Emergency plan exercises and international cooperation

The different stakeholders in Luxembourg concerned about a possible nuclear emergency regularly organise exercises in Luxembourg and participate in bilateral or international exercises. The aim of these exercises is to prepare for a possible radiological or nuclear accident, involving in particular the members of the Crisis Cell and the response teams. These exercises are the result of different cooperation agreements signed by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. 

Since 1990, bilateral exercises have been organised at Greater Region level. Some of these are simple exercises for the communication and exchange of radiological data, while others are more complex and focus on implementing emergency plans. The scenarios are prepared by the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire, IRSN) in France and simulate a serious accident with core meltdown likely. These exercises are carried out in real time with an alert raised to the authorities and real meteorological conditions. 

The exercises enable several procedures to be tested: transmitting an alert, putting in place the respective crisis centres, implementing communication procedures, information on the evaluation and prognosis of the installation, information on the radiation situation and shared information on the decisions taken/envisaged etc... 

In the same context, Luxembourg took part in several International Nuclear Emergency Exercises (INEX) organised by the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development).