The Irish approach to postaccident preparedness

Abstract

Ireland does not have any nuclear installations, but a nuclear accident at a site elsewhere, particularly in Europe, could result in widespread but low-level contamination of the Irish environment. Ireland's National Emergency Plan for Nuclear Accidents was established, following the Chernobyl accident, for the national response to a nuclear accident abroad affecting Ireland. It has since been extended to also cover domestic radiological emergencies for which a national-level input is required to support the local response. This paper describes the approach taken to developing and maintaining arrangements for a nuclear accident abroad. The use of hazard assessments to prioritise resource use and planned protective actions, and the specifics of Ireland's situation in terms of location, governance, economy, and available resources have heavily influenced the preparedness arrangements. In particular, the importance of the ingestion pathway to projected doses, together with the significance of agricultural exports to the Irish economy, has had a key influence on the arrangements in place.

Keywords: Agriculture; Ingestion pathway; Nuclear emergency; Preparedness; Public communication.