Site emergency exercises


Dounreay is required to exercise its emergency arrangements on a regular basis and ensure staff are properly trained in the procedures. In any one year, there may be as many as 12 different exercises held in different parts of the site to test local arrangements and identify improvements.

For licence compliance purposes, larger exercises fall into one of three categories. These exercises have independent observers and are assessed by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate for compliance with the licence condition.

Level One
Held annually, this exercise involves all staff and tests the arrangements on the site. It does not normally involve any “play” by outside agencies. Normal access to the site is curtailed during the exercise.

Level Two
Held once every three years, this exercise focuses on the arrangements off-site and how other agencies respond to a mock notification from Dounreay. The strategic co-ordinating centre at Northern Constabulary HQ in Inverness normally is the location for this exercise.

Level Three
Each year, national government conducts an exercise to test its response to an emergency at a civil nuclear site. Dounreay has been selected for this type of exercise in the past.

 

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Image: Staff - seen here during an exercise - at one of the emergency centres that would be set up

Staff - seen here during an exercise - at one of the emergency centres that would be set up

Image: Workers routinely exercise the arrangements for their evacuation in the event of an emergency

Workers routinely exercise the arrangements for their evacuation in the event of an emergency

Image: A glimpse of activity in the site emergency control centre during an exercise

A glimpse of activity in the site emergency control centre during an exercise