European experts aim to harmonize nuclear emergency plans
A team of European specialists on radiation protection has developed a method to calculate reference values that help to know if, after a nuclear accident, population must be evacuated or confined. The method, published in the Health Physics journal, reveals that levels are more restrictive in wet environments than in dry environments.
Nuclear Central at Ascó (Spain).
When there is a nuclear emergency, first, measures are applied in an emergency phase, such as confinement or evacuation of the population. Then, some measures long term such as relocation to safe areas. The choice of one or another measurement is made based on some ‘intervention levels’ or radiation dosage (measured in millisieverts, mSv), which are different among European countries.
Now the working group EPAL (Emergency Preparedness and Action Levels, at HERCA), a team of experts on radiation protection which aim to harmonize the answers in Europe against a nuclear emergency, presented in the Health Physics journal a methodology to standardize the criteria and guide on the decision-making.
“This paper shows the coherence that must to have the protective measures on emergency phase in relation to the long term phase. For example, if the level of intervention for relocating people is established too low in relation to the confinement, it could cause an absurd situation: relocating people out without a prior confinement, exposing them to radioactive cloud,” said José Manuel Martín Calvarro, EPAL member.
To help managers after a nuclear accident, the team has developed a method in two steps. The first step is to calculate a reference dose ratios, so that, in the second step, authorities can confirm they have taken the most appropriate protection measure.
Source: SINC
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