In accordance with the approved 2013 Program of Work (POW) the Office of International Emergency Management and Cooperation / National Nuclear Administration Agency (NNSA) / US Department of Energy (DOE) and JCBRN Defence COE Training, Exercise and Education Department (TEED) conducted the International Consequence Management Training Course in the period of 1 – 4 October 2013 at the Joint CBRN Defence COE in Vyskov, Czech Republic.
The aim of the course was to provide assessment specialists, emergency response personnel and emergency managers the tools and techniques to develop and execute plans in response to the release of radiological materials. Specific strategies covering elements required to respond to such events were presented. Additionally, interaction and coordination between those response elements was explored.
8 students from three countries (CZE, HUN and SVN) participated in the course, each with varying degree of previous experience dealing with radioactive materials and radiological consequence management. Based on the student inputs to the comment forms distributed for the course, all the participants stated that the course has a great value for their current and / or future career.
Experienced lecturers shared a lot of their knowledge, experience, practical advice etc. There were useful practical exercises after almost each learning module as well as the final exercise in the end. The course content was focused on Fukushima nuclear power plant accident response scenario.
Future cooperation between NNSA and JCBRND COE will continue in next years. There are four courses offered in 2014:
- I-RAPTER International Radiological Assistance Program Training for Emergency Response – Basic Course (19 – 23 May)
- International Medical Management of Radiation Injuries (19 – 23 May)
- International Consequence Management Course (6 – 9 October)
- I-RAPTER International Radiological Assistance Program Training for Emergency Response – Advanced Course (18 – 22 November)
These courses offer great opportunity for students, who want to broaden their knowledge and acquire quality experience from real world experts.
Author: CPT Gorazd STERGAR (SVN)
