Benchmarking and compliance analysis of Brazil radiological emergency plans

Accidents at fixed nuclear reactor facilities present a major challenge to first responders and emergency management agencies seeking to mitigate potential health impacts, economic losses, and environmental damage. Emergency response plans must be well-coordinated, crafted in accord with international standards, and give full consideration to all interrelated systems, stakeholders, and participants. Multiple agencies and parties contribute to the overall plan. The nuclear reactor facility in Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil conducts an exercise to test their emergency plans every two years. This paper presents a benchmarking and assessment of radiological emergency response plans at Angra dos Reis to identify potential needs for improvement. The method of analysis uses comparison with international standards, and a comparison with US plans. The paper develops recommendations to improve the existing Brazilian plan. The benchmarking and assessment make use of current radiological emergency response plans from US regions, interviews with local and regional, US and Brazilian emergency response coordinators, and video of the training exercises in emergency alert response simulation in Angra dos Reis. Features of emergency management software including WebEOC are considered and addressed in the recommendations. Social, demographic, and cultural factors are addressed. The results of this effort will be useful to a number of organizations including the Corpo de Bombeiros Militar do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Poli?cia Militar do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Poli?cia Civil do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Comissa?o Nacional de Energia Nuclear, Eletrobra?s Termonuclear S.A., and the Prefeitura Municipal de Angra dos Reis. This effort is supported in part by the US National Science Foundation, the US Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE), and Coordena?a?o de Pessoal de Ensino de Ni?vel Superior (CAPES) of Brazil.