On Saturday 24 October, Umicore and the Rivierenland Fire Brigade organised a large-scale multidisciplinary emergency response exercise at the Umicore site in Hoboken. The exercise formed part of the company’s ongoing efforts to ensure safety at its site and in the surrounding area.
The joint exercise aimed to test and, where possible, improve communication and cooperation between the various services. The focus was on containing and resolving a chemical incident, medical interventions and evacuations, involving both internal and external emergency services.
Johan Ramharter, Senior Vice President and director of the Umicore Hoboken site, emphasises the importance of the exercise: “In recent years, we have made significant investments in our emergency planning, in close cooperation with local and provincial authorities and emergency services. Effective cooperation with them is essential to the success of our emergency procedures."
Our efforts do not end with this exercise. As a company, we will continue to invest and make every effort to ensure safety at and around our site.
Hans De Bondt, Commander at the Rivierenland Fire Brigade:
“Realistic exercises like this prepare us for exceptional situations in an industrial context. They help us become familiar with the site, its risks and its emergency procedures. The better prepared we are, the faster and more efficiently we can respond when every second counts.”
