Radiation Emergency Drill Conducted in Russia

I just read an interesting article about a radiation emergency drill, and as you may or may not know, whenever find an article that describes a unique exercise scenario, I like to share the information.  Why?  Because I am a big advocate of training, exercises and drills for emergency preparedness.  In my opinion, there’s little doubt – knowledge is power, and practice makes perfect.

Overview of the Radiation Emergency Drill

I’ve previously written about a variety of unique exercise scenarios – including scenarios involving a nuclear disaster, mass casualty event, tornado drill, mass shooting drill, and even a missile attack drill.  And now we have Russia’s recent radiation emergency drill, conducted by Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, as well as the Norwegian Radiation Safety Authority.

The location of the scenario was Andreyeva Bay, which is a nightmarish nuclear graveyard that contains 22,000 spent nuclear submarine rods from the over 200 submarines that regularly refueled there in the 1960’s.  Officials have been working on the cleanup for several decades, which is why the radiation emergency drill took place at this location.

The specific drill scenario involved a huge, avalanche-triggered wave that crashed into a crane operating on a dock, causing the crane to drop a several-ton container of aged nuclear fuel rods.  The container split open when it hit the dock, spilling radioactive material into the waters below.

Most officials labeled the drill as a success, which is an impressive feat since an actual radiation emergency requires the coordination and cooperation of a large number of first responders, bio-medical facilities, and hospital emergency rooms.  But as previously mentioned, these drills have been conducted regularly for many years, and as you now, practice makes perfect!