SEISS annual report for 2017

The Scottish Environmental Incident Surveillance System (SEISS) provides a national level knowledge management system designed to manage information on a wide range of environmental incidents. The aim is to create a source of information that agencies can interrogate to discover who else has had to manage incidents, what information was helpful in managing incidents and what lessons were learned. SEISS is a database holding details of incidents reported by participating agencies, on situations involving a risk to public health due to the release into the environment of chemical, microbiological, radiation or other physical agents.

The annual SEISS report for 2017, published on 27 March 2018, notes:

• smoke was the most commonly reported chemical hazard
• Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) continues to be the most commonly reported microbiological agent
• residential sites were the most common locations for incidents involving chemical hazards
• recreational sites were the most common locations for incidents involving microbiological agents
• Region 4 (NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde and associated Local Authorities) recorded the highest number of incidents