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PathoCERT

Pathogen Contamination Emergency Response Technologies

Disruptive events such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, or accidents caused by human factors have the potential to contaminate water supplies with waterborne pathogens. Untreated or poorly managed, these pathogens can easily spread throughout urban water systems. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that protecting water systems and improving detection mechanisms and response systems will play a critical role in safeguarding human health in times of increasingly frequent disruptions (IPCC, 2023). When such emergency situations occur, first responders, law enforcement, and emergency medical services are the first to arrive at the scene. This is why ensuring that these individuals can operate safely and effectively is an ongoing, and often challenging task, as the detection and identification and mitigation of such pathogens requires specialised technologies and skills that are integrated into emergency response plans.

In this view, the Pathogen Contamination Emergency Response Technologies (PathoCERT) project has worked to improve the ability of first responders to rapidly detect waterborne pathogens through 12 novel smart technologies providing solutions along the entire first response chain.

  • PathoSENSE: A suite of mobile sensing solutions to detect the presence and type of pathogens
  • PathoSAT: Collects data and images from satellites to identify water contamination and its extent
  • PathoTWEET: Analyses data and photos from social media to assess the occurrence, severity and extent of water contamination events
  • PathoIMS: Incident Management Software to facilitate the communication between FR’s headquarters and the Command-and-Control Centre and the remote FR units.
  • PathoINVEST: Provides the incident commander with information on the threat risk, predicts the evolution of events and foresees possible impacts.
  • PathoWARE: A platform that collects data from Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and water authorities and integrate them with the data generated by PathoSENSE, PathoDRONE, PathoSAT and PathoTWEET to provide the FRs with a complete picture of the emergency situation.
  • PathoDRONE: A multicopter drone that collects water samples from inaccessible water bodies for FRs which are then tested by PathoSENSE
  • PathoVIEW: Allows first responders to view relevant information from (and communicate with) PathoWARE  through  smart wearable interfaces and augmented reality systems.
  • PathoTHREAT: Provides information on the correct course of action in relation to specific pathogen contamination using various databases to ensure the safety of the FRs and citizens.
  • PathoGIS: A GIS-based intelligent decision support system for disaster situations centred on contamination area detection and disaster situation risk assessment technology.
  • PathoALERT: Monitor and generate alerts based on the combination of telemetry data and social media data as well as satellite cameras and SCADA data.
  • PathoCAM: Installed IoT cameras in water reservoirs to monitor water quality and detect changes using artificial intelligence.

The CSCP has led the multi-stakeholder engagement and managed the organisational chain to guide and implement co-creation processes to support the development of PathoCERT technologies. The CSCP also supported involved actors to improve their cooperation and coordination during emergency event through the establishment of six Communities of Practice (CoPs) in Granada (Spain), Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Limassol (Cyprus), Thessaloniki (Greece), Sofia, (Bulgaria), and Seoul (South Korea) bringing together universities, research organisations, SMEs, first responders, and water utilities.

This approach has enabled the development of processes and technologies that address the specific needs and challenges of first responders on the ground and has provided a blueprint for other non-participating countries to follow. In addition, the impact on local communities was analysed and assessed in order to enable the development of strategies to strengthen the resilience of citizens after emergency events.

To learn more about the PathoCERT project, the multi-stakeholder engagement approach, best practices and key learnings from the CoPs, key strategies and challenges for community resilience, please watch our explainer video.

PathoCERT Video

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The PathoCERT project is funded under the European Union’s research program Horizon 2020 and runs for three and a half years (2020 – 2024). The project draws on the extensive knowledge and expertise of a consortium of 23 partners from Europe and South Korea.

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