Pretoria - The National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) will conduct a full scale nuclear emergency preparedness exercise at Koeberg nuclear power plant next week.
The full scale nuclear safety regulatory emergency exercise to test the effectiveness of the Integrated Koeberg Nuclear Emergency Plan will take place on Wednesday.
During the exercise, the NNR will evaluate and assess the integration and response arrangements of the various role players to a simulated emergency scenario.
The NNR said emergency exercises are periodically organised as training for emergency teams and to test resources and organisational structures with a view to identifying and strengthening any weak points.
In accordance with sections 5 and 7 of the National Nuclear Regulator Act (Act No 47 of 1999), the NNR conducts regulatory emergency exercises at the Koeberg and Pelindaba sites to test and evaluate the effectiveness of the emergency plan, which also takes into account lessons learned from previous exercises and in-house drills.
“As the competent authority in South Africa, the NNR takes nuclear safety regulation very seriously and by conducting these regulatory emergency exercises, it helps us to sharpen our ability to respond to an emergency scenario as well as to further improve South Africa’s preparedness in the unlikely event of nuclear or radiological incidents and emergencies,” said NNR CEO Dr MB Tyobeka.
Being prepared in the event of a nuclear or radiological emergency is an essential part of being a responsible nuclear safety regulator noted the NNR.
The NNR oversees and ensures that nuclear activities are carried out with the two-fold aim of preventing accidents, but also of mitigating any consequences should they occur. - SAnews.gov.za
