Speaker
Description
In Chile, the Commission on Safety and Security for Radiological Emergencies, CONSER, was created by Decree No. 647, in December 2015 with the mission of advice and support the Presidency of the Republic, in strengthening the capacity of prevention and reaction of the competent institutions to nuclear or radiological events, that may affect public security, safety of people or the environment.
In general terms, the functioning of the Commission has developed steadily, not being exempt from the difficulties inherent in a coordination mechanism, but important efforts are being made to fully develop the monthly meetings established and execute the planned activities, some of the which are briefly delineated in this work. It should be noted that this coordination mechanism was informally generated in 2010, from a radiological emergency exercise organized by the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission, CCHEN with support of the US-DOE.
From March 2016 to date, CCHEN has developed the activities assigned to the Executive Secretariat and organizing committee of the CONSER, which has generated a strong interface at national level in the preparation and response to radiological emergencies with the prevention and response to nuclear security events. Examples of strong interaction and permanent interfaces in these matters are the following:
a.- As of 2018, the CONSER Presidency mandated the Executive Secretariat to act as technical leader for the priority activity related to "Generation of National Emergency Plan for Radiological Risk Variable’. To date, May 2019, the work carried out is 70% complete, and it is expected to be finalized by end 2019, with a final review from an expert of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, within the framework of a on-going Technical Cooperation Project.
b.- Participation of most CONSER organizations in the activities organized by NSSC-CCHEN project under development. In 2018 a regional workshop was held on Creation of Regional Human Capacities in Nuclear Security, with the participation of representatives of Customs, Police and Regulatory Authorities of several countries of the region.
c.- CCHEN organized locally the workshop - mission to update the Integrated Nuclear Security Support Plan, INSSP, that was held in October 2018, with participation of 30 persons, members of 15 CONSER organizations. The mission resulted in the agreement for a new INSSP implementation plan 2019-2022.
d.- One of the permanent activities of CONSER is the periodic notification and updating of radiological incidents occurring at national level. This is generated from information arising from the two regulatory authorities and notified to all CONSER organizations. This activity has allowed the generation of a national statistics, a data base initiated on November 2013, which records the number of events, type of event, radioactive source or nuclear material involved, location, etc. This information is now expected to be analyzed in a systematic way to agree on national coordination activities aimed at minimizing its occurrence and facilitate its resolution.
e.- Representatives of CONSER organizations have participated periodically in training activities and expert missions in Preparedness and Response to Radiological Emergencies, carried out through one on-going IAEA TC project. Between 2016 and 2018, several activities of this type were conducted, covering topics related to first response, practical exercises, arrangements to protect the public in radiological accidents, generation and application of coordinated response protocols for the programmed transport of high-intensity radioactive sources among others.
In summary, it has been possible to combine and coordinate efforts of at least 18 national organizations that have functions and responsibilities at national level in the response to radiological emergencies in the country or at border points, and in the application of response protocols to events that affect public security, such as nuclear security events, the most common, the theft or missing of mobile radioactive sources, low intensity and low hazard, but of widespread use that causes increasing public concern.
Through the CONSER implementation, Chile has made progress in complying with the recommendations of the International Legal Framework in Nuclear Security and Emergency Preparedness and Response, regarding the establishment of a coordination mechanism among all national organizations involved in both fields, that in Chile are almost the same.
| State | Chile |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
