management of emergencies, safety and security events

International Conference on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources

Abdulla Al Nuaimi

Management of emergencies, safety and security events

OVERVIEW

Organization to manage an event involving radioactive material outside nuclear facilities in United Arab Emirates

1. The legislative framework for emergency preparedness and response to radiological event only consolidated during the last few years

2. A national organisation to manage events involving radioactive material from the non-nuclear sector established based on this framework

3. An event in 2011 in UAE regarding a radioactive source challenged the emergency organization

2

The Legislative Framework

The Federal Law by Decree No. 2 of 2011 established the

National Emergency, Crises and Disasters Management

Authority (NCEMA) and defined its roles and responsibilities,

including:

Supervising the development of national response capabilities and coordinating

inter-agency programmes at the local and state level

Participating in preparing the emergency plans and following up their

implementation in collaboration with state authorities

Participating in preparing, coordinating, and implementing exercises and follow-up

the implementation of them

Managing emergencies, crises and disasters through coordinating and

collaborating with state concerned agencies

Coordinating the roles of state concerned agencies during emergencies, crises

and disasters

3


The Federal Law by Decree No. 6 of 2009 on Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy established the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) and its roles and responsibilities in radiological and nuclear emergency:

The competent authorities and licensees shall establish measures for Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Response. Emergency Planning measures shall be established: for protection of the population (off-site Emergency Plan) and for each Nuclear Facility and the facility that contains sources of nuclear radiations (on-site Emergency Plan) [Article (49)]

The License issued by FANR shall specify: … the Emergency Preparedness … [Article 24]

FANR shall co-operate with the relevant government entities, advise them, and provide information on matters related to nuclear security radiation protection and security concerning following areas: … Emergency planning and Emergency Preparedness …[Article (7)]

4


Regulations and Arrangements, including:

FANR Regulations and Licence conditions required licensee of radioactive

material and X-ray machine to prepare emergency plan and response

measures and to report any incident and security breach

FANR designated as of the competent authority for the UAE for both

Conventions on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and on Assistance

in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency

FANR point of contact for the IAEA Incident and Trafficking Database

(ITDB)

Memorandum of Understanding between NCEMA and FANR for an

effective cooperation regarding any event involving radioactive material in

UAE, provided for on-going liaison and created a channel for training and

shared exercises

5

The UAE National Emergency Organization Development of the Organization

National Response Framework established by NCEMA in collaboration

with key national stakeholders

─ Outlines the response arrangements for all types of emergencies

identified in UAE’s National Risks and Threats Register

─ FANR provided expert advice regarding nuclear and radiological

emergencies

FANR capacity for response to radiological or nuclear events established

─ Appointment of an Emergency Duty Officer each week 24/7 as well as an

Emergency Manager

─ Equipment of an Emergency Operation Centre

─ Establishment of a radiological field team

Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Health already established their

organizations from the local level to the federal level

At local level, licensees of regulated material (radioactive materials and

radiation sources) developed emergency plans 6

The UAE National Emergency Organization

Organization in case of a radiological event Fe

der

al L

evel

Lo

cal L

evel

Event

First Responders

Ministry of Health Ministry of Interior

NCEMA

FANR

Licensee (eventually)

Report

Respond

Police Civil

Defense Medical Service

Inform

7



der

al L

evel

Lo

cal L

evel

Event

First Responders

Ministry of Health Ministry of Interior

NCEMA

FANR

Licensee (eventually) Report

Respond

Civil Defense

Medical Service

Inform/Assist

Advice/Assist

Inform Inform

Inform

8



der

al L

evel

Lo

cal L

evel

Event

First Responders

Ministry of Health

NCEMA

FANR

Licensee (eventually) Report

Respond

Civil Defense

Medical Service

Inform/Assist

Advice/Assist

Inform/Assist

Inform

Coordinate

Police

Inform/Assist

9

The Past Event - Chronology

Two years ago, a company licensed by FANR, lost a projector

used for industrial radiography

Iridium source with an activity of 2.85 TBq (Category 2 of IAEA)

Chronology of events

On the 25th October 2011, the company conducted non-destructive

testing radiography at Mussafah industrial area

At night, the device was loaded on a vehicle and shipped to storage area

of the company

On the morning of the 26 October 2011, arriving at the storage area in

Mussafah, the projector was not anymore on the vehicle. After

unsuccessful search, the company reported the loss to the nearest

police station

On the 6 of November 2011, a passer-by discovered the device in the

town of Al Rahba, located 30 km from Abu Dhabi/Mussafah 10

The Past Event – Response actions

FANR informed 5 hours after the notification

of the loss through its emergency number

One hour after the alert, a combined FANR/Police team begun to

search. In parallel, NCEMA and Health Authority of Abu Dhabi

(HAAD) alerted.

The public and media informed later by a press release posted

on FANR’s web-site

Next days, search and survey with radiation equipment

conducted by FANR and other agencies such as Armed Forces

On the 6/11/2011, police been informed of the discovery of the

device and FANR confirmed that the device was not damaged

FANR notified the IAEA, as the point of contact for UAE of ITDB,

of both loss and recovery of the radioactive source 11

The Past Event Lessons learnt

Cooperation among the Ministry of Interior,

especially Abu Dhabi Police, Health Authority of Abu Dhabi,

NCEMA, the Armed Forces, FANR and the company

Capacity for local and federal authorities to closely work

together

March, 2012 Exercise organized by Sharjah’s police to confirm the

response organization

March, 2013 Exercise organized by Fujairah police to test the

coordination with the concerned entities involved in radiological

events

But some vulnerabilities on the part of our licensees in

securing radioactive sources

Notice of Violation sent by FANR and corrective actions implemented

by the company 12

Conclusion

UAE Legislative framework for managing radiological events

established; organization and capacity/means in process to be

finalized in non-nuclear domain

Depending on its impact, implementation of organization at

the local level or activation of the national emergency

organization

The past event of loss and recovery of a radioactive source

─ helpful to implement the already defined organization at a local level and

to test its effectiveness

─ highlighted the importance of coordination between different

governmental agencies

Future plans to conduct drills and table-top exercises for

different scales and types of radiological emergencies 13

شكــــــــرا ًThank you

management of emergencies, safety and security events

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