Published on: Recommendation
- emergency protection
Source terms and early protective measures at nuclear power plant accidents where the situation is unclear
Recommendation by the German Commission on Radiological Protection
Adopted at the 300th meeting of the German Commission on Radiological Protection on 27 and 28 June 2019
Abstract
The enactment of the German Radiation Protection Act (StrlSchG) in 2017 saw the introduction of new radiological emergency preparedness and response provisions requiring the Federal Radiological Situation Centre to draw up a radiological situation report in the event of a national radiological emergency (in this case: a severe accident at a nuclear power plant). This situation report must be sent to the Länder (federal states), the Joint Information Centre of the German Federal State and the Regions (GMLZ) as part of the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK), and the principal federal authorities stipulated in the general emergency response plan.
In general, a radiological situation report is based on forecasts of the source term anticipated as a result of the accident as well as on predictions provided by the RODOS (Real-time Online DecisiOn Support) system. These RODOS forecasts allow statements to be made about the area(s) likely to be contaminated, how contamination of the environment will develop over time, and the anticipated exposures for every applicable exposure path. This information then enables recommendations to be issued with a view to preparing and carrying out protective measures.
This advisory mandate constitutes a review of the unlikely event that source term forecasts are unavailable, no matter what the reason for that may be.