Role of MUMM

In the event of an emergency at sea, action is taken by the Operational Directorate Natural Environment (ODNature) and the MUMM Scientific Department. The experts at MUMM represent the Federal Science Policy in the Emergency Plan ANIP Noordzee, where our main job is to give scientific advice to help prevent or reduce pollution and environmental damage at sea.

The main tasks are:

• To evaluate the type and behaviour of discharged pollutants, the severity of accidental sea pollution and the likely impact on the environment;

• To help maintain a continuous picture of the emergency, through a combination of monitoring from the air by aircraft and employing advanced mathematical models capable of simulating the evolution of pollution or lost cargo on the surface of the sea or in the water column over several days. This ongoing picture is crucial to counter pollution operations.

• To coordinate scientific monitoring of a pollutant's impact on the environment and scientific activities in relation to animal strandings, in collaboration with other scientific institutions and experts.

• MUMM is designated as the competent authority for permiting the use of chemical combat pollution techniques at sea, particularly dispersants, and for leaving equipment at sea when in the process of combating pollution.