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expertise. The remaining staff could be trained at short notice to carry out their more limited tasks, however if practical they should all be given regular training and attend exercises.
It may be useful for the staff to wear badges indicating the role they are fulfilling.
Equipment
In order for the Monitoring and Assessment Centre to carry out its functions, it is necessary for the centre to be adequately equipped. The equipment requirements will be outlined in the following paragraphs:
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Gamma Background Alarm; in order to ensure that the MAC is alerted when an accidental release of radioactive material may have occurred the fixed gamma background monitors referred to in Chapter 8 should be arranged to have a readout in the MAC. Each monitor should be equipped such that any significant increase in the gamma background should cause the readout in the MAC to alarm. If, as is likely, the MAC is not permanently manned, arrangements should be made for the alarm to be sounded in a permanently manned area of the Royal Observatory, with appropriate standing orders such that in the event of the unit alarming the appropriate personnel will be notified.
Wind Speed and Direction, and Rainfall Indicators; many of the decisions made by the MAC staff will depend upon the meteorological conditions in Hong Kong at the time of the release. It is therefore useful to have this information, which is available in the Royal Observatory, to be also readily available in the MAC. If possible an anemometer and wind direction gauge should be located close to the reactor site, and the output from these devices should be displayed in the MAC.
Communications; the MAC should be equipped with at least two ordinary telephone lines and additional direct line telephones to the King's Park Radiation Laboratory and the Civil Control Centre as well as facsimile links with these Centres. The MAC should also be equipped with a base radio station and a number of mobile transmitter/receiver units which can be deployed with the monitoring teams. Maps; in order to plot the survey results the MAC should be equipped with a number of suitably scaled maps of Hong Kong, similar to the ones held in the CCC and other emergency centres (see Section 6.4). Arrangements should be made for the maps to be wall or table-top mounted either permanently or at short notice after the occurrence of an incident. The maps should be covered with a suitable transparent covering such that they may be written over with suitable coloured pens and later wiped clean.
Radiation Monitoring Equipment; the MAC should be equipped with a low level radiation monitor in order to take dose rate measurements outside the building in a similar manner to that proposed for fire stations. (See Chapter 8).
Computer Equipment; see Section 6.9.
Miscellaneous Items; consideration should be given to the provision of other necessary items such as stationery, photocopier, calculators, reference texts, etc.
6.6 Press Briefing Centre
In the event of a major incident, particularly one which required the introduction of countermeasures, there would be intense interest from the press and other news media. It is important to consider how this interest can be satisfied with accurate and up-to-date information which will assist in achieving public awareness of the situation and prevent the spread of alarm due to inaccurate speculation on the consequence of the accident. Consideration must therefore be given to where a Press Briefing Centre could be set up. The Hong Kong Government already have facilities for giving press briefings on general matters and such facilities could be extended to cope with the media
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