A nuclear power plant emergency response team (ERT) is an
incident response team composed of plant personnel and civil authority personnel specifically trained to respond to the occurrence of an
accident
An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not deliberately caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that the event may have been caused by Risk assessment, unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Many researchers, insurers ...
at a
nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power st ...
.
Each nuclear power plant is required to have a detailed emergency plan. In the event of a potential accident (as defined by the
International Nuclear Event Scale
The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) was introduced in 1990 by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in order to enable prompt communication of safety significant information in case of nuclear accidents.
The s ...
), the ERT personnel are notified by beeper and have a set time limit for reporting to their duty station.
Potential duty stations include:
* The nuclear power plant's
control room
A control room or operations room is a central space where a large physical facility or physically dispersed service can be monitored and controlled. It is often part of a larger command center.
Overview
A control room's purpose is produc ...
* The nuclear power plant's Emergency Operations Facility
* An offsite (i.e., not near the nuclear plant) operations facility
* A news center
* Roving teams of
health physicist
Health physics, also referred to as the science of radiation protection, is the profession devoted to protecting people and their environment from potential radiation hazards, while making it possible to enjoy the beneficial uses of radiation. H ...
s who scan for possible
radiation
In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or a material medium. This includes:
* ''electromagnetic radiation'' consisting of photons, such as radio waves, microwaves, infr ...
* Police traffic direction
In the United States, ERT personnel are required to train twice a year and typically train four times. The
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) (with support from the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and other agencies) grades some of the drills.
Annual Update on the Status of Emergency Preparedness Activities
/ref> The drills normally are not announced in advance so as to simulate "surprise" conditions.
See also
*List of nuclear power stations
The following page lists operating nuclear power stations. The list is based on figures from PRIS (Power Reactor Information System) maintained by International Atomic Energy Agency.[List of nuclear reactors
This following is a list of articles listing nuclear reactors.
By use
* List of commercial nuclear reactors
* List of inactive or decommissioned civil nuclear reactors
* List of nuclear power stations
* List of nuclear research reactors
* L ...]
*Nuclear Emergency Support Team
The Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST), formerly known as the Nuclear Emergency Search Team, is a team of scientists, technicians, and engineers operating under the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration ...
(NEST) - different from ERTs here
*Nuclear reactor technology
A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for commercial electricity, marine propulsion, weapons production and research. Fissile nuclei (primarily uranium-235 or plutonium- ...
References
External links
Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan (FRERP)--Operational PlanFederal Radiological Preparedness Coordinating Committee (FEMA)Illinois Emergency Management Agency FAQs
Nuclear power
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