Environmental Toxicology Advisory Service (ETAS)

Defra is looking to better understand the market capacity and appetite to participate in procuring 24/7 technical support to enquiries from staff across the Environment Agency.

Most enquiries relate to the fate and effects of chemicals on environmental receptors and human health, as well as potential sources of chemicals in the environment.

Operational staff in particular use the service on a day-to-day basis, to support input to work areas such as (but not restricted to):

• Pollution incident management

• Planned activities such as discharge consenting, permitting, etc.

• Prosecutions (e.g. expert witness statements)

Although most enquiries are dealt with in-house, it is important to be able to access external support during out of hours incidents or when Environment Agency staff are unable to respond.

Enquirers usually have a technical background; however, they are not usually experts in chemistry or toxicology, therefore the supplier is required to provide 24/7 assistance.

If you can provide this service (the ability to provide out of hours support is vital), please register an expression of your interest to angus.fairney-broomfield@defra.gov.uk. Please note this is a voluntary process that can provide data for supporting approvals of routes to market.

Presently, specification is being refreshed and further details with be available at the tender stage.

The deadline to register an expression of your interest is 17:00 on 14/03/2025.