THE MINISTER FOR DISASTERS REPLIES

national | miscellaneous | news report Monday March 04, 2002 19:55 by Joe Carolan - Globalise Resistance globalise_resistance at yahoo dot com The Other World which is possible 087 9032281

Joe Jacobs' emergency plan still at sea

It's official- the showdown with the Minister begins- what do people feel about this answer? Maybe we should all email the Minister's office rom our respective organisations and unions!

4 March 2002

Globalise resistance [[email protected]]

Dear Sir/Madam

I refer to your recent communication concerning national emergency planning for a nuclear incident.

The position is that a national emergency plan for nuclear accidents has been in place since 1992. The purpose of the plan is to provide a response to an accident at a nuclear installation involving a release of radioactive substances.

Following a detailed review of the plan the Government recently approved the publication of a revised plan. The updated plan will be published later this month. In addition an information leaflet drawn from the plan will be distributed to each household in the country.

The changes contained in the updated plan are largely institutional in nature and are designed to streamline administrative arrangements and to reflect changes in science, technology and meteorology. They are designed to ensure prompt and effective analysis of any emergency and prompt communication to the public and key players concerning risk analysis and recommended counter-measures. The plan has been the subject of independent evaluation and a full-scale exercise of the plan was held last November.

Clearly, the threat posed by a serious nuclear accident comes directly from the radioactive materials emitted in the atmosphere. In the event of a nuclear accident, the scale of the release will be directly related to the scale of the accident. What happens after that is determined by the prevailing weather conditions, such as wind speed and direction, and rainfall. The latter can have a major influence on depositions of radioactive contamination.

Under international and bilateral arrangements the authorities in Ireland will be warned promptly of any serious incidents. The primary route is via the Garda Communications Centre but there are personal contact points as back up. One member of the senior management team of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII) is permanently on call to make the initial decision about triggering the Emergency Plan.

If the plan is triggered an Emergency Response Co-ordinating Committee (ERCC) goes into immediate session in a central control room. Armed with information from the RPII and other agencies (notably Met Éireann because prevailing weather conditions will play a vital role), this committee with representatives of key Government Departments and State agencies, will decide on and co-ordinate the implementation of counter measures and public safety advice.

Providing accurate information and advice to the public is a major concern. If there was to be a nuclear accident, for instance in Sellafield, it could take anything from hours to days for radioactive materials to contaminate Ireland (and that would be dependent on weather conditions).

Information will be released throughout the course of the emergency by the RPII using national radio and television and the Internet. It is important to note that a nuclear accident would not immobilise normal methods of communications. The public should stay tuned to bulletins which will provide information and best advice on a frequent basis.

The national plan, while giving basic advice to the population, is, like any other emergency plan, a document setting out who is responsible for what, detailed institutional prescriptions as to who does what, how key people are to be contacted and mustered, where they assemble and what their roles will be. It includes information gathering, sampling of air quality and the natural environment and, most importantly of all, communication with the public.

If there is an incident and if the wind is blowing in the direction of Ireland, the contamination will take some period of time to arrive here. That period can be estimated and taken advantage of. The areas most likely to be affected can be identified. There will be time, for example, to get animals indoors and perhaps to take some limited steps to protect their feed in order to protect the food chain.

All these matters and more are dealt with in the national emergency plan for nuclear accidents. The Departments and agencies directly involved have their own sub-plans setting out actions and responsibilities in their respective areas.

The cessation of all activities at Sellafield remains a priority for the Government and we continue to pursue every possible means, diplomatic and legal to achieve this objective. However, closure of Sellafield would not, of course, obviate the need for a national emergency plan to respond to an accident at another nuclear plant in Britain or elsewhere.

I trust this clarifies the position regarding the national emergency plan for nuclear accidents.

Yours sincerely

Joe Jacob, T.D.

Minister of State