The IAEA last week held a workshop to support European Member States in their work to assess and make a prognosis for nuclear or radiological emergencies.
The high interest in the workshop, which attracted 25 participants from 24 Member States, reflects the priority IAEA Member States place on strengthening emergency preparedness and response capacities.
Experts use evidence and scientific knowledge to assess a nuclear or radiological emergency and to make a prognosis of how it could evolve. Such assessment and prognosis is crucial for an effective emergency response.
The workshop focused on several areas including approaches used in Member States and the IAEA’s response roles.
As part of the Vienna workshop, participants practiced using a virtual reality tool which simulates emergency scenarios. Mr Chaput, Incident and Emergency Assessment Officer at IAEA’s Incident and Emergency Centre, who developed the simulated scenarios, explained: “Virtual reality technology enables us to conduct large scale emergency simulations which otherwise would be complex to organise and require significant financial resources. Moreover, these tools allow us to train participants in environments impossible to simulate otherwise, such as emergencies with very high radiation exposure scenarios.”
The workshop was organised under the framework of a regional technical cooperation project[1] which supports Member States in the Europe region to enhance their capabilities to prepare for and respond to nuclear or radiological emergencies.
The IAEA will continue to support its Member States to strengthen effective emergency preparedness and response systems.
[1] RER9137 - Enhancing National Capabilities for Response to Nuclear and Radiological Emergencies
Virtual reality technology enables us to conduct large scale emergency simulations which otherwise would be complex to organise and require significant financial resources.
