Foot and mouth disease
a knowledge exchange case study
In response to a government request during the national emergency caused by the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in 2001, the British Geological Survey (BGS) offered its services and was then called upon to provide, often at extremely short notice, information critical to decisions about the use of sites for the burning and burial of carcasses. These site-specific reports dealt with the potential risk to groundwaters, and were provided to the Environment Agency, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food (MAFF) and the Army.
NERC also provided contact details for relevant scientists in the NERC community who could help with predicting the pattern of the outbreak.