us greater scope for international scientifi c cooperation in the biological sector.
DK: How about forensics? I’ve seen a lot of problems in this area, both in laboratories and in the fi eld. This is an important issue in both warfare and terrorism, as there are serious issues in many countries about attribution and also about the integrity of evidence in judicial procedures. Aſt er all, the handling of samples of evidence must be defended both scientifi cally (is the process scientifi cally credible) and legally (is the evidence and process capable of resisting assaults by lawyers, judges, and juries).
MC: You raise a valuable point about forensics. We have been starting to do some feasibility studies and
radiochemical research in support of future international nuclear forensics workshops. There is much work to be done in the area of forensics across the CBRN spectrum. Traditionally, the focus of our expertise has been on the detection and identifi cation of a particular agent, as with our work on CWAs, their precursors and degradation products or on DU ammunition. Our focus has less been on tracing an indentifi ed agent back to a particular actor from whom the agent may originate.
Additionally, there is the legal process,
and historically this has been the area of expertise of forensic laboratories at the Canton level. As you know, Switzerland operates as a federal system, so there are many issues that are not normally handled at a national level but on a cantonal level. The Cantons are supposed to be the experts at the legal process. We have to combine our technical expertise with the Cantons’ forensic expertise. We’ve done some work with them, but there is plenty more work to do in this area.
DK: What can you tell us about your
emergency response teams that you now have at the laboratory?
MC: In co-operation with our neighbours, the ABC-Zentrum (the CBRN Competence Centre) we have a highly capable nuclear team, our A (atomic) team, as well as a chemical team, the C-team. We are in the process of establishing a biological team, a B-team as well. Our nuclear team has existed for some time now and is
CBNW 2013/01 21
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