Ireland holds nuclear emergency training exercise

A government department and a state agency yesterday held a training exercise to test the national response to a nuclear emergency.

The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) organised the exercise, which they said was “a routine exercise” and part of “ongoing and prudent contingency planning”.

The last such exercise was 2017 and this week’s event comes in the wake of warnings from Russian President Vladimir Putin that he would use nuclear weapons if Russia were threatened. However, the Department of the Environment said planning for yesterday’s exercise began last year.

The exercise, which took place in the National Emergency Coordination Centre, practised the systems and procedures outlined in the National Plan for Nuclear and Radiological Emergency Exposures to ensure that the Government and State agencies are prepared to effectively manage the response to a range of potential scenarios.

“Such exercises are crucial to ensure a coordinated response to emergencies, in the highly unlikely event that they occur,” the Department said.

The National Plan for Nuclear and Radiological Emergency Exposures details Ireland’s planning and preparedness for a national response to a major nuclear emergency. It sets out the trigger points for the plan to be invoked, which would require the National Emergency Coordination Group (NECG) to be convened, chaired by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. These include notifications to Irish authorities of nuclear or radiological emergencies abroad.

The Department said while an event of this nature was “highly improbable”, the Government was aware of the impact it could have on Irish households and businesses and was committed to ensuring that any such risks were minimised and that contingencies are addressed.

It is a statutory requirement that national nuclear emergency exercises are organised by the EPA.