How do States develop an effective and efficient strategy to protect the public in the event of a nuclear or radiological emergency?
This question was asked to 43 experts from 40 Member States who attended the workshop held at the IAEA’s Headquarters in Vienna, Austria from 20 to 24 March. The participants discussed approaches for developing a protection strategy as part of their national emergency preparedness and response framework in a manner that is consistent with the most recent IAEA Safety Requirements for Preparedness and Response for a Nuclear or Radiological Emergency (IAEA Safety Standards Series No. GSR Part 7).
The workshop considered approaches for developing, justifying and optimizing a protection strategy, its expected contents, the role of dosimetry concepts and the importance of stakeholder engagement. Moreover, the workshop provided the opportunity for participants to discuss the means for implementing the protection strategy at the national level and also associated practical consideration.
In the course of the workshop, Member States had the opportunity to exchange and discuss national experiences and challenges to find ways to support each other in building effective strategies to protect the public in a nuclear or radiological emergency and to demonstrate them during the additional working sessions.
More specifically, the participants agreed that a national strategy must be developed to ensure a consistent response to emergencies. However, some degree of flexibility within the strategy was necessary to reflect their individual emergency preparedness and response arrangements. The participants supported the development of a template and practical guidance and provided input for the further improvement of these tools.
The workshop provided a great opportunity to build a common understanding on the concept of protection strategy”, said Ms. Marina Nizamska, Bulgarian Nuclear Regulatory Agency, “It helped us to identify the commonalities and challenges we share with other Member States in the strategies we are developing for different types of emergencies and the possible ways forward. This workshop is an invaluable time to learn, share information and cooperate in this area”.
At the same time, the workshop enabled the Agency to obtain Member States’ feedback for further development of practical guidance to support the implementation of the Requirement 5 in IAEA Safety Standards Series No. GSR Part 7 calling for governments to prepare such strategies.
