(iv)
it is usually impracticable to mount an exercise at an unexpected time since the demands on organisations providing emergency personnel may prohibit their release from normal duties.
Despite these limitations full-scale exercises are invaluable in testing co-ordination and communications, and also in practising assessment techniques.
Stages in Exercise Planning and Execution
The planning, execution and assessment of an exercise is carried out in the following stages:
(i)
Definition of the Scope and Objectives
At the initial stage it will be necessary to discuss the scope and objectives of the exercise with representatives of the organisations involved, including the supporting organisations. Objectives will take account of the requirements of these organisations in practising their teams, the weaknesses revealed by previous exercises, and changes in the Contingency Plan which need to be tested. The scope of the exercise will depend on the commitment in resources and time that the participating organisations are able to make. A list of suggested general objectives for a full-scale exercise is given in Appendix VII. Such objectives should be defined more specifically during exercise planning to identify the organisations concerned.
(ii) Timing and Duration
Agreement of participating organisations on timing and duration of the exercise will be needed. Consideration must be given to factors such as the availability of participants.
Exercises should be avoided during periods when extremely poor weather conditions may be expected. This is to avoid undue risk to participants and ensure that participating organisations are not forced to withdraw from the exercise to meet the demands of real emergencies. This proviso is in accordance with IAEA Advice (Ref 40). It is, however, important that the effects of severe weather are considered in terms of special equipment needed, and in the possible delays in response and operations which could occur. The scenarios for table-top exercises should postulate severe conditions in some cases.
In order to fully test the plan a minimum period of six hours would be advisable.
Whenever possible full-scale exercises should be arranged in conjunction with the reactor operators, and, in any case, on occasions when the operators hold a major exercise, cross-border communication links should be tested.
(iii) Exercise Plan
When the objectives and scope of the exercise have been determined, and the timing and duration settled, an exercise planning team should be identified. The planning team will produce a scenario for the exercise which is compatible with the objectives and scope agreed. The scenario will include details and timing of the postulated release and weather conditions. Starting from these parameters, time-dependent data for airborne radioactivity is calculated, for the area of the operations. Detailed information sheets will then be prepared for umpires to pass to participants on the time-scale that it would be acquired in a real incident. In preparing such information sheets, due regard should be paid to the way in which groups (such as district survey teams) operate, eg the use of fixed survey points. It is usual that much more data has to be prepared than is actually used in the exercise in order to cover all possible decisions as to how data will be gathered.
The detailed exercise plan and data should not be revealed to participants before the start of the exercise.
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