Following on from a meeting at the end of last year, David Thomas and Chris Stretton from Safe Communities Portugal, were privileged to be invited by the ANPC (National Civil Protection Agency) to act as observers at the Radiological Emergencies Training course and demonstration held from 16 – 18 January in Castelo Branco.
The course was attended by around 190 emergency personnel from 55 entities, including the Army, GNR, PSP, INEM, Bombeiros and Judicial Police and various specialist units, to learn more about the latest developments in dealing with emergencies which involve the leakage of radioactive material. The course was supervised by trainers from the ANPC, the Portuguese Environment Agency, the Directorate-General for Health, the Instituto Superior Técnico, the Armed Forces (Navy, Army and the Air Force), the National Republican Guard, the Public Security Police, the National Institute of Medical Emergency and the Judicial Police.
Although there are no nuclear power plants in Portugal, there are in Spain and other sources of leaks which would more likely be associated with the handling or transport of small quantities of radioactive substances, which are mainly linked to health activities (hospitals, clinics, etc.)
The aims of the course were to promote knowledge about the different types and factors of danger related to radiological emergencies, the functions of the different teams that intervene in the field, and the functional relationships and interdependencies that are established among all in the theatre of operations.
An important element of the course was how the government would communicate with the public, and actions that would be taken as part of their emergency plans, including evacuation and decontamination.
Following on from this was a desk top exercise, the topic being an accident in a town involving a vehicle carrying radioactive material.
On the last day, the course moved to a Logistical Support Base on the outskirts of Castelo Branco, where the specialist units gave demonstrations, of the equipment used in the detection of and monitoring of radiation, screening and decontamination of people and various other equipment, including that used to protect the emergency services in undertaking their work in the most hazardous of conditions. Much of the highly specialised equipment was from suppliers overseas.
This was the fourth course that has been held on this subject and the first on this scale outside of the ANPC Headquarters in Lisbon. It is understood that further courses will be held in various other parts of the country in the future.