In-Place Protection is a concept of seeking protection in-door against hazardous chemical vapour that is released into the air. It protects the occupants by allowing the chemical vapour to dissipate outside the homes or buildings instead of flowing directly into the premises.

The In-Place Protection involves 6 simple steps:

1. Go indoors;

2. Close all doors, windows and turn off all air-conditioning units;

3. Go to a room with the least number of openings; preferably one with a toilet;

4. Seal off all windows, doors, air-conditioning units and openings in the room with masking tape;

5. Use plastic sheets or trash bags to cover these openings and seal them once again with masking tape;

6. Continue to tune in to MediaCorp TV or radio for further instructions.

IPP may be implemented in the event of a chemical vapour release resulting from industrial accident or a road traffic accident involving tanker transporting hazardous chemicals. The public may also be asked to seek in-place protection should there be a terrorist attack where toxic or harmful substances are released.

No, it is not. The important message broadcast is used to alert the population to a wide range of emergency procedures and the execution of the In-Place Protection procedure is just one aspect of it.

Besides the activation of the 'Important Message' signal of the island-wide Public Warning System siren and the accompanying important message broadcast over TV and radio, the other means of alert could be more localized such as through the use of loudhailers or door-to-door notification.

Evacuation is an organised movement of large number of people from a risk area to a safe place, which involves long preparation time and requires extensive resources. During an incident involving the rapid release of hazardous chemical vapour into the air, expediency of the situation may render evacuation inappropriate. Evacuation here may put you at a greater risk by exposing yourself directly to the concentration of harmful chemical vapour in the air. In such a situation, adopting the In-Place Protection procedure is a much-preferred option, providing immediate and better protection.

The IPP measure is not meant for prolonged stay in a sealed room. It is instituted for a short duration only, usually not more than 4 hours. Hence there is no problem with regards to deprivation of oxygen.

Cooking is not necessary in the sealed room as the duration of stay is only a few hours. You should instead have non-perishable food supply for at least one meal during your stay in the sealed room.

A master bedroom is preferred as it has a toilet with running water.

Both local and overseas studies have shown that the closing of windows and doors and shutting off of the air-conditioning units; coupled with steps taken to temporarily seal a room using common materials enhances the safety of a room against the impact of a chemical plume. In addition, sealing the room would further reduce the air change rate and enhance the level of protection to the occupants.

The IPP Kit should preferably be kept in the room that has been selected for In-Place Protection.

The necessary items that should be kept in the IPP kit include:

a. trash bags

b. masking tapes (minimum 48mm width)

c. a pair of scissors

d. battery operated radio with fresh supply of batteries

In addition, the following optional items can also be kept in the room selected for IPP. They are:

a. torchlights

b. bottled water

c. non-perishable food supply for at least one meal

d. mobile phone

Masking tape and plastic sheet in the form of trash bags are recommended as they are commonly found items made of materials which are resistant to permeation from vapour. They can be easily applied to create an airlock in a room to reduce the infiltration of hazardous vapour in providing effective protection. It is also easy to remove these materials from the sealed room for ventilation, once it is safe to do so.

The purpose of the masking tape is to seal off any gaps around the windows and doors and any other openings. Tape with wider width would make it easier for the sealing procedure. Hence we recommend that masking tape with a minimum width of 48mm be used.

Yes. You can be better prepared if you have cut out the trash bag to the size of each window and opening in the room selected for IPP. This will greatly expedite the execution of the IPP procedure in times of emergency.

The SCDF distributed the Civil Defence Emergency Handbook (2005 edition) to every household in Singapore in April 2005 and it covers the IPP procedure from pages 46 to 49.

You can also surf the SCDF website for information on In-Place Protection Procedure.  In addition, you can also call the SCDF Emergency Information hotline at 1800 2865555 and follow the following steps:

1. press 1 (for English) OR 2 (for Mandarin) OR 3 (for Malay) OR
4 (for Tamil).

2. press 1 again for the emergency procedure module.

3. press 1 again for the IPP procedure.